Tizeti, a Nigerian solar-based internet provider, has announced that it plans to expand its operations within Nigeria and Ghana and into neighbouring countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Togo.
With over 2.8 million subscribers on its platform, a revenue of over $26.3-million over 10 years, and no debt, the firm is exploring an Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the stock market for investors/shareholders while setting its eyes on expanding its footprints across the Francophone and Anglophone countries in West Africa.
Speaking at the second edition of Tizeti’s annual event tagged ‘NeXTGEN 2.0: The Next Frontier, the founder and CEO of Tizeti, Kendall Ananyi stressed that the broadband gap in Africa is still very high and operators like Tizeti must expand to ensure that more Africans have access to reliable, affordable internet.
According to him, Tizeti has been providing affordable unlimited internet service in Nigeria and Ghana using solar towers. The unique nature of the company’s solar-powered internet has brought about 30-50 per cent cost savings on data cap plans, giving the brand an advantage against its competitors.
“This expansion is very strategic for us and for the continent. We have grown significantly within the last few years, being profitable in three out of the last four years and paid our first dividend this year. We currently have over 3884 hotspot locations and built 1 tower every month since we started, with 2.8 million users in Nigeria, the company is also considering listing its Nigerian Subsidiary.” Ananyi said.
Speaking on the Francophone expansion, the co-founder and co-CEO of Tizeti, Ifeanyi Okonkwo highlighted the increased submarine cable investments in Africa to date and the absence of middle-mile and last-mile infrastructure that moves the capacity where it is needed.
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With Tizeti’s new infrastructure build-out across West Africa, Tizeti plans to bridge the digital divide and bring more Africans online via its unlimited service offering.
“We believe that Africa offers the most significant potential demand for broadband expansion, and we have looked at their populations, their relative contributions to GDP, the prevalence of higher and tertiary institutions, and other pool factors,” said Okonkwo.
Tizeti’s Achievements
Meanwhile, Tizeti Network Limited in a statement, said it has been profitable in three out of the last four years and all through the COVID-19 pandemic. With this milestone coming within its 10th anniversary, Tizeti has become one of the first Nigerian technology startups to pay returns to its shareholders.
Thanks to its expansion to multiple states in Nigeria before the pandemic, Tizeti delivered over 38,648 TB (38.648 million GB) during the 2021 financial year and grew its earnings before income depreciation tax and amortization (EBITDA) by 2.5x through the pandemic.
Tizeti was recently recognized by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as one of the top 10 taxpayers in its industry and is also one of the top Internet Service providers by active users in Nigeria.
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Speaking on the achievement, Tizeti’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kendall Ananyi, said: “We are pleased to declare our first dividend for shareholders as we generate cash flow from our recent expansions across five states in Nigeria and three states in Ghana. Our commitment to bridging the digital divide via affordable broadband internet enables us to achieve sustainable impact across West Africa as we build the infrastructure for a digital economy while delivering financial value to our shareholders. Our performance is built on strong business fundamentals, which made us profitable for three out of the last four years and helped us grow debt-free through the pandemic. We appreciate our shareholders for their support and look forward to delivering better financial outcomes in the future.”
Tizeti’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, who corroborated Mr. Ananyi, said: “With consistent profitability over the last few years, we have the free cash flow to continue to drive our expansion and growth across underserved locations in Anglophone and Francophone West Africa. We will continue to invest in our network for the growth ahead.”