2024 Year in Review – The Year of Flight
2024 has been a defining year for many. The saying “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” resonates, as it captures the resilience displayed by businesses, particularly across Africa. In our primary markets, Nigeria and Ghana, 2024 presented significant challenges yet highlighted local operators’ strength and adaptability.
In both countries, inflation surged, with average rates reaching 23% in Ghana and 34% in Nigeria. Local currencies, the Ghanaian cedi (GHc) and Nigerian naira (N), experienced steep depreciation against the USD – almost 95% in Nigeria and 22% in Ghana. However, in recent weeks, the Naira has shown signs of recovery, rallying to its highest levels since September, driven by increased demand, the implementation of the new Autonomous Foreign Exchange (FX) Market, and a rise in FX reserves.
Despite these pressures, operators in Nigeria struggled to adjust pricing, further limiting their operations. In spite of these challenges, we continued to expand our network, adding new towers to serve new communities in both Nigeria and Ghana. We also upgraded our capacity with MainOne and completed important peering agreements with global giants such as Google and TikTok.
We completed projects with global partners like USAID, where we deployed internet access to hundreds of institutions. Our participation in international conferences and thought leadership engagements further underscored our contribution and commitment to advancing digital connectivity.
The 2024 challenge was not limited to Africa. Despite the hardships, the importance of digital connectivity grew more apparent than ever. The role of connectivity as a driver for innovation, access, and economic growth became clearer, as more people connected through our products and partnerships. In times like these, the value of inclusion – especially in reaching unserved communities – has never been more evident. The ability to access information is, in many cases, the critical difference.
As we reflect on the year and our expectations in 2025, we remain committed to our resolve to continue deepening access in our key markets. With our coverage and growing presence, we are poised to play a key role in bridging the digital divide and look forward to scaling up in 2025, working alongside partners, regulators, and vendors to ensure a more connected future.
Two profitable countries, 52 to go
After 5 years, our Ghana subsidiary, GhanaWifi, has achieved profitability.
Despite challenging economic conditions across West Africa, we continue to show robust growth and sustained profitability, thanks to our business model, characterized by capital-efficient tower costs, next-generation fiber-to-the-home technology, vertically integrated operations from submarine cables to solar-powered towers, seasoned leadership, direct and partner investments across West Africa, and strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Microsoft, MainOne, and Cambium.
As we celebrate this win, we know this is Day 1, and we will continue to push towards our vision of being Africa’s leading Voice, Video, and Data service provider.
Connecting the unconnected
To expand our reach and serve more communities, we established new base stations in Delta, Abuja, and Akwa Ibom. Within the year, we also provided connectivity to HelloWorld, the Association for Progressive Communications, 48percent.org, and the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Dakwa Community, a rural area outside Abuja. Through our partnership with the Microsoft Incentive Fund and USAID, we also connected 129 high-impact anchor institutions. In isolation, these initiatives are bridging the digital divide in underserved regions in Nigeria, but together, they reveal our commitment to inclusion and closing the digital divide across Nigeria and Africa.
We now have over 200 solar-powered base stations across West Africa serving millions of Africans.
The Trailblazing CEO
Kendall Ananyi, CEO of Tizeti, was honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 10th Nigeria-America Multicultural Council gala. The recognition, the organizers noted, celebrates Kendall’s effort in closing the connectivity gap across West Africa and his commitment to educational endowment through the Tizeti #PayItForward Program, which has funded tuition for hundreds of Electrical Electronics students.
Tizeti celebrates 12th anniversary with soccer tournament
In July, Tizeti celebrated its 12th anniversary with a staff football tournament, “Tizeti CelePlaytion,” held in Lagos the Meadow Hall soccer pitch. The tournament featured six competitive teams drawn across its operations: Teams TED, Stable, Giga, Fast FC, Unlimited, and Uptime. The finalist teams, Uptime and Giga held a spirited 1-1 draw, leading to a dramatic penalty shootout that saw Team Uptime clinch victory with a 6-5 win.
Tizeti case study at the California College of the Arts
Our Chief Executive Officer, Kendall Ananyi, facilitated a session with the Social Venture class of the MBA in Design Strategy at the California College of the Arts. He shared the Tizeti story and demonstrated how to apply SWOT analysis to evaluate strategies used by various companies in providing affordable internet service in Nigeria over the last decade.
The 1 GIG fiber internet + Teleport
We launched our anticipated FreeFiber® broadband service in Nigeria and Ghana, with the promise of speeds up to 1GBPS, significantly above the regional average of 28Mbps, 50 times faster than existing market offerings and 10 times faster than 5G or LEO satellite.
With no installation fee, new users will enjoy free installation and a complimentary first-month subscription plus benefits such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) free calls to the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal.
To get started, read this and sign up on www.freefiber.africa
We also relaunched Teleport, the service that puts the world in your hands with access to US IP and mailing address, phone number, and credit card for only $10 a month.
The Year of Flight
After 12 years of growth, we’re excited to announce our plans to list our Nigerian entity on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). To mark this milestone, we’re offering a private placement opportunity.
This is our way of thanking you for your trust and support over the years. By investing, you’ll become part of the Tizeti family as we expand our unlimited data and high-speed services across Nigeria.
If you’re ready to join us on this exciting journey, email us at ipo@tizeti.com, and we’ll guide you through the next steps.
Connectivity in Africa: moving from potential to possibilities
Africa continues to face two major challenges in connectivity: limited infrastructure and high costs. Many communities lack the essential digital infrastructure, such as fiber optic cables and cell towers, needed to support reliable internet access. Even where infrastructure exists, the cost of services remains prohibitive for many.
Today, only one in three Africans has access to mobile internet. Since most inclusion metrics are tied to digital access, there are significant opportunities to drive progress in financial, health, educational, economic, and overall societal inclusion.
At Tizeti, we are committed to tackling these challenges by building the digital infrastructure needed to meet West Africa’s growing connectivity demands. To fund our fiber rollout, we plan to raise capital and invest in expanding access across the region.
We thank you for your continued support throughout this year and look forward to continuing this journey with you in 2025!
We wish you compliments of the season and a happy new year.
From all of us at Tizeti