The collapse of negotiations between Etisalat and its consortium of bankers over a $1.2 billion loan got to its climax with Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd (EMTS), trading as Etisalat Nigeria, getting a three-week ultimatum to drop the brand name. Assistant Editor OF THE NATION LUCAS AJANAKU writes that the telco may be on the path of rebranding.
WHEN the 0809ja was launched in Nigeria in 2008, its promoter EMTS said it was to affirm the Nigerianness of its origin and sphere of influence. Trading as Etisalat Nigeria, it said in its nine years of operation that it has remained a prime driver and avid supporter of the Nigerian spirit of excellence.
Its Vice President (Regulatory & Corporate Affairs), Ibrahim Dikko said the telco will continue to maintain the “Naijacentric identity”, adding that this notion has been strongly reflected in the company’s core messages and depicted in major projects and initiatives which it has been known to support.
Dikko said: “All these initiatives have their foundation embedded in supporting key aspects of the Nigerian fabric: building Nigerian businesses and empowering Nigerian’s with a focus on the youth.
“Nigeria remains the soul of EMTS business and we have made the brand alluring to our teeming subscribers who see a piece of the spirit and character of Nigeria in everything we do.
“EMTS is here to stay and we wish to assure our esteemed customers that our core values of youthfulness, customer-centricity and innovation will remain the pillars on which we operate.”
But, all the noble values which the telco so much cherished may have been eroded by EMTS’ threat to withdraw its trading name from the current board midwifed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The board is headed by Dr. Joseph Nnanna, a Deputy Governor (Financial System Stability) at the CBN.
If EMTS makes good its threat to withdraw its trading name, then the telecom sector may witness another round of rebranding.
The present day Airtel began operation in Nigeria as Econet Nigeria, a brand many believed came from Zimbabwe.
But, Econet soon faded away and Vodacom, South Africa’s second largest telecoms brand stepped in. Vodacom was like a flash in the pan before Bharti Airtel Limited, an Indian global telecoms services provider based in New Delhi, India. Airtel operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa.
Stakeholders react
Subscribers’ umbrella body, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCON), has assured its members not to panic but remain faithful to the Etisalat brand. According to it, what the telco is passing through is a phase in the evolution of a potential great brand.
Its President, Deolu Ogunbanjo, who lamented that the fortune of the telco had been mismanaged somehow, said the new management constituted under the leadership of Prof Garba Dambatta of the NCC and his counterpart in at the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, should be given time to put the business on a sound footing again.
He, however, counselled the new board and management to put on their thinking caps as they have lots of work to do. He urged members of the new team to gird their loins preparatory to rebranding.
Ogubanjo said: “Etisalat is a brand that warmed its way into the hearts of Nigerians, especially the youth segment. The subscribers should not panic at all. They should not allow Etisalat to go down because it has deepened competition.”
According to him, the damage from the inevitable rebranding may do to the telco may be inconsequential, recalling that Airtel rebranded about five times before it stabilised.
He urged the new management to imbibe the principles of corporate governance, the absence of which was the undoing of the former managers.
The Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said the development will put more pressure on the new management to find an immediate buyer for the company, as EMTS has no recognisable brand name in the industry.
Its President, Olusola Teniola, noted that the Etisalat brand was associated with the youth segment of the market and “it appears that there is urgent need to ensure that the services and products that EMTS delivers can replicate that unique experience!”
Teniola went on: “The Etisalat brand name holds significant intangible assets to EMTS and this allowed the current subscriber base to hold faith with the international experience and good will that the Emirates brought to Nigeria.
“It would be best for the new management to learn from lessons already learnt from the various name changes that EcoNet went through to get to Airtel and ATCON seeks minimum impact on the subscribers if those lessons come to bear during this difficult period of transition for the company EMTS and the stakeholders in the industry, most especially the consumers.
“Proactive effective messaging from EMTS is key to the success of any brand name change and to remove the uncertainty that surrounds any identify change. From Customer Care right through to technical support, it is important that infrastructure that supports the company is reliably run and in place to cope with the deluge of calls requesting information on ‘what next’ for the subscribers. Remember the ‘Customer is King’ in this situation.”
Teniola, who is the former Chief Executive Officer of IS Internet Services and now a Client Partner for Detecon International, a subsidiary of Deutsch Telekom Group, Germany, reacted through an email sent to The Nation yesterday.
He said that his association had foreseen and predicted the development, warning other carriers to learn one or two lessosns.
Teniola said: “We in ATCON predicted this outcome and need to see the precedent that this sets for the rest of the industry, in particular in the way and manner funds are used to deploy capital intensive infrastructure.
“The relationship with the banks and our members needs to reflect the current reality in this harsh business environment and it is best for all stakeholders to work together to find a permanent solution to the ‘funding gap’ that exists in the manner and way the industry attracts FDI or utilizes debt to realise its ambition.”
