1 December 2006, by Nana Kofi Acquah in Accra, Ghana. After two unsuccessful attempts to set up mobile phone business in Ghana, MTN, Africa"s biggest telecommunication provider has finally entered the Ghanaian market through a merger with Investcom, the parent company of Scancom Ghana Ltd, owners of Areeba, Ghana"s biggest mobile phone provider. The deal was worth $ 5 million. By this deal, MTN Group and Investcom LLC may have achieved their dreams of running a mega mobile operation in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East.

Investcom operates in 10 countries with almost 5 million subscribers using its services in Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen by December 31, 2005. MTN African operations run to another 11 countries but industry source indicates there is no duplication within national borders. What"s more exciting is the fact that the experience of Investcom in the middle East and Asia would be of tremendous help to MTN which have been trying to enter the Middle East market for some time now.
Competitively, OneTouch, tiGo and Kasapa (competitors ) should be strategizing to compete against the combined technological, marketing, management and experienced leadership force of MTN/Areeba. These companies have begun implementing various promotional mix strategies as is evident in the continuous price wars / cuts. The competition from these different networks are going to be fierce with time since they will defensively and offensively protect their market shares and even try to gain more. In future their solution will be to form alliance or merge to compete against MTN/Areeba. But should be ware of MTN/Areeba taking any of them over (hostile) when they are seen as a threat.
Positively, this competition will benefit consumers through improved services and lower prices, thus improving social relationships and business relationships ( ie, B-C, B-B, and B-G) Economically, there is an inflow of $ 5 million into the Ghanaian economy to the positive effect of increasing our Gross National Product (GNP) and National Income (NY). There is an on going expansion of MTN/Areeba services through property acquisition resulting in cash inflow into investors" baskets for improved standard of living, capital formation and further investments. More jobs are being created to minimize the current 40% unemployment rate (UNDP estimate, 2004), generate incomes and increase tax revenues to assist Ghana"s government increase her provision of infrastructural services. Other competitors may also duplicate whatever MTN/Areeba does to bring about the multiply effect.
MTN"s presence in Ghana is very notable strategically, given the current peaceful political environment Ghana is experiencing. It also supports President J.A. Kuffour"s theme for his second term of office: 'The golden age of business". Thus the investment climate has been rid of bottlenecks and bureaucracy to allow direct foreign investments. So given the implication of this merger: the fierce competition, capital inflow, expansion of services and investments, the cellular industry in Ghana is experiencing another level of activities, and it is likely to attract other companies worldwide who may be interested in the emerging Ghana or African economies.