Airtel has announced it is considering exiting the Kenyan market as a result of the failure of the regulator, the Communications Authority, to act on Safaricom’s market control.
“Airtel is likely to exit Kenya if the market structure is not addressed in terms of dominance,” chief executive Adil El Youssefi told journalists in Nairobi. According to him, the network has been patient because the Kenyan market is lucrative, adding “the shareholders of Airtel at some point will say enough is enough”.
“When you have been in business for over five years without making profit and lost almost over Sh50 billion, you will get tired,” he said. He spoke during the launch of a promotional product dubbed “Smartika”. In July, the telecommunication firm’s main shareholder, Bharti Airtel of India, announced it was exploring the sale of its subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to France Telekom which adds credence to its latest threat.
Reports showed Airtel has persistently complained over what is says is Safaricom’s dominance since it entered the Kenya market in 2010 following its acquisition of Zain Telecom’s operations. The company started out as Kencell before it was bought and renamed Celtel which was later sold to Zain before being bought by Bharti Airtel. Airtel almost got its way early last month after the ICT ministry and the CA tabled proposals in parliament to have Safaricom declared dominant. The Attorney General Githu Muigai however intervened saying the move was illegal prompting the CA to issue a statement saying market dominance is not tied to a specific firm.
