Orange Sierra Leone

ORANGE SL LIMITED

Bringing new-era telecommunications to Sierra Leone

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Connecting Communities Globally renowned telco Orange has been present in Sierra Leone for just three years, yet it has already firmly stamped an innovative footprint on the country and its telecoms industry Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

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he telecommunications tide is shifting in Sierra Leone.

Owed to the country’s 2018 democratic elections which were followed by a change in government, and in turn a new administrative team behind the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), sweeping changes have arisen across the industry, from the emergence of a fairer, more accommodating regulatory environment to a number of beneficial tax changes and a review

Aminata Kane Ndiaye, CEO, Orange SL

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of the Telecoms Act. Against this prosperous backdrop, Orange Sierra Leone (SL) Limited, the country’s leading telecommunications company, is thriving.

Having acquired Airtel’s national operations in July 2016, the three years since have seen the company invest in excess of $55 million in a major network overhaul. The result has seen a multitude of upgrades including the replacement of 180 generators and 282 DC power modernisation of 250 sites for single RAN mode; launch of a new data centre; implementation of a new network platform for prepaid billing and management; and a new switch to handle voice traffic changing all core equipment.

Further, the firm expanded the network by launching 45 and 42 new sites in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

And while only half of 2019 has passed us by so far, the enterprise has made similarly monumental strides in the latest six months, namely through the inception of its Digital Revolution programme in February 2019 and the launch of its 4G service one month later.

“We’re pursuing a strong industrial project in Sierra Leone that is geared

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towards covering most of the country with telecom services, services that will improve rural connectivity and also our quality of service,” states Aminata Kane Ndiaye, Orange SL’s CEO. Meeting marked milestone after landmark progression, the company has already drastically transformed the national landscape and socioeconomic status quo and is poised to continue leading the change in enabling new-era connectivity.

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“What we’re offering is truly highspeed broadband mobile internet – an unmatched, life-changing experience that puts digital communication completely within the control of the consumer, affecting and adding value to every facet of their lives,” Ndiaye adds.

Creating sustainable opportunities

It is this statement from the Chief Exec that best explains the monumental

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role that mobile broadband, and indeed Orange, will have to play on a much broader level.

Looking at the African continent as a whole, for example, research from GSMA has shown that mobiles aren’t just considered to be communication devices. They are equally the primary channel for many people in getting online and accessing vital tools such as digital education, digital healthcare and mobile banking.

In the knowledge of this, Orange SL is empowering digital transformation across a multitude of verticals to bring sustainable benefits to all Sierra Leoneans, one of the company’s core emphases centred around connecting rural areas.

“Currently, approximately 50 percent of Sierra Leoneans do not use mobile phones, while the main countries of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) are close to 100

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percent,” states Ndiaye. “We’re proud that our strategic drivers are changing this, already having connected to well over 900 new localities with thousands of Sierra Leoneans now able to access data, voice and financial services for the first time.”

The company’s influence goes far beyond this, however. Its Orange Money services, for example, have been a key driver of financial inclusion, providing people with the platform to access banking solutions, from money transfers and salary payments to bills and merchants’ payments.

“There was an enormous appetite for mobile money services,” reveals Ndiaye. “The ability to transfer funds, pay bills, save, borrow and so on has been inclusively transforming the lives of all individuals and businesses, be it women, farmers or those living in remote areas.

“Being the first to bring mobile money to Sierra Leone has given people the ability to access funds anywhere, anytime, saving time, improving security and providing a

means for saving and managing money more effectively.”

Equally, Orange SL’s up and coming B2B services are a secondary flagship for progression, helping to introduce national businesses to an abundance of benefits that come with digital solutions and expertise.

“This is crucial to our portfolio,” Ndiaye adds, “because we want to be the first-choice partner for digital transformation in Sierra Leone.”

Aid for all

Coupled with the organisation’s endeavours to bolster socioeconomic sustainability are its wider social responsibility practices, initiatives that Ndiaye herself is particularly passionate about.

“We’re still the only operator in Sierra Leone to contribute to the government’s Free Quality Education Agenda,” she states, calling upon a particular example that invokes such pride. “This support package includes the provision of hygiene packs for girls, our Super Coder Academy,

LEADERSHIP FOCUS AMINATA KANE NDIAYE Aminata Kane Ndiaye, renowned as the first female telecommunications CEO in Sierra Leone, has led an illustrious career.

Between 2009 and 2011 she worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company France, designing strategies and operations for telecommunication and technology providers, banks, and consumer goods manufacturers in Europe and West Africa.

This experience was invaluable, combined with internships at Goldman Sachs in London, BNP Paribas in Geneva, and at the French Business Confederation (MEDEF) in Paris.

ERICSSON Ericsson and Orange power Sierra Leone’s 4G service Orange and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have launched a 4G network in Sierra Leone in the nation’s capital, Freetown.

Orange will use Ericsson Radio System products and solutions to offer 4G in 90 sites, designed for low latency and fast mobile broadband in a cost and energy-efficient manner, optimising use of frequency bands and realising fibre-like access speeds over the air.

With reduced latency, consumers in Sierra Leone can enjoy online services, including HD video and network games.

The 4G launch is bringing consumers’ mobile experience to a whole new level – with higher speeds and reliable broadband access. In addition, Orange can now offer 4G to customers as well as facilitate network planning and maintenance and allow for smooth introduction of new IP-based services.

Nora Wahby, Head of Customer Unit West Africa & Morocco, says: “Our consumer studies show that network performance is the main driver for mobile phone users’ loyalty. With the introduction of 4G/LTE and continuous optimisations of Orange’s networks in Sierra Leone, customers will benefit from superior voice quality and faster speeds on their smartphones.”

Orange also revealed plans to continue the Ericsson Radio System rollout across Sierra Leone – enabling Orange to serve everything from 2G to 5G, through a risk-free implementation of a series of building blocks.

Ericsson Radio System, with its end-toend portfolio of hardware, software and services will help Orange Sierra Leone get quality mobile broadband performance smoothly and profitably.

“Before moving to Sierra Leone as the CEO, I had previously been the B2C Marketing Performance Manager for Orange Sonatel in Senegal, in charge of strategy, sales and margin growth, return on investment, process efficiency, customer experience and loyalty retention,” Ndiaye adds.

“Following this I became the Chief Marketing Officer for Orange Money, a business that has grown exponentially in the past four years.”

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ericsson.com/small-cells

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SIERRA LEONE’S CSR SAMARITAN

ARCH DESIGN SL

Orange SL partakes extensively in corporate social investment, with such initiatives being a key pillar in the company’s role as a socioeconomic upholder. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

range SL is one of our valued clients. In 2017 Arch Design SL was contracted to rebrand and redesign the seven main shops all over Sierra Leone. Arch Design SL has also worked on other assignments with Orange SL in the field of architecture and interior design.

• Sponsoring the adoption of 50 Ebola orphans aged between 11 months and six year until their 18th birthdays in a three-year commitment.

• The provision of Ramadan Iftar donations to mosques and underprivileged Muslims around the country.

• Providing emergency relief to landslide/mudslide victims. This includes on-site food and clothes distribution and financial contribution to the Mudslide Victims Donation Relief Fund Account.

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We love working with clients that understand what they want and with Orange SL we have been able to create a good synergy.

• Raising Thinking Pink Breast Cancer Foundation awareness and running a fundraising half marathon.

Contributing to the government’s Free Quality Education Agenda is another of the company’s major programmes. Projects to be launched over five years under this umbrella include: • $12 million investment for the expansion of 3G and 4G network capability across the country.

• The Super Coder Academy to train 100 senior secondary school students in computer labs. Working with 200 schools per year, over 2,000 pupils are expected to benefit.

• The provision of 10,000 hygiene packs for girls between the ages of 12-18 years for a period of five years.

• The running of an inter-secondary school competition for five years in which 500 schools in total will participate, the winners receiving new computer labs.

• Open Classrooms to provide 300 free certifying digital courses for 500 teachers.

• The deliverance of 1,000 solar pack kits to 1,000 off-grid villages.

• An MoU and partnership with the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) to launch the first coding school in Sierra Leone, costing LE2.75 billion ($308,000).

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Arch Design SL Ltd. 84D Freetown Road off Spur Road Freetown Sierra Leone T +232 77 26 35 29 E archdesign.salone@gmail.com

inter-secondary school competition, the open classroom and solar kits for school children.”

In total, the aforementioned is set to cost of $1.5 million in total over a period of five years, with a further $12 million earmarked for bolstering high quality connectivity through the expansion of 3G and 4G capabilities across the country.

“We are committed to doing business in an ethical manner and contribute heavily to the development of our countries of presence,” Ndiaye adds.

“We have tried to understand the needs and values of Sierra Leoneans and how we can connect them with the Orange brand. Our aim is to give people what is really essential in their lives and relevant to their locality with international standards, providing them with an unmatched experience and the platform to grow.”

Orange SL in total spent some LE2 billion ($238,000) on CSR during 2017 and 2018.

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Arch Design SL is an Architecture and Project Management firm. Driven by the desire for excellence and inspired by innovation, Arch Design SL works towards creating distinctive architectural projects of character and usefulness. Our designs not only reflect the process of history, but are also of the present times conveying a distinct and meaningful sense of architectural continuity.

Most importantly, we seek to create buildings that will add meaning to our changing lives and place the experience of individuals; as occupants, visitors or just passerbys, at the heart of our architectural compositions

Arch Design SL Ltd. 84D Freetown Road off Spur Road Freetown Sierra Leone Tel: +232 77 26 35 29 Email: archdesign.salone@gmail.com

Equally, Orange SL is being provided with the ideal environment in which it can achieve these goals, owed to the ongoing regulatory changes and reviews undertaken by the government that will serve to aid industry operations.

Ndiaye concludes, citing her optimism for the future: “We’ll be turning our attentions to investing $24 million this year in our network in support of the government’s efforts Furthering the agenda to increase ICT, and provide leading 4G Looking ahead, Ndiaye makes it clear services. that the buck doesn’t stop here for “In turn, we’re hopeful that the Orange SL. Rather, she expresses government will continue to help us. confidence that progress made over We are grateful for the recent review the past three years has merely laid out on mobile termination rates (MTR), the foundations for the firm’s wider resulting in the removal of the $0.02 ambitions. tax on local interconnect call and Whether it’s the education, energy the coming reduction of the MTR to or agricultural sectors, the CEO has $0.025. outlined the organisation’s goals of “We are also hopeful that the introducing and implementing new removal of $0.01 tax on international technologies for businesses of all kinds outgoing calls and the removal of across Sierra Leone. price cap on international voice and

$55,000,000 INVESTMENT

SMS tariffs will be given consideration.

I’m optimistic that feedback from stakeholders in the telecoms industry will be given consideration during the final review of the draft National Communications Act due to be enacted in 2019.

“The aforementioned will be accompanied by our launch of new mobile financial services such as micro loans, efforts to become a digital transformation partner of choice, and continued CSR programmes – it’s undeniably exciting times for our company, this country and its people.”

Orange SL Limited Tel: +2327 645 1000 osl_pr@orange-sonatel.com www.orange.sl

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ORANGE SIERRA LEONE LIMITED 25 Regent Road, Hill Station, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Tel: +2327 645 1000 osl_pr@orange-sonatel.com www.orange.sl

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