Avanti anchors in Nigeria, promises rapid Africa expansion
By Mike Ochonma & Onome Amuge
Avanti Communications is set to accelerate growth across Nigeria and the African continent through local partnerships and the roll out of connectivity solutions, with the mission in Africa being to become its majority revenue source within the next two to three years.
The global provider of agile, secure and pioneering satellite technology, stated this recently during the opening of its new flagship office inside the Heritage Place building in Ikoyi, Lagos. The Heritage Place office is Nigeria’s first environmentally certified commercial building, situated in a world-class development in Ikoyi, the commercial district which is home to global technology companies, including Oracle and Microsoft.
As the number one high throughput satellite company in Africa, Avanti said its new office will become a hub for employees across the continent, further cementing its commitment to the development of Africa’s technology space.
Libby Barr, chief operating officer at Avanti, said: “This is a big moment for us at Avanti and something we have been looking forward to for some time. Africa is a major focus for us and this new office will help us continue to develop relationships on ground and connect even more communities.
“We currently have 20 employees in Nigeria and foresee that number growing rapidly as we continue to roll out connectivity at a faster pace in the region. We are delighted to be neighbours with some of Nigeria’s finest businesses and see this new office as a huge opportunity to realise the full potential of all Nigeria has to offer.”
Avanti said it has invested over $800 million in Africa and already has a growing footprint across the continent as more than a fifth of the company’s employees are based in offices in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
To date, Avanti has connected more than 1,000 villages and schools across Africa, providing services in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and South Sudan.
The company also stated that it has plans to connect a further 10,000 sites over the next five years across Africa impacting millions of lives and enabling communities to enjoy a connected life.
Speaking on the potential of Avanti in terms of growth and investments in Nigeria, Reuben Oshomah, regional director for West Africa, said the company has a huge growth prospect considering that the country has a large number of people who are not connected.
“In Nigeria, there are still a huge number of people that are not connected and that’s why we are here. So, we need to take capacity and connectivity to those areas that are not connected,” he said.
Oshomah also noted that the company has begun plans to collaborate with the Nigerian government on how to empower the unconnected populace.
Avanti Communications is the leading Ka-band high throughput satellite capacity partner to the communications industry in EMEA – extending and guaranteeing coverage for defence missions, enterprise solutions and critical public services.
Through the HYLAS satellite fleet and partners in 118 countries, Avanti provides dedicated fixed and flexible-beam satellite connectivity, with extensive coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Avanti has invested $1.2 billion in a network that incorporates orbital slots in Ka-band spectrum, satellites, ground stations, data centres and a fibre ring.