This is a long awaited move. It is not going well in Airtel Nigeria. And recently they announced that Rajiv Seghal has been appointed VP of Enterprise, SMEs and and Postpaid. This is actually a very lucrative business segment than the prepaid one which has become commoditized. The problem is that Airtel underestimated the challenges they will face in Nigeria when they bought over Zain. Africa as a whole is a different business climate from India and now they seem to understand that, we hope they get it right, with new ideas.
Congratulations Rajiv and good luck on your new post. Just note that what works in Ghana may not work in Nigeria and the model in India must be different from what you have to do in Nigeria. Why? Different culture and different business environment. If you try to improve the ARPU (average price per user) aggressively, you will lose most of the SMEs. You have to innovative as you set your prices.
Seghal before his new appointment was the Vice President and National Head – Voice and Solutions for Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India. He will be responsible for developing innovative mobile solutions for SMEs and Postpaid consumers across the country just as he will assist Airtel to reclaim leadership position in the SME segment. Commenting on Seghal’s appointment, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop said the appointment demonstrates Airtel’s commitment to realizing its ambition of being the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians as it moves to empower businesses and high network individuals to succeed in their endeavours.
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