Vodafone Ghana
Vodafone Ghana, formerly Ghana Telecom, is the national telecommunications company of Ghana. The company in Ghana operates under Vodacom Group - Africa’s leading mobile telecommunications company.[1]
Private | |
Industry | Telecommunication |
Predecessor | Ghana Telecom |
Founded | 1974 |
Headquarters | Accra, Ghana |
Key people | Patricia Obo-Nai, CEO |
Products | Fixed Line Telephone
Mobile Phone Broadband |
Revenue | |
Number of employees | 4,000 (2006) |
Parent | Vodafone |
Website | vodafone |
As of April 2016, it had around 7,976,348 mobile voice subscribers, representing 21.92% of the Ghanaian market shares.[2]
Patricia Obo-Nai was appointed as the first Ghanaian female CEO of Vodafone Ghana.[3]
Vodafone - Ghana Telecom Deal
On 3 July 2008 it was announced that Vodafone had agreed to acquire 70% of Ghana Telecom from the Ghanaian government at a cost of US$900 million and a total enterprise value of approximately US$1.3 billion.[4]
After the transaction closed, Vodafone had a 70% stake in the company, while the Ghanaian government retained a 30% stake. The acquisition was consummated on 17 August 2008.[5]
The sale was supported by president John Agyekum Kufuor but strongly opposed by the opposition party which would win the presidential elections a few months later. The new president John Atta Mills, head of the National Democratic Congress party (NDC) also launched an investigation into the deal after being elected president a claiming that the government "did not get value for money".[6]
Despite these claims, Vodafone a few months later would write down the value of its stake in Ghana Telecom by £250m as the economic climate worsened, damaging the business's prospects.[6]
On 15 April 2009, Ghana Telecom, along with its mobile subsidiary OneTouch, was rebranded as Vodafone Ghana.[7]
In 2016, Vodafone Ghana was the country's second largest operator with a market share for April 2016 as 21.92% and 25.32% of data behind African communications giant MTN Ghana.[8]
In December 2019, Vodafone Ghana announced its acquisition of all of the Vodacom Group's stake in Vodacom Business Ghana.[9]
Philanthropy
Vodafone Ghana was recognized as the top Philanthropic and Health Support Institution by Media Men Ghana at the 2017 People's Choice Practitioners Honours.[10]
The company, in collaboration with British Council, established the Vodafone Scholar Project which will provide full and partial scholarships to female high school and undergraduate students studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects who don’t have the financial means to pursue continued study.[11]
In 2016, Vodafone made a ground-breaking deal with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). In the GHS14m agreement spanning five years, the company will provide an enhanced high speed internet and Wi-Fi connectivity to all faculties across the University’s campuses in Ghana.[12]
See also
References
- "About Vodafone Ghana". Vodafone Ghana.
- "Telecom subscription trends for April 2016".
- "Vodafone Ghana appoints Patricia Obo-Nai as first Ghanaian CEO". www.graphic.com.gh. 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
- "Acquisition of a 70% Stake in Ghana Telecom". www.vodafone.com. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- Wray, Richard (2008-07-03). "Vodafone buys 70% stake in Ghana mobile firm". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- Wray, Richard (2009-10-14). "Vodafone's Ghana Telecom deal labelled 'illegal'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- "GT rebranded to Vodafone". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- Appiah, Stephen (April 2016). "Telecom subscription trends for April 2016". National Communication Authority, Ghana.
- 122108447901948 (2019-12-16). "Vodafone Ghana acquires Vodacom Business Ghana". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2019-12-20.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, Okyeame Kwame, Others honoured at PCP Honours". Ghana News Online. 16 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017.
- "Increasing female engagement in STEM in Ghana | British Council". www.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- "Vodafone, KNUST strike ground-breaking partnership - citifmonline.com". citifmonline.com. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2018-03-22.