(Ecofin Agency) - Four operators battle in Niger’s telecom market: Airtel, Zamani, Moov Africa, and Niger Telecoms. At the end of 2021, they generated a total revenue of approximately $403.2 million.

Last year, Niger’s mobile operators earned about $406.7 million (CFA245.4 billion), 0.88% more than in 2021. The country’s telecom regulator, the ARCEP, disclosed the figure in its 2022 annual activity report.

Throughout 2022, the revenues of Airtel (Celtel Niger SA) grew by 14%, to CFA102.1 billion. Zamani reported revenue of CFA58.6 billion, up by 5.2% YoY. In contrast,  the earnings of Moov Africa and Niger Telecoms dipped by 9.7% and 16%, respectively.

This is the third consecutive year that the four operators record overall revenue growth. However, the growth recorded in 2022 (0.88%) is less significant compared to that of 2020-2021 (15.7%).

This upward dynamic sustained in the past three years is attributable to the accelerated digital transformation, which fosters connectivity services.

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of mobile subscribers in Niger increased from 12.2 million to 16 million. During the same period, the number of Internet users (mobile and fixed) rose from 7 million to 9.3 million.

It is worth noting that the overall revenue of the Nigerien telecom sector in 2022 amounted to CFA278.6 billion, up by 4.2% compared to the previous year. The figure includes the revenues of telecom infrastructure companies such as American Tower Company (ATC), Liptinfor, AFR-IX Telecom, and Ninetec.

Isaac K. Kassouwi