9 MOBILE CELEBRATES AT ELEVEN YEARS,PREPARES TO INJECT FUNDS

9mobile celebrates @ 11, mobilizes for fund injection

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Leading Telephony Company, 9mobile today celebrated its existence as a major player in the Nigerian telecom market in the past eleven years, thanking Nigerian consumers for beign together with it in these past eleven years.
“We’ve been together for 11 years”
And what a journey it has been.
Cheers to many more years together.
The above was a Happy Anniversary message from 9mobile as announced by the telecom company in a full page advert today. However, feelers in the industry have revealed that the company has been busy aggressively mobilising for fund injection by the new investors. It will be recalled that 9mobile launched into the hotly competitive Nigerian telecom with the brand name Etisalat owned by Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services EMTS, but now trading as 9mobile following management and ownership change.
EMTS acquired a Unified Access Service License from the Nigerian Communications Commission in 2007. The License enables EMTS provide Fixed Telephony (wired or wireless), Digital Mobile Services, International Gateway Services and National/Regional Long Distance Services in addition to spectrum assignments in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands.
With the name change and rebranding in July 2017, the company launched its new brand identity – 9mobile, with an unveiling of the new name and logo. The new brand identity reflects the bold and creative attributes which it shares with its valued subscribers, especially the vibrant youth segment.
However, the company was finally bought and taken over by Teleology with a new board headed 54year old Nasiru Ado Bayero. The appointment followed the exit of the CBN appointed board and the transfer of ownership of the firm to the new investors, Teleology Nigeria Ltd.
Other members of the board are: Asega Aliga, (Non-Executive Director) Adrian Wood (Non-Executive Director) Mohammed Edewor (Non-Executive Director) Winston Ndubueze Udeh (Non-Executive Director) and Abdulrahman Ado (Executive Director). While welcoming the new board members, the chairman, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero had said; “As we begin this new epochal phase, we wish to thank all the employees who built this viable business. Our debt of gratitude also goes to our subscribers even as we assure them to get ready for real best-in-class additional value for their relationship with the 9mobile brand.
“Without you, there could not have been a 9mobile business for us to invest in today. We will justify your confidence in our brand by making significant investments that will improve the value you get for using 9mobile.”
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) in July 2017 appointed a board of Directors chaired by Nnana, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to oversee the affairs of the company pending the completion of regulatory due diligence of the bid documents submitted by Teleology. The bid process was mid-wifed by Backlays Africa.
Since the new owners took over the management of the company, they have commenced strategic and tactical restructuring of the business with a view to aligning it with their vision and mission. Reliable insider source hinted MARKETING EDGE that funding has been identified as the bane of the business.
It was, nonetheless, gathered that the new owners were leaving no stone unturned to get funds injected as soon as possible. Although the period of lull has witnessed the exit of some pioneering employees, the company is no doubt repositioning to take back its rightful position in the market. There is no word yet or information about new name change or rebranding as feelers in the industry revealed that such an exercise was not on the agenda of the new management for now.
Perhaps it is in preparation for the next phase of brand activities to be unleashed by the company that informed the current search for creative and media agencies to handle the brand’s marketing and advertising briefs. It was also gathered that the company had organised the P.R pitch for brand P.R and marketing campaigns. The telecom brand which entered into the market with a bang on 080naija payoff line has since mellowed on its unique ubiquity and aggressive market penetration.
Notwithstanding, the brand continues to resonate very well with the youth segments which form the core of its target market and creative endeavours. This is not to say that competitors have not made some remarkable incursion into its strongholds.
Available online reports, according to The Cable, an online newspaper revealed that 9mobile as at July this year has won porting war but lost no fewer than 356,826 subscribers in one month.
To ensure optimum quality of service, 9mobile was said to have completed network upgrade of its 4G LTE in 6major cities, including Port-Harcourt, Kano and Lagos and still expanding to an additional 15 cities before the end of quarter 3.
Statistics revealed that between April and May, 9mobile lost 356,826 subscribers. This was said to be the biggest drop since the rebranding exercise in November when the acquisition was completed. The Cable hinted that the Telco brand has witnessed a consistent rise in subscriber numbers.
Between November 2018 and March 2019, 9mobile gained 1.4million subscribers. It witnessed its first customer loss in April, losing 118,257 subscribers.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The thrust of 9Mobile’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy utilises three platforms – Education, Health and the Environment.
It is believed to be committed to facilitating the development of the Nigerian economy, and is collaboratively driving this through a number of initiatives such as the 9mobile Telecommunications Engineering Postgraduate Program (9TEPP), which is the first taught master’s program in West Africa. 9TEPP which is run in partnership with Plymouth University UK, and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria recently produced a Ph.D. graduate.
Its health initiatives include ‘Fight Malaria’ and a partnership with the Joint United Nations Initiative on AIDS (UNAIDS) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) aimed at increasing awareness, prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.
REPORTS BY RALPH TATHAGATA ,FROM MARKETING EDGE,LAGOS,NIGERIA