Bharti to invest $10 mn in Seychelles

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has announced plans to invest $10 million in its newly acquired telecom network in Seychelles.

The company will also participate in the Seychelles East Africa submarine cable (SEAS) project.

During a meeting with Vice President Danny Faure of the country yesterday, Bharti Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Manoj Kohli said that the investment will be phased over the next three years.

The SEAS project is a 2,000 km submarine cable between Seychelles and the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam which will connect Seychelles to the world and the global economy.

The $34-million project is expected to improve the services offered to large enterprises and will further augment Telecom Seychelles world-class mobile services, which currently include new generation 3G mobile technology and integrated wireline services.

Kohli said, "We will leverage our expertise and infrastructure to offer customised data solutions for our large enterprise and corporate clients, which will help them gain a unique competitive advantage."

The acquisition of Telecom Seychelles has grown Bharti Airtel’s African expansion to 16 countries and its overall presence to 19 countries.

Bharti Airtel had recently acquired the mobile operations of the Zain group in 15 countries across Africa. Telecom Seychelles started its operations in 1998 by launching mobile services. It has today, established itself with over 57 per cent share of the mobile market.