Summit Business Review

It is rare to find a GM whom you can easily meet without being on appointment. Most GMs play hard to get. Some are genuinely busy, while others just feel good about it and will happily refuse to meet you even when they are doing nothing. Not with Nuhu Kanyike, the Celcom Uganda GM.

Summit Business Review met with Nuhu for an interview on the recent transfor­mation from Nilecom to Celcom Uganda and below are the excerpts.

SBR: Most GMs are hard to get, how come that you've let us in, without having made an appoint­ment?

Nuhu Kanyike (NK): To me, interaction with people is the most important factor in any business. Celcom cannot be successful without customers, so I am always available to people - they are our customers. True, sometimes I am busy especially when I am in a meeting, but this is mainly in the morning or late in the evening. Otherwise, I don't turn people away because I am busy on the keyboard. That would be turning away op­portunities.

Nilecom had almost become household name. Tell us why did Nilecom change its name to Celcom

Well; Nilecom had become a big brand, but looking at the market, we wanted to give our customers something more than just a brand, a big brand with quality services and products. Celcom is a highly inno­vative company that aims to deliver a total communications solution with products and services that enhance the telecommuni­cations (and customers) experience.

You mean Celcom acquired Nilecom? Tell us about Celcom Group.

Celcom Group bought into Nilecom and the remaining shares were retained by the former shareholders of Nilecom. Celcom's exper­tise encompasses sourcing, importing, packaging, distribution and servicing. We sell mobile phones and accessories and provide Value Added Services (VAS) for airtime switching and vending; mobile content, broad band internet solutions and brand solutions for advertising and marketing.

Celcom is listed on the Alternative Exchange (AltE) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). A critical element of Celcom's success to date is its strategic alignment with leading mobile network operators throughout Africa. In Ugan­da, Celcom Uganda distributes MTN products and accessories.

Tell us about your mission, vision and core values? And how is the business doing?

We're committed to providing high quality products at competitive prices supported by ex­cellent service. We endeavor to continually create product and service mix that introduces first-to-market innovations, based on expertise that antic­ipates global trends. Our vision is to capitalize on explosive growth opportunities in the cellphone industry, specifically the global phenomenon of convergence, to become the leading telecommu­nications specialist on the African continent.

Exceeding customers expectations is one of our top priorities. We give value for money to our customers and corporate social responsibility is part of our roles. We are supporting the Cancer Institute of Mulago, we've recently contributed to a better living of the disadvantaged Moslem community in Kawempe, one of our territories of operation.

We oversee over 2000 sub-dealers of MTN prod­ucts in the territory and we are employing over 50 directly and 900 young graduates indirectly. In addition, as a result of the merger with Celcom group, we have ventured into other products. We are going to be the leading broadband internet connections in the country.

The telecom industry is still growing albeit with challenges. The industry is getting more interesting with the coming in of more players. We see this as an opportunity for our innovative solutions, given that we don't just sell airtime and technology, we sell convenience.

Who are your business partners?

Our main business partners are MTN Uganda, Shell, and GTV. We distribute MTN's airtime, phones and accessories through a number of outlets, including Shell U petrol stations. We also distribute GTV decoders and services at our outlets, which in turn distributes our products throughout its shops.

You've mentioned about VAS. What plans do you have in place to bring VAS on board and which ones are those?

We have steadily ventured into the value added services (VAS). Today we sell stylish and latest laptops of up to 8 inches, with full range of specifications and modems which are bundled with internet and are available in our outlets, both on retail and wholesale. We also sell GTV products and provide phone repair services. We have distinguished ourselves as a company which provides quality after sales services.