Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business #76: IHS Towers - How the telecom infrastructure company is building and managing towers across Africa and beyond
Overview: Today, we’re going to explore IHS Towers - the African telecommunications infrastructure company. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
Telecom tower infrastructure context
IHS Towers' early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on May 5, 2024
Companies discussed: IHS Towers, MTN, Airtel, Telkom, Orange, Etisalat / 9 Mobile, American Tower Company, Globacom, Libancell, Helios Towers Nigeria, Telkom, Vodacom, Goldman Sachs, (IFC), Public Investment Corporation of South Africa, Ecobank, Investec, Standard Bank.
Business concepts discussed: Tower Infrastructure, Shared communication infrastructure, Tower Leasing and Ownership Models, Market Expansion, Sale and Leaseback, Local vs Global Strategy, Capital-intensive business models, Currency devaluation
Conversation highlights:
(01:50) - What IHS does and why we’re talking about it
(04:37) - How Towers work
(12:47) - How Telcos work with Towers in Nigeria and parts of Africa
(23:22) - IHS Founding and Early History
(34:19) - Funding
(39:32) - Growth and International Expansion
(47:26) - IHS IPO and trends post IPO
(55:50) - Product Strategy & Monetization
(1:08:30) - Competition
(1:16:22) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:24:06) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:30:24) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Incredible Dance routine video to Sisa Song by King Promise: I love it so much I'm not sure how to put it into words. 1 minute of greatness
Recommendation: Chris Brown “Sensational” live performance : Watching Chris Brown dance is watching a master of his craft.
Recommendation: J. Cole - Let Nas Down
Recommendation: Nas - Make Nas Proud
Recommendation: Nas & Eminem - EPMD 2
Recommendation: Nas - Rare
Small win: Went back to reading older books to reset my reading palate
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Search for the Perfect Door - YouTube && Unusual Electric Car Features in Nigeria - Bloomberg
Small win: Running sprints
Other content: Palito FM Autoscan Radio
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
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