+14 million customers are on my platform which enables them to connect and sustain relationships across distances.

Welcome to On a Date with a listed company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)

THREAD: On a Date with Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited (EWZL).

#1. History

1961, A couple in Zimbabwe are blessed with a son. They wish to instill in him an ambitious personality, he is named Strive.

1968, Strive’s family decides to relocate to Kitwe, a city located in the Copperbelt province of Zambia.

Strive parents are entrepreneurs who sense better opportunities in Zambia which had recently become independent.

Their home country will likely be in protracted war as a headstrong leader declares his government independent from Britain.

Zambia enhances the entrepreneurial spirit of Strive’s parents, Masiyiwa affording him a private school education in Scotland.

1983, Earns a degree in electrical engineering from Wales unlike his initial plan 5 years earlier of joining guerrilla forces.

1984, Strive returns to Zimbabwe with optimism to use his skills to aid its recovery. He lands a job at Post and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC)

1994, Strive approaches Standard Chartered Bank CEO seeking funding for a mobile telecommunications startup.

Nkosana Moyo the then CEO advises Strive to rename his startup with an appealing name say Econet from Enhanced Communications Network

1998, Econet launches its service and lists on the ZSE after a protracted period in courts fighting for its establishment.

2002, Douglas Mboweni becomes the CEO of Econet Wireless. Strive had left Zimbabwe 2 years earlier moving to South Africa

Econet Wireless becomes a holding entity “EWZL” to strategically position the business and preserve value in light of inflation.

2007, EWZL purchases a controlling stake through Pentamed in Mutare Bottling Company owned by the Goldberg family.

2011, EcoCash a mobile phone based money transfer and financing is launched drawing inspiration from M-PESA in Kenya started 4 years earlier.

2007, EWZL purchases a controlling stake through Pentamed in Mutare Bottling Company owned by the Goldberg family.

2011, EcoCash a mobile phone based money transfer and financing is launched drawing inspiration from M-PESA in Kenya started 4 years earlier.

2013, EWZL acquires a controlling stake in TN Bank a local commercial bank pioneering agent banking. It was a unit of Lifestyle

The agent banking model attracted EWZL  to buy it to support the EcoCash platform which was getting attacks from established banks

2018, EWZL spins off digital solutions assets including EcoCash into a new business Cassava Smartech and list on the @ZSE_ZW

2021, Mutare Bottling Company (MBC) is sold off to Delta Beverages. MBC held the bottling right to Coca-Cola products in Manicaland.

Cassava Smartech changes its name to EcoCash Holdings to reflect the backbone business.

2022, EWZL introduces the 5G network to its platform to support the move to a digital lifestyle future positioning.

Strive steps down from the board of directors of EWZL.

#2. Operations,

EWZL is a telecommunications, media and technology solutions provider group in Zimbabwe.

Its main business is Econet Wireless (PVT) Ltd which provides mobile network services.

Other subsidiaries are mainly investment vehicles for the group

Econet Wireless (PVT) Ltd OFFERING,

Data

• Private Wifi and E-learning Bundles etc

Voice

• Buddie is a leading voice brand with 82% of all mobile voice traffic in Zimbabwe

Buddie Beatz Music

• Digital platform that gives customers access to +60,000 songs

OmniContact (Business Process Outsourcing)

• Offers a low cost call centre providing service solutions for enterprises in Zimbabwe and global.

Gaming

• Offers a range of games to gamers from SMS based to web games

Short Message Service (SMS)

YoMix

Associates

Cumii Zimbabwe

It seeks to enable and promote connected lifestyles by harnessing the trend of internet of things.

Distributed Power Africa

A business focused on powering industrial and commercial customers using green energies.

EcoCash Holdings

#3. Competitors,

EWZL is the only publicly traded telecommunications business on the @ZSE_ZW

It has a number of rivals controlled by Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) and privately owned enterprises

Netone

The first mobile cellular operator 100% owned by GoZ.

Telecel Zimbabwe

Started in 1998 as a partnership between Telecel International and Empowerment Corporation.

Bandwidth & Cloud Services (BCS)

A recently launched wholesale carrier providing fibre connectivity solutions in Africa using cloud rail network.

Telone

The fixed line operator owned by the GoZ which has diversified offering to include internet and data services.

Dandemutande

A privately owned business offering a portfolio of internet connectivity solutions.

Powertel

A subsidiary of ZESA Holdings.

#4. Challenges,

Access to foreign currency for capital expenditure to keep up with evolving changes in technology i.e 2G – 5G

Cost pressures driven by delays in tariff reviews by the regulating authority to factor inflation

Volatile exchange rate movements.

#5. Share price,

136 ZWL (USc16.64) per share as at Jan 20, 2023

96.26 ZWL per share on the 3rd of January 2023

5th on ranking in terms of year to date performance on the ZSE

3rd most traded stock over the past 3 months to 20 Jan 2023

2,590,576,832 issued shares

354bn (US$431m) Market cap

#6. Shareholding,

38.4% is held by Econet Global Limited a privately owned group registered in Mauritius.

It is controlled by Strive Masiyiwa the founder of EWZL. The group has investments in its subsidiaries which provide connectivity solutions.

#8. Management,

@DouglasMboweni  – Group CEO (Mar, 2002)

Joined the startup Econet in April, 1996 as a Billing Manager from Chemplex Corporation (CC) which was more established

He was a senior systems analyst at CC. Holds a BSc in Maths & Computer Science.

He has a Masters and PhD in Business leadership.

EWZL has grown to become the largest telecommunications services provider under his leadership.

The business was able to nurture and spin off EcoCash Holdings.

More on this great man 

Amazon.com A Dusty Road To Success: Principles of an extraordinary life

A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE CEO OF AN AFRICAN LISTED COMPANY. The desire to succeed and live an impactful life is embedded in every human being.

 

#9. Pitch,

According to Postal Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) report of Q3 2022 EWZL has market share of 67% of mobile subscribers. It had voice market share of 75% and 78% mobile data share. It also has 53% of the hard infrastructure in the sector.

The same report also state a 75.9% market share of internet and data traffic. Interesting 

EWZL is positioning itself as a digital services provider. It is already entrenching its dominance in the space by being the first to introduce 5G

Ability to generate foreign currency through sale of USD denominated airtime bundles

Competent management team.

Each week will be on a DATE with a company listed on the ZSE with Martin Mataga an Investment Democrat. Twitter @MartinMataga. The purpose of this thread is to assist investors to have a minimum appreciation of listed firms. Bulls n Bears has made reasonable effort to validate and update the information before circulation but the onus is on the investor consult their financial advisor. Disclaimer: Do not misconstrue this thread as investment advice. DATE companies before you buy their shares. For comments and questions reply to bulls@bullszimbabwe.com