It is not often that you hear a word on the streets and you take it lightly. Well, the latest about town is the possible exit of Africell Uganda! Apparently, it is that the telco is having trouble running the business and could be on the way out of Uganda. But what could be the reason behind these rumours and how true can they be?
We first heard of similar tales from a tech blog, Techjaja, which cited that the company has been “struggling with its own internal woes”. However, an intimate discussion with a source familiar with the situation detailed to us that the telecom company is indeed going through a lot with the company struggling to balance the sheets with the Uganda Communications Commission.
UCC has already awarded the other companies including MTN, Airtel Uganda, and LycaMobile National operator licenses but Africell doesn’t have one yet.
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Who would buy Africell (if it were to leave)?
Techjaja pointed at Airtel Uganda being a step ahead in the line to acquire Africell. However, the site stated that the deal could turn out to be of less value to the red telecom company. Techjaja also stated that Uganda Communications Commission was not in support of an Airtel-Africell acquisition, as it reportedly preferred a company that is not as big as Airtel to acquire the struggling Lebanese telecom operator.
Our sources reveal that MTN Uganda could take on Africell without any fuss. Since the start of private telecom operations in the country, the yellow telecom has been mostly silent as Airtel has done the bigger part of acquisitions. Taking over what appears to be the third-largest telecom company could mark another chapter in the dominance of the telco industry that the two companies have professed.
Our efforts to get comments from the Africell team are yet to gain fruit. However, we are digging deep for more details on the story.