Internet for Business in Tanzania: Vinayan Benedict Presents Leading Managed Service Provider Flashnet

Interview with Vinayan Benedict, Director of Flashnet Tanzania

What is your scope of business and your competitive advantages?

Flashnet started in 2011 as an IT service provider. Then, we got licensed by TCRI (Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority) in 2016 for Internet services, mostly application services, which leveraged us to provide all the connectivity services. Then in 2018, we converted ourselves into an MSP or a managed service provider where we offer connectivity, we provide managed IT, we provide Cloud services, we provide collaboration, we provide unified security services. This is a unique service in Tanzania at the moment in that there are players in connectivity and there are other players in the managed IT, but combined together, there is no one doing that. It is a competitive advantage for us because we provide all of the services. When we provide a connectivity service, then we can support the customers with the add on IT related services, which is more demanding.

In general, how do you see the technology industry in Tanzania?

The market is technologically advanced and it is a growing market. Things are getting adapted now, but not quite the level compared to the US or European market. When we started the MSP in 2018, it was not a warm welcome. People were not ready for moving to the Cloud. But the pandemic started and then people realized that they did not need a physical server in their office like they had been used to. Everything has to be on the Cloud. It does not have to be on premise, but it can be anywhere. That gives us a boost to go on with our services. We can see some positive response from last year that people are ready to move into the Cloud and technologically they are ready to adapt.

Who makes up your clientele? You are looking at SMEs and other enterprises, but are you looking to move to residential as well?

At the moment, we are looking into enterprise and SMEs. We do not have a plan as of now to go to the residential side because of the technology limitations. If you want to go to residential, either we need to go with the 4G or 5G technologies or we need to expand more fiber. Fiber is not very available in Tanzania. There is a lot of gray area when you approach the residential unit to go with the higher bandwidth solutions. Nowadays, content is king. In order to deliver content, you need more capacity. We are not yet ready for residential but we are looking into the opportunities; however, it will take some time.

How did the pandemic have an impact, either negative or positive, towards the business and the industry as a whole?

We offer connectivity, we provide managed IT, we provide Cloud services, we provide collaboration, we provide unified security services. This is a unique service in Tanzania at the moment.

When the COVID pandemic started in the beginning of last year, we were affected for a short period. But we noticed by mid 2020 that all of the industries began to pick up. In Tanzania there was no lockdown. It has been a booster, but there are two factors. The first is when people moved into their residences, then they were accessing remotely. Most of the residential internet providers saw their businesses grow because of restaurants and other requirements that came up. But for the business internet, again, there was a challenge. There were no users at the offices so companies were requesting a temporary scale down of bandwidth. But now, most of them shifted to the Cloud so the bandwidth requirement increased, security requirements increased, etc.

What are some of the challenges you are facing?

The economic challenge is mostly on the capital side. The business capital in Tanzania and the commercial banks are not so supportive on that. Technological expertise is also a bit of a challenge. We are training a team because if we want to provide new era technologies, then we need to be prepared. Now, that facility is not available so we are depending on the online platforms to train them.

What kind of investors are you looking for?

At the moment, we are serving Dar es Salaam primarily. We are planning to expand our portfolio mostly in the connectivity and the managed IT to other regions of Tanzania, Zanzibar, Arusha, the business areas. Technology, equipment, the human capital are the major investment areas we are looking into. In Dar es Salaam, we cover almost to 70% with our services, mostly in the connectivity. Even when we go to other business areas in other regions, we will be planning on 70% to 80% coverage.

What are your plans for expansion?

We are planning our regional expansion in 2023. If that takes well, then after 2025, we are interested to move to other East African regions as well.

What is your goal for the company for the medium term?

A dream plan for us would be starting with Tanzania and moving to other areas with the 5G network. That will be a quite interesting plan for us. If it is a success, then it will be a great kickstart for us.

How affordable is internet connectivity or technology in Tanzania?

There are levels of providers. Our focus is majorly on the quality of service and our own service. But there are providers who provide cheap services with the lowest quality of services. It depends on the users and what they want to choose: whether they want affordable services very cheap or quality service on an affordable level. We play on a middle part. We are not so expensive, but we are not so cheap.

Why would you want to tell someone outside of Tanzania to come to the country with the idea of opening businesses? What would you say in terms of doing business and technology in Tanzania?

Technology in Tanzania is still in a birthing stage. Even when we talk about the security, the big manufacturing companies have not yet beefed up their security level. So, we need to bring new technologies, we need to bring more tech savvy solutions to them. Delivering at an affordable rate is another issue. When we approach people here about the Cloud and security, they always think it is a very costly solution. Now, we are trying to provide an affordable solution, but when you bring out an affordable solution, you cannot compromise on the technology or security level. We should give a quality solution and that is the only way to go ahead.

What inspired you and what has been your journey from where you started to now? What drives you to do what you do?

I studied IT. Even my first job was in ISP and telecommunication. When we started Flashnet, I realized that there is a lot that is lacking in IT sector connectivity. There was also very poor support in IT security and the managed IT sector. That is the reason that kickstarted me to do a complete solution rather than a connectivity only solution.

ABOUT FLASHNET TANZANIA: Flashnet was founded in 2011 with the goal to provide superior, reliable and effective Information Technology (IT) solutions across Tanzania. Its vision is to be a preferred and a wholesome IT solutions partner to SMB, SME and Enterprises. Flashnet is a licensed Internet Service Provider (ISP) providing customers with all their connectivity and productivity needs.

For more information, please visit: https://flashnet.co.tz.

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