The company likewise announced its partnership with a $5
million venture fund focused on African startups, International ISPs (Ship and
Port-facility Security-code) with an aim of expanding internet access across
Africa.
The company disclosed at the 2021 Tizeti NextGen Annual
Conference, themed, “Expanding Access to Unlimited Internet in Africa,”held in
Lagos.
Speaking at the conference, the company’s Chief Executive
Officer, Kendall Ananyi said the new products encompass the company’s
commitment to widening the broadband envelope in Nigeria with more robust
internet plans.
He said the company was focused on expanding coverage,
especially in Nigeria, and accelerating internet availability across the
African continent with a new venture fund.
“The products also reiterate the company’s focus on
delivering a simpler and more convenient technology offering with a smart
customer care operation and integrated Customer Relationship Management
systems, ”he said.
According to him, the global pandemic expedited the need for
technology to be more agile, faster, more intuitive, and easier to understand,
irrespective of the peculiarities of its users.
He added, “Many people were unable to quickly adapt to the
new normal of working, connecting to family and colleagues remotely, and
accessing various educational, occupational, entertainment, and other services
virtually.
“Many firms took an unnecessarily long time to adjust to the
constraints the pandemic brought, and this resulted in declined productivity,
ineffective transformation, and lost revenue. This is why we have launched new
voice and data service for residential, small, medium, and enterprise
organizations within Nigeria.
“Our brand-new Turbo 100MBps Unlimited Internet Plans in
Lagos will guarantee 100Mbps unlimited plans, which is 50 times faster than the
existing plans in the market), with a free three months pilot to the first 100
signups in the Lekki area.”
Speaking on the company’s desire to empower more Nigerians,
stimulate economic activities and provide unlimited access to affordable and
reliable broadband services, Ananyi disclosed that the company would be
widening the broadband envelope to 10 new cities in Nigeria.
“We are expanding our unlimited internet plans, currently
available in cities in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and Edo States, to Abuja, Ibadan,
Kaduna, Kano, Warri/Asaba, Eket/Uyo, Onitsha, Aba, Enugu, and Calabar.
“We are building brand-new, solar-powered, 4G-capable towers
in these cities and leveraging expansive fiber-networks built by some of our
partners, to enable us to roll out our low-cost broadband service, and bring
millions of people online, who can now take advantage of the life-changing
socio-economic opportunities that access to the Internet provides,” he said
Announcing the company’s partnership with a $5 million
venture fund focused on startup ISPs that are expanding internet access across
Africa, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, said the
company will leverage its proprietary OS technology among others.
“We would also leverage on global partnerships with
equipment vendors, submarine cable companies, payment providers, and Venture
firms to provide the resources for these startup ISPs to accelerate the
availability of unlimited internet across the continent, ”he said.
He said successful startups will participate in a
three-month programme at Tizeti’s location in Nigeria or Ghana where they are
expected to gain the knowledge and expertise to rapidly launch affordable
internet services in their respective countries.
Other speakers at Tizeti NeXTGEN include Yinka Adewale,
co-founder/Chief Executive Officer, Kudi; Akin Jones, co-founder/Chief
Executive Officer, Aella App; Dr. Femi Kuti, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance
Health, Eniola Campbell, Country Managing Director, Nokia Nigeria, and Olubunmi
Ogun, Deputy General Manager, Nigeria Sales, MainOne.
For many countries in Africa, there is still a huge digital
divide. Tizeti is playing a significant role in addressing this digital
infrastructure deficit in Africa with innovative technology and capabilities,
to improve development outcomes for millions of people, with better outcomes
for employment, education, family and social life, and access to information.