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We select a telecommunication partner for Du to invest money in Eastern Africa. For this
purpose, we took an analysis of various countries in the region, and compared its economic
situation, its policies for foreign investments and infrastructure to support the investment.
Our team divided the list of countries, analysed them and then chose four countries that we
felt suited for this. We then took those four countries, analysed the various parameters to
come to our final country of choice.
We then looked into the various telecom competitors in the country, its services, and the
various pricing methods that they have adopted to offer it. These analysis helped us in
choosing one partner to go with. At the end, we drafted an implementation plan that will
briefly give a glimpse on how we plan to rill out Du in the market.
About Halotel
Halotel is one of the telecommunications provider in the country. As such, it has a host of
services that are avaialable to customers such as mobile communications, internet services
and mobile banking. Started in 2015, Vietnams Viettel group launched operaions within the
country. The network is spread across all of Tanzanias 26 provinces, offering 2G and 3G
connectivity.
Since its launch in the country, the company has managed to create more than 2000 direct and
20000 indirect jobs, both in the rural and urban areas. Over time, it has managed to increase
its foothold in the market by connecting over 1500 villages and providing free internet
services in over 45o public schools. Adding to that long list, Halotel has managed to connect
over 300 hospitals and police stations, 65 post offices within its first year operations.
As Nguyen Thanh Quang, the companys director general puts it, We believe that when
telecommunications services are accessible to everyone, and become a part of everyday life,
they can be a driving force contributing to socio-economic development for the country as a
whole
Halotel Services
Halotel offers a host of services that include cheaper mobile packages and internet packs that
are easily available to customers. It is to be noted that Halotel has still to upgrade to a 4G
network, unlike its competitors. However, this also is their strong point, as they can focus
more on reliable service, cheaper rates and make it more appealable to people to make a
switch, as people tend to prefer reliability and data packages more than high-speed
connectivity.
About SMART:
The company operates across the entire country and hence is capable of providing ISP for
households and companies as well as 2G, 3G and 4G services for mass markets. With a prime
focus on providing quality services at affordable rates SMART has been able to customize
their product and service offering as per the needs of individuals or organizations.
Rather than just focusing on high-end consumers and corporate organizations, the telecom
company has tapped into catering the low-income and growing rural population of the
country. Standing in line with their goal to provide innovative products at a lower rate,
SMART is the first telecom operator in Tanzania to offer 4G LTE phone and services at the
price rate of 2G services (Ferdinand, 2015). Aga Khan Development Network, who holds 51
per cent stake, primarily owns the company and Timeturns hold 49 per cent stake (Ferdinand,
2015).
SMART Services:
Type
Service
Price
Citation
Promotions
Internet (devices)
Equipment (CPE)
month
(Smart East
Africa, 2013)
(Smart East
Africa, 2013)
Promotions
(Smart East
Africa, 2013)
compatible devices
Promotions Smart
phones
free
month
(Smart East
Africa, 2013)
(Smart East
Africa, 2015)
Recently in August 2016, they have launched weekly and monthly 4G LTE bundle packages
for any type of phones, including unlimited data browsing at a competitive price; 30,000 TZS
for weekly package and 69,000 TZS for monthly package (TeleGeography, 2016). Below is a
table illustrating the internet broadband service prices.
Key Influencing Factors:
1. Penetration Rates:
Communication being one of the fastest growing sectors in Tanzania, the Internet
subscriptions saw a 34% increase in the year 2015 and the overall mobile phone subscriptions
broached over 81%. As of December 2014, Vodacom was leading as the countrys leading
and preferred mobile network with 12,714,297 subscribers followed by Tigo with 11,115,991
subscribers and Airtel with 11,047,505 subscribers (TanzaniaInvest, 2016). The below table
summarizes the total market penetration rates for the mobile industry.
Market penetration rates in Tanzanias telecoms sector 2015 (e)
Market
Penetration rate
Fixed-line telephony
0.3%
Internet users
34%
81%
Rural Population
In the year 2015, the rural population of Tanzania was estimated to be around 36,569,490,
which holds a significant proportion of the whole population of the country. Majority of the
people living in these rural areas also suffer from unemployment and poverty. For this very
reason, many youth from the rural and agricultural sector are now migrating into the urban
informal service sector (Um.dk, 2014).
2. Market Potential Mobile Banking System:
17% only of Tanzanias population are in banking system. 44% of the population are using
mobile financial service in Tanzania, and therefore, it increased the financial inclusion to 58%
(U.S. Commercial Service, 2016). The government of Tanzania are increasing the financial
inclusion percent to 75% in 2016, consequently, mobile financial services will witness a
higher demand by people living in Tanzania (U.S. Commercial Service, 2016). The CEO of
Smart communication has a vision to expand the mobile money service to the international
market by giving an example that people can buy something from the US or UK and the
product will be shipped to Tanzania.
In 2010, Bharti Airtel, one of the leading telecom companies from India, acquired Kuwait
based Zain Tanzania Limited for $10.7 billion. Today, the company is known as Airtel
Tanzania Limited and holds 28% market share, which makes it the 3 rd largest mobile operator
in the country (TanzaniaInvest, 2016). Operating as a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Africa, of
which 40% of the subsidiarys stake is owned by the Tanzanian Government, Airtel Tanzania
has 11,047,505 subscribers that avail various mobile services offered by the company
including affordable Internet data packages, Airtel money services, smart phone deals and
other premier services exclusively available for VIP and Diamond customers. The various
strengths of the company include experienced service units, which are backed by skilled
workforce and reduced labor costs. However, in recent years the company has been unable to
retain its customers due to price sensitivity and intense competition from leading telecom
operators such as Vodacom, Tigo and Zantel (Jackson, 2016).
Zantel Telecommunication company in Tanzania has invested 15 million dollars in July 2016
for enhancing its mobile voice and data services. The 4G LTE service network will be
expanded to Dar-es-Salaam, and the CEO, Mr Benoit Janin mentioned that with this initiative
he will be able to reach more than 80% of the population (TeleGeography, 2016). This fast
internet broadband service started early November 2016 in Dar-es-Salaam. Moreover,
Vodacom Tanzania partnered with Nokia to launch 4G network in Dar-es-Salam reaching an
internet speed of 70Mbps, however Vodacom is expecting to reach 200 Mbps
(TeleGeography, 2016). The service is expected to be launched soon.
Services comparison:
Offering a variety of services that caters to the needs of all classes of people which in turn
acts as barrier to entry for new firms. Instead of focusing on providing services to only
people belonging to just one particular level of income, du should consider diversifying
its service offering. Although it may seem profitable to focus on offering tailor made
services and packages to only corporate and high income consumers, considering
Tanzanias population below 35 years of age, which is estimated to be around 34.7% of
the total population (UNA Tanzania, 2015) and the total rural population of the country,
The various barriers to entry involved in entering Tanzanias telecom industry include
huge capital cost and legal/government created barriers. In general, entering the telecom
industry of Tanzania will require large amount of resources for capital investment. As
seen from the cases of Airtel and Zantel, if du decides to follow an acquisition strategy to
takeover Halotel or Smart or form a partnership if with either of the two firms, the
amount of investment would be considerably lower. Other barriers faced by a new entrant
in to the market includes access to land ownership or site acquisition to set up the
network. In Tanzania, mobile operators face a huge challenge with regard to transfer of
information from one location to another, which essentially requires a permit to build
their own Fiber network. Although there is opportunity for joining a Consortium Fibre
that involves Tigo, Airtel and Zantel being in partnership with the Tanzanian Government,
it is quite difficult to get a permit and join this Consortium due to the huge capital
investment involved (Ictafrica.info, 2013).
The main provider of telecom tower operator in Tanzania is Helios Towers Tanzania
(HTT), which is wholly owned unit of Helio Towers Africa. With a portfolio of over
6,500 towers, through tower sharing facilities Helios Towers Tanzania (HTT) is capable
of providing telecom firms accelerated network roll out, reduce capital requirements total
operating costs. In recent years the company has not only partnered with Vodacom to
transfer its 1,149 existing towers to HTT, but has also been able to acquire 1,020 towers
from Tigo Tanzania (Telegeography.com, 2010) . The other prominent towr operator in
the market would be American Tower Corporation (ATC), a publicly held company who
is head quartered in Boston Massachusetts, was able to enter the Tanzanian market by
buying over 1,350 communication towers of Bharti Airtels Tanzanian unit
(NASDAQ.com, 2015). Both the tower communications operators hold substantial power
over the telecom industry as they not only have control over the quality of service being
provided to the end consumers, but also enable telecom firms to concentrate working on
their core business services and product development.
Supply of labor also plays a major role in the telecom industry, as it is a vital part of any
telecom firms customer service. In recent years, unemployment amongst youth has been
one of the key national challenges faced by Tanzania due to an imbalance in supply and
demand of the labor market (Youth Employment Decade, 2015). From a business firms
perspective, this adds to ability of an organization to acquire labor at a reduced rate,
which in turns adds to the profitability of a firm in the long run through reduced operating
costs.
Buyer power
Number of customers: The mobile phone penetration rate in Tanzania reached 70% by
end 2015 with 20% of annual subscribers growth. In 2010, the mobile subscribers were
20.9 million people and it increased to 32 million by 2014 (U.S. Commercial Service,
2016). These statistics indicate a high demand of telecommunication in Tanzania, and
therefore it is worth investing in telecommunication services.
MKT Mix
Promotion
Standardization
Adaptation
Product
Place
Promotion:
Monthly
data
Price
(TSH)
160MB
1,500
450MB
2,500
1GB
8,000
3GB
13,000
5GB
19,000
10GB
28,000
25GB
35,000
Social
Networking
Table 1
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Place
The element of place pertaining to the marketing mix of a product or service looks into the
convenience that location provides for both, the business and customers. To ensure the
profitability of a firm, the location must be easy to access as well be of reasonable cost to the
business (Tracy, 2004). Although Tanzania has a 30 per cent nation-wide corporate tax rate,
which adds to increased cost of running a business (Tradingeconomics.com, 2016), the city of
Dar es Salaam proposes several other advantages that add to the business potential. In the
case of du Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania would be an ideal location for the firm
to set up its headquarters as it is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in the
world, in terms of population. The Port of Dar es Salaam, a shipping port, also adds to the
business potential of the city and being home to prominent universities and educational
centers, Dar es Salaam is also touted to be the educational center of Tanzania, which in turn
could facilitate future research and development for newly established multi-national
corporate firms in the country and all of this adds to the prominence of the location (Boyle,
2012).
Having discussed Dar es Salaams significance as the primary location for the business, it is
also essential to note that Tanzania has a growing rural population that needs to be catered to.
Due to this du will also have to look into setting up customer service centers across all rural
areas such as Kibaha, Bukob, Njombe and more, which account for 69.10 per cent of the total
population of the country (Tradingeconomics.com, 2014).
Product/service offering
The product or service offering should be one that essentially fulfills the needs or wants of
the target consumers. In order to gain considerable market share and profitability, while
developing the product it becomes very important for the firm to have a clear understanding
of exactly what the product is and its unique selling proposition (Tracy, 2004).
Through Dus mobile banking service offering, the firm will be looking at tapping into the
market existing in the rural areas, where many are still deprived of access to mobile banking
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services. Although leading telecom operators such as Vodacom, Tigo and Airtel offer mobile
money services and own 53%, 18% and 13% shares respectively, they are yet to extend their
services country-wide and particularly into the rural areas due to a lack of improper coverage
communication networks (Masamila, 2014). Through the mobile money services offered by
du consumers all around the country will have access to various financial services including
money transfer, utility bill payments and financial transactions.
Considering the fact that Tanzania lacks from having sufficient number of traditional or
formal banks, especially in the rural areas due to the cost involved in setting it up, offering
mobile money services to this underserved market provides a profitable opportunity for the
firm (Masamila, 2014). In order to better cater to the rural market segment, a more affordable
2G and 3G data bundle packages would be offered along with extra calling minutes.
Marketing Mix
Physical Evidence
Standardization
Adaptation
design etc.
People
benefits.
workforce.
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People
design etc.
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SWOT Analysis:
After selecting and evaluating our important indicators, we can reasonably elaborate a
valuable SWOT analysis for the market and assess the possibilities for Du to invest. Our
conclusion is based on the strength that the Tanzanian telecom market provides
Strengths:
Weakness:
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Opportunities:
Threats:
15
References:
1. Wainaina, E. (2015) Etisalat sells its 85% stake in Tanzanias Zantel for 1 dollar.
Available at: http://www.techweez.com/2015/06/17/etisalat-sells-its-85-stake-intanzanias-zantel-for-1-dollar/ (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
2. STAFF, G. (2014) Etisalat considers sale of 65% stake in Tanzanias Zantel. Available at:
http://www.gulfafricareview.com/15/10/2014/infrastructure/etisalat-considers-sale-of-65stake-in-tanzanias-zantel/ (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
3. U.S. Commercial Service (2016) Tanzania - TelecommunicationsTanzania telecommunications. Available at: https://www.export.gov/article?id=TanzaniaTelecommunications (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
4. TeleGeography (2016) Smarts Tanzanian unit launches unlimited 4G bundles. Available
at: https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/08/31/smartstanzanian-unit-launches-unlimited-4g-bundles/ (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
5. TeleGeography (2016) Vodacom Tanzania launches 4G in Dar es Salaam. Available at:
https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/06/07/vodacomtanzania-launches-4g-in-dar-es-salaam/ (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
6. TeleGeography (2016) Zantel readies 4G LTE launch in Dar-es-Salaam and beyond.
Available at:
https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/10/26/zantelreadies-4g-lte-launch-in-dar-es-salaam-and-beyond/ (Accessed: 2 December 2016).
7. Kasumuni, L. (2016) Tanzania: New tax on banks augurs badly for financial services.
Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201606160360.html (Accessed: 2 December
2016).
8. Ferdinand, M. (2015) Tanzania: How smart telecom group company minds customers.
Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201507060919.html (Accessed: 2 December
2016).
9. TanzaniaInvest. (2016). Tanzania Mobile Subscriptions Increase by 24% in 2015 and
Internet Penetration Reach 34% - TanzaniaInvest. [online] Available at:
http://tanzaniainvest.com/telecoms/tanzania-mobile-subscriptions-reach-39-million-andinternet-penetration-reach-34-percent-in-2015 (Accessed 2 Dec. 2016).
10. The Times of India. (2010). Bharti completes acquisition of Zain's Africa biz for $10.7bn
- Times of India. [online] Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india16
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