Orange Completes Acquisition of Airtel Burkina Faso

Nathan Ernest Olupot June 23, 2016

1 minute read

Orange will acquire 100% of Airtel's operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, as well as 100% of Cellcom Liberia. Image Credit: TechMoran

After the complete acquisition of Tigo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April this year, Orange together with its subsidiary Orange Côte d’Ivoire announced yesterday that, it had also completed the acquisition of Airtel in Burkina Faso. Since the signature of an agreement with Bharti Airtel International in January 2016, Orange has obtained all the official approbations necessary to complete this transaction.

Airtel is the 2nd largest mobile operator in Burkina Faso, with close to 4.6 million customers. On the mobile financial services market, Airtel is the uncontested leader and is already interoperable with Orange Money in neighboring countries allowing international transfers to be made.

Airtel is also positioned as the country’s leading Internet provider thanks to its extensive 3.75G network, which has been rolled out in over 100 towns.

With 18 million inhabitants and a relatively high mobile penetration rate for the region (80% of the population), Burkina Faso becomes the 20th country in Africa and the Middle East to join the Orange group.

Orange’s investments in the coming years will enable customers in Burkina Faso to take advantage of the Orange group’s expertise and momentum in terms of innovation and development of the digital ecosystem, thus responding to a strong expectation from customers in Burkina Faso.[related-posts]

This acquisition in one of the countries with the strongest growth rates in the Economic Community of West African States (5.8% annual growth of GDP) strengthens Orange’s presence in Africa by confirming is proactive strategy in the African market.

Bruno Mettling, Deputy CEO, Orange group and CEO of Orange MEA (Middle East and Africa), said in a statement, “We are pleased to announce that the acquisition of the mobile operator Airtel in Burkina Faso has been finalized. This new acquisition will further strengthen the Group’s positions on the African continent.”