How Orange took the market lead

Mmegi: Orange Botswana’s rise to market leadership, now holding a 43% market share, is a landmark achievement. Take us through the path of how you got there and what it took?

Maïga: The strategy is built with our staff and the starting point was ‘what would make you proud of working here?’ One of the key things that came up was that the network quality should be good so that we are not ashamed to be working for Orange, that we really improve all issues relating to customer service and that we should set standards that go above and beyond in all services.

If you look, we have extended our expanded our network covering now more than 90% of the people in 4G which is a huge achievement. All our sites are 4G. We have launched 5G and now almost 46% of Batswana are covered by 5G, which is also quite higher than some European countries.

We have continued to improve Orange Money by being quite aggressive in reducing scams and launching new products such as the N’stakolle. Those are among the things that helped us become the leader.

It’s about keeping close to the people and being where they are. It’s about listening and then after listening, address what has been shared with us.

Mmegi: How do you plan to sustain this leadership position? How do you continue setting benchmarks in a competitive, dog-eat-dog market and stay ahead of the field?

Maïga: People think in this market we are fighting as competition. I’m not really looking at what anyone else is doing, but looking at my customers: Can I bring you the product you want with the most convenience and the most reasonable price?For almost three years now, when you have independent surveys by BOCRA or outsiders, you see that our network speed is the fastest. A few years back, we had the Internet affordability index and Botswana was among the top three cheapest countries in Africa. We strive to make this affordable for everyone. That’s the point. Better services for everyone and easier to use all the time. So you never stop.

Mmegi: When you lead the market at 43%, once that happens, you are now the “target” for everyone else and you set the standards. Everyone looks to you and wants the best services, best coverage and you receive the most complaints because you are at the top. Is that an opportunity for you or a burden that says we will have more attacks on our brand and have more pressure to deliver?

Maïga: The pressure to deliver is always there. As an employee you don’t want to be somewhere and when you say you work for Orange, you hear people say “argh!” Or hear that your network is poor. It’s not a comfortable position to be in, but you owe the customer.

I actually like to go and read the complaints on social media and anywhere, because you are not always aware of everything that goes on. And you are also not aware of everything that people expect from you.

So, you can expect very soon to see a significant improvement in everything that we provide. We deserve the best of technology and that’s what we are offering to our people.

Mmegi: You’ve led the market for quite some time in mobile money, coming first onto market and taking up more share of that market. How is Orange furthering financial inclusion and what are the next steps in revolutionising digital financial services, especially in underserved communities?

Maïga: One thing that is very key for us is to make sure that we can continuously monitor the number of customers so that we can have an increased number as times go by. We also monitor the number of agents and we really want to increase this significantly, ideally double them this year. This is what brings convenience to our customers.

We also have quite a few campaigns focussing on financial inclusion, on how to behave responsible with money to help our customers. As you add more services, the Water Utilities, the instant loans and other partnerships like with Absa, Standard Chartered and others, the more convenient it is, especially when it is on a simple, easy to use platform.

Orange Money is a platform and we have no qualms whatsoever to partner with reputable financial institutions. Our goal is to be able to offer the maximum number of services with the highest quality to as many people as possible. You always have to keep your eye on the customer, on what brings convenience and what makes sense.

Mmegi: Telcos such as Orange have always been at the forefront of innovation in the country, especially on new services. What does the future look like for telcos? Have you reached the ceiling in terms of innovation or where is your R & D leading you to?

Maïga: Two to three weeks ago, I went to a restaurant because I was hungry and ordered food. I sat there peacefully and when the bill came, I thought about adding a tip. When they returned, I realised I didn’t have cash or my cards. I was very embarrassed. Thankfully I was able to use Orange Money!

That’s what I would like us to represent for our customers – a partner who helps you through all the moments of your life. There are no limits to what you can do with cellphones and digital content or these types of services.

If you look at what’s happening in China; it’s a huge inspiration because you see the level of enrichment of the local technical system is outstanding. It’s very incredible what can be done. If you look at the future, try to start with the roots, start from local and find a way to give life to their ideas.

Many of the services that we provide, began as start-ups. When we support primary schools or offer a service to study, we are helping these start-ups. That’s why invest a lot in talent and all the support for the ecosystem in the country. We have summer challenges for tech start-ups, the Orange Social Venture Prize, the Orange Digital Centre by Game City with a free coding school and investments in equipment like 3D printers and others. The point is to really create an ecosystem where we train people for free and help them acquire skills that will boost local innovation and jobs.

Last year we trained 1,000 people and we want to at least double that and in the future, we would want some of these centres outside Gaborone.

Mmegi: The future of business seems to be all about strategic partnerships. Where do you see emerging opportunities for telcos?

Maïga: To be more precise in terms of partnerships, we are looking at reputable companies. I’m not letting anyone into the ecosystem that I don’t trust or that is not a reputable business partner, just to be very clear.

If you look at the group level, Orange in Africa, we have signed a partnership with Tencent which is one of the largest Chinese digital companies. We think that will enable to launch services that will push SMEs to digital, that will enable any SME in the country to have a digital website and sell their products with added services. That’s the future I think of, a future where small and medium companies can leverage on digital to grow and develop their businesses.

Mmegi: It’s been a very long journey from when we first heard about telcos as voice and SMS. Now we are talking about assisting SMEs and providing an environment for them to launch their services. It has been an entire revolution within a very short space of time.

Maïga: The reality is that we are in the best position to do this. Many groups that are not present in Africa would think the continent is too small, or too remote or too this or not enough that. We are here on the ground and these solutions we can find a way to rely on local talent to develop them.

Let’s not wait on anyone to come and save us, let’s save ourselves.

Mmegi: So you use your mass to mobilise these solutions in the markets that you are in?

Maïga: You look at telcos everywhere in the world, people want data. If someone has tasted data, they cannot spend a day without it. People can handle not having electricity for a couple of hours, but they cannot handle not having network for a couple of hours. That gives you the pressure that no matter where you are, you have to provide high quality services.

For example it took a long time for 2G to arrive in Africa, then 3G was maybe 10 years, then 4G around five six years and now 5G was a couple of years ago. The delay between new technologies being introduced in Africa is now really short.

It’s also interesting because at Orange, very often, when we launch these technologies in the Middle East and Africa, we start with Botswana which was the case with 3G, 4G and 5G. This is simply because we are incentivised to do so; to push that technology and have the maximum coverage.

Mmegi: We have watched the BOCRA figures over the years and sometimes it looks like there’s a stagnation in mobile subscriptions. What’s your take on some of the commentary that says the market is reaching maturity in terms of subscriptions for sim cards? Have we reached a growth ceiling?

Maïga: I think you have different services and when you look at fixed Internet, the penetration is below 25% and so we are very far from maturity. Same when you look at mobile money where penetration is still quite low and we have some ways to go. Mobile data is the same.

Voice you have quite strong penetration but it doesn’t mean the market is static. People get new sims all the time and it’s not marginal volumes, but hundreds of thousands each year which for a population the size of Botswana and how much it grows, is quite significant.

The reality is that it’s not just about the numbers, but what people do with the devices. If you want to watch a one hour class, video or YouTube, you are consuming a lot more. Text is a very small amount of data, while video is very high. We still have a way to go in that.

Even with voice, we are now moving to voice over LTE which is a key change that will enable much better quality, with more services to be proposed.

Mmegi: So you would say we are still far from the different telco players having to cannibalise each other? Most segments of the subscription market you would say there’s still a lot of room to grow?

Maïga: There’s room to grow in a lot of segments and obviously we are competing with each other.

So long as the playing ground is level and we all obey the same rules, I am fine with that. I would consider things a problem if I had to do KYC, sim registration and suspend some of my customers while some entrants in the market did not have to do so. That would be a problem.

Mmegi: Your leadership has been instrumental in achieving consistent growth for Orange Botswana. What core principles guide your leadership approach, and how have you fostered a culture of innovation and excellence within the company?

Maïga: We collaborate to create a vision and the key point or entry point is “what would make you pride to work for Orange?” It is the quality of services, how we give back to society, the innovations that we bring and bringing them first to the market. All these things are the entry point and we want everyone that works for us to be proud of Orange.

Also, a focus on growth. Both the company and for individuals.

I believe that belonging to an international group is an incredible opportunity because you might be the best in your market, but when you go and compete with 18 different teams doing the same business in different markets, then you will get inspiration. You will get a lot of best practice and a completely different view of what you are doing. Even if you are very good at what you do, you always come out of these discussions having learnt something.

So we have teams coming in here to learn from us and we also go outside to learn from them. That brings incredible value to the company.

The bottom line is to be simple, be positive. If you have an idea, it should not take one year for that to reach the CEO. Ideally it should be done within the week and then we test it. Be simple and positive.

Any organisation is a work in progress and let’s all work together to keep improving continuously. We are in a sector where we cannot rest on our laurels.

Mmegi: Orange Botswana is invested in initiatives like the Women’s Digital Centre and the Orange FA Cup. How do these efforts reflect your broader vision for corporate social responsibility, and how do they contribute to both social and economic development across Botswana?

Maïga: I believe that digital is an enabler. It can make a lot of businesses grow more and be more successful. The question for us is how to support Botswana in its quest for change towards a digital, knowledge-based economy. It’s an investment, but we identified a few key areas where it makes sense for us to contribute.

We have eight Women’s Digital Centres and each of them have computers, tablets, servers and women can learn basic IT and business skills. The point is that the women already have activities, but how can we support them so that they manage them better and grow them. When we are impressed by a project or idea, we can give grants to them. The point is for us to build autonomy, build capacity. We don’t want people to rely on us all the time, but to be able to stand for themselves.

We have the digital schools programme that we do in partnership with Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Basic Education, BOCRA and USAF. So far we have 78 primary schools and my target is to have 100 by the end of the year. When we go there, we bring 50 tablets and one server. On that server a local company has digitalised the whole curriculum and designed quizzes and others. We train the teachers and we make sure that everyone is equipped to learn with these. It makes a world of difference for the kids.

Within the company, we also have a programme called Engage for Change where we want to change our world for better. Every employee gets three days per year they can dedicate to any project that benefits society.

We also have sports. You know we signed Letsile Tebogo as our ambassador two years ago and that’s why you see him on billboards all over the country being faster than 5G. We sponsored all the athletes going from Botswana to the Olympics because their qualification is an achievement on its own. Just taking part in the Olympics makes you 0.0001 percent of humanity.

I’m very happy that they came back with such an incredible success. We may need to rename Botswana from a country of diamonds to a country of champions!