Be MOBILE to make profit in second year

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday July 10, 2009 00:00

 

It went on air 13 months ago. Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) which owns be MOBILE is headed by Lippe. BTC pumped more than P200 million towards the end of 2007 to set up the cellphone network provider.Lippe should know what he is talking about when he says be MOBILE will make profits this year. Orange made profits when he took over after eight years of losses but now he says be MOBILE will make it this year.

'We are going to be producing profits before the end of this year even against the hard economic recession,' he said. The general manager of be MOBILE, Anthony Masunga shares Lippe's sentiments that be MOBILE will be a force to reckon with in the industry.

Lippe said their toddler has been doing well, taking into consideration that they are competing against companies, which have been in the market for more than 10 years. He said their rivals have been concerned by the existence of be MOBILE, judging by their reaction.  He said the competitors have intensified their advertising and they appear almost in every billboard in town.

'They are trying to hold on to their customers,' he said.Lippe added that they are not afraid of competition and they are prepared to take the bull by the horns. He said they have already captured six percent of the market. The be MOBILE target is to grow by more than 100 percent by the end of the year.  'We are rapidly expanding our infrastructure. 'We have the fastest infrastructure roll out plan the country has ever seen. Within a year, we have reached over 100 effective towers.  We are going to pick up the pace,' he said.

Lippe said they are doing things differently. 'We are not giving out trinkets like cars, he said. He stated that they are currently running a competition in which a winner will take over a P4.5 million farm and this is what Batswana want.  Lippe said as a Botswana-owned company, they are better suited to meet the needs of citizens of the country.

'We know the mindsets of Batswana.  We have a 100 percent Batswana team,' he said.

However,  being a state-owned company, be MOBILE moves at a slower pace as compared to private sector firms. There is the usual red tape and they have to consult with the government before taking certain decisions. 

Lippe said when they rolled out their programme, they had to ensure that Batswana companies are awarded tenders. 'We have to try and empower Batswana.' He stated that they are the only cellphone network provider with a reach to Kaundwane, a settlement of about 600 people outside the Central Khalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).  He said if be MOBILE is a private company, it could have looked at whether providing such a service is viable.

But he commended the residents of Kaudwane for embracing be MOBILE and making the investment worthwhile. In the next five years, the be MOBILE management would like to see the company becoming synonymous with every household in the country.