Africell to leave Uganda in 2 days time

Africell Uganda is Uganda's number three telecommunications network provider after MTN and Bharti Airtel. Africell is set to cease it's service delivery in Uganda on 7th October, 2021 just 2 days before Uganda's 59th Independence day celebration. As Uganda marks 59years since Independence, Africell marks it's 7th year existence in Uganda since acquiring Orange Ug in 2014. The UK-based Africell group also has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia and Sierra Leone, and is planning to launch operations in Angola by the end of this year.

UCC Public notice of Africell ceasing Operations in the Ugandan market

In a letter circulated to its employees the company says it will cease operations on 7 October, although staff employment will end on 30 November. The letter to its staff says that Africell will no longer accept new customers. The remaining period will allow existing customers to migrate to other networks.

A statement by the company blames stiff competition – and it does seem that Africell hasn’t found it easy competing with the local units of MTN and Bharti Airtel.

MTN Uganda has more than ten million subscribers. Africell has about 2.3 million subscribers in Uganda, according to the firm's website.

Africell's Data and voice bundles were very cheap

Ugandan press reports say it has been mostly known for its affordable internet service packages and relative network stability. In fact the Uganda Communications Commission last year rated Africell top performer in terms of service delivery.

However, Ugandan reports also say that, in 2019, the company was reported to be in debt to the tune of 250 billion shillings (about $70.7 million), a debt that may partly have been inherited from Orange. In the same year it made a loss of more than 1.5 trillion shillings (about $424 million). Ziad Daoud was named Chief Executive in 2019 in efforts to stabilize the company. He resigned in March 2021 and was replaced by Houssam Jaber.

In August this year, another Ugandan operator, Smart Telecom, announced it was leaving Uganda after failing to realize its business objectives. The beloved cheap and reliable 4G LTE internet service provider Airtel Uganda has also reportedly making losses for the past 10 years. In conclusion, Uganda is not just a friendly match for Telecommunication networks. You need to come to Uganda fully cocked or else you will join the gutters with Africell and the others reminiscing the Ugandan experience.