Telecom & IT / Tunisia
Move fast
What steps of your career would you highlight?
The launch of Mobinil in Egypt and the start of Tunisiana’s operations in Tunisia were exciting times. I have also worked for Vodafone in Eastern Europe, a swiftly changing environment. Making the greenfield start-up of WIND mobile with Orascom happen in my own country – Canada – was also a great highlight. It is now very motivating to be back in Tunis after the revolution. There is a really vibrant atmosphere.
Started as a greenfield in 2002, Tunisiana now covers 90% of the population. What’s next?
We will win the fixed-line licence and expand from being a mobile operator to a global operator providing enterprise communication services for large businesses and fixed-line services for individual consumers. At the roots, Tunisiana was the company that really democratised mobile communications in this country. We came in as the second operator and we opened up the network to people that didn’t have access to communication services before. We also provided an outstanding customer experience to our users, with good service and fair prices. We listened to customers – instead of than others. We intend to adopt the same approach for fixed-line, which has proved such a good recipe for success.
What are the comparative advantages that will allow you to successfully compete with Tunisia Telecom and Orange?
We are still a very entrepreneurial orga-nisation. We move fast, we react fast to the market, we are first to market new technologies. We also invest heavily in our customer operations and in our stores, and we try to be close to our customers.
This is a race. One has to work hard to keep the customers. That is what Tunisiana has been good at historically. We will continue to deliver that unique experience and keep customers loyal to our brand.
What advantages does Ooredoo Group, with 90% of shares, bring as a partner?
The advantage is essentially one of scale. Our industry requires large capital investment, so being part of the Ooredoo Group allows us to have better technology at better prices, and to share experiences across the globe.
How do you see Tunisia evolving over the next five years?
This country has a great potential with very talented people, a sound work ethic and a great spirit to succeed. Conditions have to be right, but they are getting better. It is a much more secure environment now than it was even a few months ago. In five years’ time you will see a growing economy with foreign investment coming in and Tunisians will find more opportunities for jobs. We have close relations with Libya, Algeria, and Europe. Tunisia will be a great hub for doing business throughout North Africa.
