This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
Published on September 4, 2019, Airtel Africa, a telecommunications services provider with operations in 14 countries across Africa, has announced the appointment of Ian Ferrao as Regional Director of its East Africa business.
Ian Ferrao has over 12 years of experience in senior management telecommunications roles in Africa. Prior to joining Airtel Africa, he was the CEO of Vodacom Tanzania PLC, the CEO of Vodacom Lesotho, and Chief Commercial Officer at Vodacom Business Africa. He holds a First Class Honours Degree in BSc Management Sciences from the Warwick Business School.
Airtel Africa's Chief Executive Officer, Raghunath Mandava, said: “We are excited to welcome Ian as Regional Director for East Africa, which includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Rwanda. He brings a wealth of relevant telecommunications and mobile money experience within the region and will be an asset to the business. He will be part of the Africa Executive Committee based in Nairobi and will focus on driving growth across voice, data, and mobile money in East Africa.”
The appointment comes as Airtel Kenya is in talks with Telkom Kenya to merge their businesses and take on Kenya’s telco giant Safaricom. This deal might help the firm address its interests in Kenya after the merger and expand across East Africa.
Commenting on the agreement, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Henry Rotich said: “This move is well aligned with the government’s agenda to optimise the value of the assets that it holds in trust, on behalf of Kenyans, while cementing the country’s position not only as a regional business hub but also as an international investment magnet.”
