SONATEL, Senegal’s largest telecommunications group, has been chosen by the Benin government to manage the Beninese Digital Infrastructures Company (Société Béninoise d’Infrastructures Numériques, SBIN), reports from Dakar said this week.
The partnership between SONATEL and the Benin government was officially signed on Friday, 21 May 2021, in the Beninese economic capital Cotonou.
The event was graced by SONATEL MD Sékou Dramé and Benin finance minister Romuald Wadagni. Launched three years ago by the government to implement the much-needed structural reforms in the telecommunications sector, SBIN was assigned, among others, to manage the country’s digital infrastructures and provide communications services, including mobile telephony operations, to individuals and businesses.
The company has since been granted a mobile operator licence since the disappearance of Benin Telecom, a landline operator, and the mobile network Libercom. It is expected to become the country’s third mobile operator, alongside MTN and Moov. However, the government was still looking for a partner to manage it. Finally, it has chosen SONATEL to come onboard and take over its management.
“To meet this challenge in a competitive context, the State of Benin has taken the decision to recruit a delegated manager with solid skills and proven experience to make SBIN operational and efficient to offer competitive offers and services to consumers, businesses and other telecoms players,” SONATEL said on Friday.
Benin Digitalisation Minister Aurélie Adam Zoumarou described the signing of the agreement as an important element, adding that her country was entering another turning point in the management of the digital sector. “This is the culmination of a long process,” she said.
