Blu telecoms boss confident in Ghana's economy

Chief Executive of Blu Telecommunications, Emmanuel Collison has expressed confidence in the Ghanaian economy in spite of recent commentaries that the economy is sinking and becoming less attractive to investors.

He said contrary to the several commentaries about how the Ghanaian economy is dipping, several reports that guide foreign investors in deciding to come to Ghana indicate that Ghana's GDP and per capita income are going up and the political environment provides security for investment.

Blu Telecoms is one of three Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) licensees in Ghana. Their license cost US$6million and it allows them to offer 4G LTE services in the country.

They have since invested additional millions of dollars to build the network and set it up for takeoff before November this year.

But just before they start the process to recoup their investment, Ghana's cedis depreciated about 50% to the dollar, and pundits have been worried about how they, and indeed the other 4G LTE player, Surfline would be able to recoup their investment and even invest further.

Surfline has for instance disclosed that they invested more than US$100million to build their network to cover just Accra and Tema.

Collision however noted that the fears are not real because Blu Telecoms raised all the money invested in the network “right here in Ghana”, and for him, that was a sign that investors are still confident in Ghana as one the best investment destinations, in spite of the depreciation of the cedi.

He noted that various reports he had seen indicate that the economy has bigger prospects beyond the present challenges, saying that since the BWA license is for 10 years, he was optimistic that in the long terms, Blu and indeed any investor in Ghana would recoup their investment.

Collison believes Blu's story is evidence that Ghana still remains an attractive investment destination but very often it is the foreign investors who see the opportunities and the conducive environment in Ghana and take advantage of it while locals kept criticizing policies in the country.

“I am proud to say that Blu Telecoms was built from scratch by Ghanaians and with funding from Ghana and that is a deviation from the usual situation where foreign investors see the opportunities in our country while we complain,” he said.

Collison said 100% local funds invested in Blu would give the young Ghanaian shareholders value in case they have to bring in a foreign partner in the future.

But it is no secret that almost all of the telecom companies in the country started with Ghanaians as significant shareholders, but over time a huge chunk of the shares, and in some cases 100% of the shares, had gone into the hands of multinationals, who have used their financial muscle to sustain the industry.

Pundits have therefore predicted that that eventually the 4G LTE players will also sell majority shares to multinationals to raise the needed funds to sustain their service.

Collison however noted that their licensing requirements bars them from selling the company entirely to multinationals, like Ghana's Kasapa Telecom (Expresso) is said to be 100% owned by Sudatel of Sudan.

He noted that nothing bars Blu from seeking foreign partnership in the future but definitely not selling out completely to a multinational.