NIGER: Supporting the Restructuring of Niger Telecoms

Niger Telecoms is the historic public telecom company, which used to hold the monopoly prior to the liberalization in 2004. The present company structure is the result of the merger in 2016 of SahelCom (mobile) and SoniTel (fixed). Niger Telecoms’ mobile market share today is very low, at about 4%. The company owns and operates the backbone fiber-optic network that constitutes its main source of income and holds a quasi-monopoly over fixed services. Moreover, the company is unable to raise funds to invest in network upgrades or expansion to support the digitalization of the economy for equipment to improve coverage, and its service offerings are stagnant. Consequently, the financial state of the company is a burden on the state budget, and its inefficiency in (i) managing effectively and competitively and (ii) investing in backbone infrastructure is holding back the development of the sector.

Recognizing the challenges that faces the telecom sector and in order to facilitate the realization of the economic reform agenda, the government decided to address the sector issues and make the necessary reforms to support the digital transformation of the economy.

To this end, the government requested World Bank Group assistance to conduct a diagnostic, identify a suitable approach, and implement it. PPIAF provided the support to conduct the detailed diagnostic (financial, technical, economic, and legal) of Niger Telecoms in order to identify the company’s strengths and value-generating activities that could be packaged to constitute a viable, bankable opportunity for the private sector. The diagnostic report was presented to the prime minister and the line ministries at the end of February 2023. IFC, with the support of consultants, prepared various structuring options for the privatization of Niger Telecoms and tested them with potential investors during a market-sounding exercise to assess their appetite.