Should Vodacom exit DRC?

[rpm]

Should Vodacom exit DRC

France Telecom want to enter the Congolese mobile market with Orange, writes Frost & Sullivan’s Mervin Miemoukanda. Is this Vodacom’s queue to exit the DRC?

 

[vzta22]

I am confused? Why would a new market entrant prompt Vodacom to exit the market? Yes, due to management / ownership misunderstandings, Vodacom DRC have lost some market share but they remain quite strong in the market. Unless I am not aware of this, Orange is not trying to enter the market by acquiring Vodacom's mobile business in DRC. If Vodacom exits the market, it will not be a result of a new market entrant but it will rather be due to management issues that have remained unresolved for the past two years. The two issues should not be confused and the article states exactly that there remains a large untapped population in DRC to attact new market entrants. If this is the case, the entry of a new player in the market can not be seen as a big threat to put Vodacom on the run.

 

[SmartKit]

Could they not sell outright to Vodafone Group Plc? That way no one actually loses out and the company get's a fresh start with a more experienced parent company.

 

[InTheCube]

This whole article is pointless. Of course it doesn't make sense for Vodacom to exit the DRC, just because a new competitor is/might be entering. Irrespective of all other issues, mobile operator licenses are few and far between, and with most markets approaching saturation, Vodacom would be stupid to exit now. Operators from around the world are dying to enter such immature markets with lots of potential. Vodacom DRC already have an established network, they understand the market, they have significant market share (they are the biggest, or second-biggest?), they have existing retail distribution points, they have all the infrastructure and systems in place.

Why on earth would they want to run away because of more competition? Is Orange such a big name and so intimidating that competitors quiver at the very mention of their name?

I vote this a poorly thought out article, or an article with big gaping holes, failing to provide good logical reasons why Vodacom should even consider exiting.

 

[NightShift]

i agree, this does sound like an opinion piece and quite contradictory.

If Orange take over another operator they gain access to their minority share of the market, plus the licence to operate and so on. They still need to compete and offer products that people will buy over Vodacoms.

If anything, Vodocom will continue to innovate and execute their own strategy, which im not sure was touched on in this article because i couldnt be bothered to read it all.

Its basically like saying: Orange is coming to South Africa - I wonder if Cell C should exit the market?

no.