– Why Vodafone Ghana rebranded to Telecel.
– All you need to know about the sale and rebranding.
For many of you may think the brand transition from Vodafone Ghana to Telecel Ghana started this year or within the last 3 months, but of course, it did not. Without mincing words, I would say the whole thing began way longer than you think.
It is worth noting that the telecommunications company had for long harbored the thought of leaving the Ghanaian market. More expressly, since January 2022 when Vodafone International Holdings B.V.(Vodafone Group Plc), owners of Vodafone Ghana submitted an application to the National Communications Authority(NCA) for the transfer of its 70 percent majority shareholding to Telecel Group. The NCA is the regulator of Ghana’s telecommunications industry.
The initial application was, however, not approved because it did not meet the regulatory threshold for approval to be granted, the NCA announced. Nonetheless, the regulator upon reviewing the updated application approved the sale based on the fact that it now met its financial and technical regulatory requirements. This took place in January 2023 and paved the way for the purchase agreement to push through.
Telecel buys Vodafone Ghana
In February 2023, Vodafone Ghana(GTCL) was then able to complete the sale of its 70 percent majority shareholding to Telecel Group. Telecel’s acquisition of Vodafone Ghana’s majority shares marked Vodafone’s exit from Ghana’s telecommunications market. GTCL is Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, thus the company name of Vodafone Ghana registered in Ghana’s companies registry.
The government of Ghana decided to retain its 30% minority shareholding in the company despite initial intentions to sell it too. The sale agreement of the 70 percent shares was reached by Vodafone Group Plc, owners of Vodafone Ghana.
You may now be wondering why Vodafone Ghana wanted to leave the Ghanaian market. The UK telecommunications network, Vodafone noted the exit is part of its plan to refocus on its key markets. This explains why it begun consolidating its subsidiaries under its African subsidiary, Vodacom Group. The subsidiary company took over Vodafone Ghana’s management in April 2020, though without asset transfer.
This may also be because of its inability to match or outcompete the dominance of Ghana’s largest Telecommunications network, MTN Ghana. Therefore, new investments like the one to be provided by Telecel Group is crucial for the company’s survival in the Ghanaian market while Vodafone leaves to focus on its thriving markets elsewhere.
Vodafone Ghana rebrand to Telecel Ghana
Since the acquisition process was successfully closed in February 2023, the transition process from Vodafone Ghana to Telecel Ghana kickstarted right from then. This makes it evident that the rebranding recently undertaken started all the way in the first quarter of 2023.
“In February 2023, Telecel completed the acquisition of Vodafone Ghana, setting the stage for a massive rebranding campaign,” Telecel Group CEO, Moh Damush said in a statement to that effect.
Moreover, Telecel upon acquiring Vodafone Ghana could not continue operations with the brand name because it was the trademark of Vodafone Group Plc. Besides, Telecel has its own brand name and trademarks it wishes to project across all its subsidiaries.
Therefore, Vodafone Ghana was officially rebranded to Telecel on 12th March 2024. It took place during a formal ceremony organized for this purpose at the Labadi Beach Hotel. The official rebranding ceremony saw several renowned personalities including rapper Sarkodie and Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in attendance.
The rebranding also covered Vodafone Ghana’s three subsidiaries: National Communication Backbone Company Limited (Vodafone Wholesale), Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited (Vodafone Cash), and the Vodafone Ghana Foundation.
Meanwhile, Telecel is an African-focused global telecommunications company with most of its operations in Africa. It currently operates in more than 30 countries, many of which are African countries. Its other lines of business deployed in all its subsidiaries include Telecel Mobile, Telecel Global Services, Telecel Play, and Africa Startup Initiative Program.
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