The rise and fall of 9mobile

When Etisalat entered Nigeria’s telecom scene in 2008, it aimed straight for the hearts (and pockets) of the youth with its catchy “0809ja for Life” campaign, fronted by music star Banky W. 

The strategy worked; Etisalat becameNigeria’s fourth-largest operator by 2016, boasting 22.5 million subscribers and a 14% market share. But then, the telecom’s fairy tale hit a plot twist—thanks to financial woes, naira devaluation, and infrastructure deficit. By 2016, Etisalat’s balance sheet had more holes than a bad network signal.

After a dramatic exit of Etisalat in 2017, the company rebranded as 9mobile, hoping for a reboot. Instead, it faced mounting debt, leadership drama, and subscribers dropping faster than calls on a bad day.

Fast forward to 2024, 9mobile’s market share has shrunk to a mere 2.1%. 

Now under new ownership by LightHouse Telecoms, there’s talk of a comeback featuring roaming services and leadership shakeups. But to truly reconnect with Nigerians, 9mobile needs more than plans—it needs the creative spark that once got everyone “talking.”

Find out more in our article. 

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E-commerce in South Africa is slowly becoming a red ocean market. In October, B2B e-commerce giant Jumia announced it would leave South Africa by the end of 2024, citing macro-economic conditions and intense competition.

Takealot Group, another homegrown e-commerce mammoth, has complained about the competition. Its parent company, Naspers, admitted the company is under pressure from new entrants like Amazon and China’s Temu, whose aggressively low pricing has made them popular in the market. 

Takealot is battling a slow macroeconomic environment and shifting customer behaviour while trying to defend its market share.

E-commerce is a volume game. If the gross merchandise value (GMV) and average order sizes are not increasing, then the e-commerce business is likely not growing too.

In 2024, the South African Rand showed moderate stability in terms of currency volatility. However, e-commerce giants like Takealot are struggling with the effects of a sluggish economy, which has led to a decline in consumer disposable income.

With consumers having less money to spend and e-commerce companies offering similar value propositions, businesses that stand out with unique offerings are more likely to attract customers.

When Amazon entered South Africa in May 2024, frequent shoppers on Reddit said they flocked to the Jeff Bezos-owned company because they could buy books that were hard to find in local bookstores. Amazon also offered next-day delivery service, which was far better than Takealot’s average 3-day delivery wait.

Chinese-owned Temu, after entering the market in January 2024, splurged on marketing and ran blitz adverts on Meta platforms. The company still has 420 active Meta ads running in this month alone.

In Nigeria where Temu entered recently, it is running 1,500 of those ads. Temu spends a lot on acquiring customers; in 2023, it spent $2 billion on Meta ads, which is only justifiable if it has retention strategies in place to attract customers to buy repeatedly.

Temu seems like it has found a home in Africa and it is likely because displacing Alibaba, which has China’s e-commerce market on lockdown, is a much harder task to undertake. It remains to be seen how its growing influence shakes up existing e-commerce players in Africa.

Since 2008, South Africa has grappled with a crippling energy crisis, marked by frequent and severe power outages. While there have been multiple attempts to restore the country’s power infrastructure, it has always faltered. However, the country’s beleaguered power grid could find a lifeline in a massive solar power project. 

Glencore Plc, South African ferroalloys division and its joint venture partner, Merafe Resources Ltd are teaming up with Pele Green Energy to build a massive solar power plant in South Africa. This 100-megawatt project, valued at 2.1 billion rand ($116 million), will be constructed at the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture’s operations in the Free State province.

The project is backed by significant financial support from Nedbank Group Ltd. and Absa Group Ltd., who will provide debt financing. Pele Green Energy will contribute equity to the venture.

This project aligns with South Africa’s growing commitment to renewable energy and its broader goal of a low-carbon future. The Sonvanger solar plant will not only reduce carbon emissions but also increase the country’s reliance on clean energy sources.

Written by: Frank Eleanya, Emmanuel Nwosu, and Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso & Ganiu Oloruntade