Michael Tenn CEO of GAMTEL

The ICT sector is one of the first things an investor looks for when considering going into a country. What is your evaluation of the development of the ICT sector here in The Gambia?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Telecommunication is surely a main driver for any economy and it's a key indicator of its growth. The better telecom infrastructure you have the better services you provide will surely encourage investors to come in as this main necessity nowadays will facilitate their establishment and operation within the country and surely to with the international world..

From the Spectrum Group perspective, in The Gambia, I believe that we did our job in a decent way (this, after studying the entire area of West Africa); specifically, with regards to Gamtel and Gamcel. We know where this company was and what was considered to be years back. It was basically best known to South Africa's and they were very proud of it. Deterioration came due to consecutive year of poor and different management. That put the company and the entire ICT infrastructure down. It drove competition to eat this company alive somehow. It was time to say "where this company would go". "The directions it chooses will take with it a major sector in the country". This is where Spectrum Group came in. We assessed where the company was in line with our vision for the region and the country. At that point, we were convinced that this was an opportunity. It had a lot of potential as well as serious challenges. with our leadership and the team put in place, I am confident that we are going in the right direction. There will be lots of things to develop and to provide the community with. Eventually, this will contribute to the bottom line success of the economy.

One of the priorities of the government is to out a liberalized market in place and set the right framework for investments. What is your analysis of the framework that the government has put into place to encourage investment?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Part of our enthusiasm to come here was basically based on what we have experienced in the region. We believed in the vision that the President has. We've seen what he has done so far, as well as the effort he is putting forward. That gave us the confidence to invest.

Electricity, Hotels, roads, security, Social activities, banks, tourism, and other main necessities that in West Africa you seriously struggle to have are all available here decently, this is the result of private investors and surely facilities provided from Government side to invest "that tells you that here investor is looked at seriously and with respect."

We knew what we were getting into.

What was your first impression of The Gambia?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: The first time I landed in The Gambia, I noticed an airport above the average West African countries. The country had electricity and electricity polls all over driving from airport to the hotel. The roads were paved and clean and traffic lights. There were some nicely new constructed villas and compounds all the way to here. Those are the first things that you see when you get into the country. This told me something good was going on in The Gambia compared to the other West African countries. All this was before we even talked to anyone.

Usually, my habit in any new country I go around and check out the main present services and industries. I evaluated the banking and tourism here, among several others industries. Shortly, we had a good impression when talked to His Excellency and the Cabinet, we've discussed our vision and the opportunities further.

Then we moved on to the next step, which was pursuing the opportunity we came for. We had a team analyzing in details everything. We got deeper with our Due Diligence process and realized that The Gambia is one of the good places to invest in for West Africa. It is a challenge, but it is a fruitful challenge if you do the job right.
"There are so many opportunities to be hunted in here. "

The Spectrum Group is Lebanese investment holding active in the economic development of The Gambia. Can you give us an overview of what the group is all about, its history and achievements?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: The Spectrum Group is a well diversified Group. We are active in several sectors. We've discussed telecommunications, which is one of our strongest arms. And this is where my main focus is. The Spectrum Group is also into construction, hotels (in some cases, we are the silent shareholders in others the manager of the operation), we are also in ready-mix construction supplies, and we will be into banking. The focus mainly goes to telecom. The goal is to be a well-recognized group within the region.

We scanned the region heavily at the beginning; we've been aggressively going forward and have successfully landed on some good opportunities. Gamtel/Gamcel is surely a key success for us. We know where we are heading in term of strategy and there is a positive feedback on us. Now the group is actively seeking other telecom operations in the region. We are in active discussions on several business opportunities, but the region is definitely where we would like to invest further in.

Which countries or regions are you active in?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Today in the Gambia and I can't disclose much more at this point of time as we are in active business talks in this region. The goal is creating the spectrum onnet. Building networks close to each other surely fulfill our ultimate strategy. The success of one leads to another, especially in Africa. The good reputation you have, the more welcomed you are to replicate what you have done.

The Spectrum Group has holdings, so it has a very powerful structure.

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Exactly. We have the main holding company and several other holdings for the Telecom and other areas. In The Gambia, for instance we have over a thousand as a result of this acquisition, not to mention the various offices globally. The team that leads the operations here (senior executives) are around 14 to 15 people.
Every company within the holding it has different numbers of people whether in operation or management.

What are the main competitive advantages of The Spectrum Group?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Keen Vision, Strong and dedicated management that is customer focus oriented, and the know how to operate and succeed.

Africa it is well-known how incumbent operators are operated and the lack of ownership.
With today's privatization activities we became very much aware of the challenges we have ahead especially in private management of incumbent operators. We did a lot of investigation and interviews, and the company that provided me with the most comfort was Detecon. From the experience that we have had with Detecon and their track record in Africa, we were convinced that they were the right partners for us. This conviction and partnership is indeed coming stronger with time. Now that we've completed our business case and have experienced what has been achieved so far. We see how this partnership is heading. It is surely clear that we are on the right direction.

Spectrum did not have much experience in Africa prior to this acquisition. Africa is a bit different from all the other markets that we have operated in. it requires some special skills, and some dedicated, patient and determined people.

We have been here since July. Our shadow management phase was till September. From September onward we are in active management, we can see what we have achieved so far. We are on the right track. The changes we see happening are measured with our KPI's. We are going forward and upward quite fast.

What are the contributions Spectrum has made to the countries in which it operates?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: We are not short-term thinkers. We are long-term investors. That is why we invest in the countries that we intend to operate in. With no hesitation, we commit to what we have agreed on and we execute to our commitments. This is our strategy. We have no fear in investing here. We have no fear of investing more. We are definitely going to do more in The Gambia.

This is an important location for us. We are keen to make a good example of it and we'll take it to the region for replication in other countries

Are you also interested in diversifying your activities in the country?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: We are already seeking opportunities in other sectors. Within the telecom for example we are aiming to add additional services within the company that were never addressed before. Other key areas within the country are definitely in our agenda. We are investigating the best routes to approach these opportunities quickly. There are lots of other things to do here. Perhaps, we can go into banking as it is in line with our strategy. Tourism is one other area, it looks promising. Look at the hotel sector. You've got around 6 "5-stars hotels" plus 10's of other different categories with very high occupancy all year round. The feedback on this country in terms of political and social stability, as well as the different aspects of the economy, is positive. The basic social deliverables are pretty good. On top of that, the culture of the people is very warm. If you look at Cyprus for example, a small island in the Middle East, the massive tourism that they had at the early stages in the 90'S was with the mass low income tourist. Now, it's one of hot the destinations and tourism is a major economy driver.

In The Gambia, lot is going on along the coast, and moving fast. I see the same thing happening here and thus the potential is there.

The Government decided to divest 50% of Gamtel last year in order to increase its competitiveness with a capital injection and new management. What is your assessment of the state of Gamtel when the Spectrum Group acquired 50% of its shares? What is your vision for Gamtel in the future?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: Personally, I am convinced that Gamtel is a very good opportunity. We know the issues that need to be adddressed in Gamtel and Gamcel. As you know, there is Gamtel and its subsidiary, Gamcel. We got 50% of both.

The challenges are here for years. The company has been struggling for some time before we came into the picture. Services were going down. Many things were addressed wrong by management and thus taking the company down. If you look at the potential in terms of technology in place lots has to be done and lots of good potentials are present. There is the backbone that is all over the place and not well-managed. There is decent infrastructure that is completely mismanaged. There is a market that is very loyal to the incumbent operator but not well addressed with services and facilities, all that makes it very attractive.

Gamtel is a key company in the country. Years back , it was known to be the number 1 in the region. We do not want to brag much about a success until we have credibility behind it. When we tell the customer that we are going to provide them good services, it means we are committed and ready to answer to their needs. When we say that we will gain market share that means I can back it up with real facts and figures unlike competition. We are house cleaning first, get things in shape, then we will get our message loudly across. That is our culture in Spectrum and Detecon.

To be honest now, we start having a lot of repeated customers joining back the network "Sleeping Customers so called". We are in control now and It is interesting to see that the competition is starting to get nervous.

MR. REIN ZWOLSMAN: Being the national operator of the country, people like using Gamtel's services. That is good and we will keep it that way. On the other hand, too much has happened in the last couple of years. This is a mid-term project-to liberate the company. We need to do a bit of re-branding. The market has changed and Gamtel should be able to adapt to that change. Now we are assessing the brand perception of Gamtel and Gamcel so that we can move on to the re-branding. I don't believe that's too far from now. I am glad that there is such an operator here and I am proud of being part of Gamtel and Gamcel.

MR. MICHAEL TENN: A lot of activities are taking place in Gamtel and Gamcel (some of which are socially-oriented, addressing the community). Soon, the people will see what we promised to deliver.

We have work packages. We already established our business case and how we want to do it. Now different projects for different departments are under execution and we are moving simultaneously on different frontiers. We have to cover every area and surely The Gambia will benefit from the short, medium and long-term contributions of Spectrum.

How would you analyze the state of the backbone available now?

MR. REIN ZWOLSMAN: The state of the backbone is not bad. The problem is the availability of the backbone is not good enough. Then you cut the cable and the signal is gone and you send it in another direction. You are always able to connect with all the elements that are available.

MR. REIN ZWOLSMAN: For instance, when you come to the East of the country, and see the multiple fiber that is passing through Sheraton. Although, some of the cable cuttings are found to be unintentional because of the to lack of knowledge about the existence of the underground cables during excavation and other civil works, there are some that have been carried out by unscrupulous individuals for what is suspected to be either commercial gains or pure sabotage. That means that everything in the East of Sheraton in this country (as well as Sheraton) is disconnected. For Sheraton, they had to do their bookings in other ways. We need to work on that. We are working hard to repair that and to make it a bit more reliable than it is today.

We will do the same in the direction of the North. We will have 2 rings in The Gambia and 1 in Senegal. That means, the availability of communications goes from 99% to 99.9999%. That means we are only down 10 minutes a year instead of 3 days a year. That is an improvement in the country. As you know, without the internet, some people can't work anymore.

MR. REIN ZWOLSMAN: We take our responsibility very seriously. We want to bring the best possible service that we can. We are hoping that we are going to be able to do it.

Before the presence of Spectrum Group, where these problems being addressed?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: This Company was an incumbent operator. Yes, there were lots of efforts put in place. But, just like any other country, when you are an incumbent, mentality, behavior and management is different. There was no motivation, weak measurements taken and lack of ownership. We came with the customer focus mentality. We make sure to address the customer needs as being our first priority.

We are proactive and market-driven. We need to provide the customer with services. That is why we are changing the management approach and concepts. These changes must be reflected at all company levels, Top and Mid management etc.. To let the entire process sink in will take time. But we are definitely working on it. The customer is our boss and we have to provide the best out of our services. This industry is all about technology and services-how aggressive and how well-planned we are and how we address the need of the market-these are the key results that we are seriously addressing.

Where the mentality ruling before was to cover a deed and save your back from responsibilities and therefore no actions were taken as they fear making a mistake that will cause them "Their JOB" so better do nothing.

No Now, we are educating the people in the company "Do it and don't worry we will help you do it right". The "leadership from within" has to surface in every employee within this Company. If it's not there, we have to dig for it a bit. But the minute that it is there you will have people taking more responsibilities and thus they become contributors to the success of the company. This is the message we have for all employees. It is a challenge but we are up to it.

In terms of human resources, what have you found so far?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: There are some good ones, and there are the ones that need some good training but the potential is there.

Training is part of our strategy. We plan to invest more in people.

Giving back to the communities you operate in is a big part of successful companies like yours. What has the group done by way of CSR?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: This is one key area that we are working on. in every acquisition you always look at the bottom line acquisition cost as well as restructuring cost and thus you see layoff in the after math of every acquisition. However layoff is a major thing for developing economies. In Europe and US, yes, we can do it because the market is there. Unfortunately, here, we have to be quite cautious. This is what we took into consideration-should we let people go? This is a small country we have to work on people. We have to work on this economy. We have to contribute to the socio-economic activities. But at some point in time you are obliged to take some actions if things are not in line of our expectations and requirements for success.

We will try to help. We will do our best not to let anybody go. But this has to be a 2-way thing. If they contribute to the company success, we will not only retain them we will surely reward them and hire more into the company.

What is your vision for the participation of the Spectrum Group in The Gambia in the next 5 years?

MR. MICHAEL TENN: We have executed a business plan that will make this Company move forward. We'll be result-driven. We have KPIs to measure against and lots of services to provide. All This require investment-the network, the resources, marketing, services-all these will contribute to the country's overall economy.

The bigger we go, the more investment is needed, the better the services are, will have more customers joining in, reputation will improve etc.. Ultimately, setting the proper communications infrastructure in place will aid the country in boosting the economy and thus will contribute to attract more investors to come in as key necessities are there and surely potential is there.
We are investing to bring this company where it has to be and where we want it to be. We have a 5-year goal. 2 years would be allotted for claiming leadership. In 5 years, we hope to reach the point where we have also invested in bigger projects in Telecommunication and others.

Thank you for your time.