greenn shoots q2 2013

GreenNSHOOTS

NEWS FROM THE WORLD of GreenN

LAP GreenN and Huawei agree to settlement terms and reaffirm long-term relationshippage | 2

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Q2 | 2013

NEWSFROMIVORYCOAST

NEWSFROMUGANDA

NEWSFROMSOUTH SOUDAN

NEWS

LAP GreenN confirms its commitment to restoring GreenN CI’s profitability

Key visit by Libyan Ministerial delegation to Cote d'Ivoire focusingon telecommunications

Dear Colleagues,

The first half of the year has quickly come to a close, and I must say that it has been an eventful past 6 months. Each of our operators recorded material improvements, despite persistent market challenges and operational hiccups. Our subscriber base grew across the Group at the end of the first quarter, up circa 25% year-over-year. Notably, revenues and margins for each opco remained stable, as significant efforts were made to address distributions gaps and new offers were launched in the market. Also, strict cost controls were implemented as the Group drives towards becoming a “lean” organization.

I am most pleased to share with you one of the Group’s biggest achievements to date. In June, we successfully concluded a group-wide settlement agreement with Huawei, our largest and longest-standing equipment supplier across the operators. This is a major milestone for us, as both parties reaffirmed their commitment to working together going forward. LAP GreenN is now able to draw on the material resources of Huawei, which will have a substantial impact on the day-to-day operations of our network. This follows a settlement agreement with Tecnotree, and other negotiations with key suppliers are underway.

LAP GreenN also held our semi-annual strategic meeting in May in Dubai, in which the Group and all the operators participated, as well as some of our key partners, including Tecnotree. Many special guests were also in attendance, and all enjoyed the event. We are very much looking forward to our next strategic meeting, which will be held in the fourth quarter of this year.

Another highlight during the period was Mr. Usama Siala’s, Libya’s Minister of Communications and Information, visit to Cote d’Ivoire, where he met with the Cote d’Ivoire Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Mr. Bruno Kone. Mr. Siala confirmed that the Government of Libya would continue to support and stand by its investment interests in the country.

We also have an exciting agenda for the second half of the year. We are on track for the launch of our Sierra Leone operations in September, and significant headway has been made with our network transformation plan. We will be hosting the first workshop for the African Alliance in September and already have attendance confirmation from several interested partners. Also in September, we will be launching the TRAINING PROGRAM in Libya, a graduate level training and professional development program and a key component of the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility platform.

I would like to commend you all for your hard work over the past 6 months. We have made significant progress in laying the foundations for growth, and I am confident that we are on our way to achieving our goals. There is still a lot of work left to do in the remaining half of the year, and I am counting on your dedication and support to achieve all that we set out to do in 2013.

WORD FROM THE GROUP CEO

WAFIK SHATER

GreenNSHOOTSQ2 | 2013

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In the second initiative of its kind, Group members and top management across all operations, partners, potential partners and special guests gathered on May 7th and 8th for the semi annual strategy meeting.

All aspects of our business were discussed; from the current situation to opportunities, potential drawbacks and future positioning in the market.The key objective of the first day was the operations review with internal sessions between LAP GreenN, the OpCos and our potential partners. The following day was jam-packed with a strategy reminder and next steps presentation, sessions by the partners about key telecom trends, IT solutions & Mobile Money. Sessions continued on legal elements in terms of corporate governance and compliance, the nature of human resources and its new policies and reviews from each OpCos.

The meeting ended on a very positive note, with encouragement from our guest speakers and ideas and future plans were exchanged.

The next such event will take place in November 2013.

The semi-annualstrategy meeting

LAP Green Networksand Huawei agree settlement terms and reaffirm long-term relationship June 23rd, 2013 – Following a year of negotiations between Huawei and LAP GreenN the two organizations have reached conclusive terms on a commercial settlement agreement. The agreement is a major milestone, which offers resolutions to various issues between the two parties. LAP GreenN is now also able to draw on the material resources of Huawei, which adds a significant fillip to the day-to-day operations of its network operations. Huawei is LAP GreenN’s largest and longest-standing equipment supplier across the continent, with a relationship dating back to as early as 2007.

The Group’s new management has been determined to revert to business as usual and regularize its relationships with its supply chain and other stakeholders across its business ecosystem. As part of the overall Group strategy, LAP GreenN is embarking on network transformation initiatives within each of its operating companies, and will be engaging Huwaei in these discussions specifically on the development of its Next Generation Network (NGN) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) roadmap. It will also use Huawei’s end-to-end solutions and services to drive OPEX efficiencies across the Group, with green power initiatives at the forefront.

NEWSFROMTHEGROUP

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On June 20th, 2013 in Abidjan, an official meeting was held between His Excellency, Mr. Usama Siala, Libya’s Minister of Communications and Information, and His Excellency, Mr. Bruno Kone, Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications.

His Excellency, Mr. Usama Siala, confirmed the strong relationship between Libya and Cote d’Ivoire. He noted that they were both African countries with a mutual interest to develop further their relationship, based on mutual benefit and co-operation. He highlighted the Government of Libya’s intention to support and stand by its investment interests in Cote d’Ivoire, referring in particular to the investments made in the telecommunication sector.

His Excellency, Mr. Bruno Kone, highlighted the importance of the relationship between Cote d’Ivoire and Libya. He emphasized Cote d’Ivoire’s keen interest to receive new investment initiatives to sustain and develop further the economy.

Mr. Ahmed Kashada, Chief Executive Officer of the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio, was also in attendance to discuss Libya’s broader investment interests in Cote d’Ivoire and West Africa.

Mr. Wafik Shater, CEO of LAP GreenN, the majority shareholder in GreenN CI, explained LAP GreenN’s mandate to become a world class Africa based telecommunications business, adhering to best practice international business standards to develop robust and sustainable commercial businesses.He confirmed LAP GreenN’s commitment to support GreenN CI to expand and diversify its activities in the country.

Key visit by Libyan Ministerial delegation to Cote d'Ivoire focusingon telecommunications.

NEWSFROMIVORYCOAST

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Offer of the month GreenN CI, has launched in June, an astonishing offer for the Ivory Coast populations. With GreenN CI Eco, the subscribers have the possibility by subscription or by the purchase of a kit in 250FCFA to call unlimited intra and in 1F / second towards the other networks. The offer is valid for one month and is enticing for the subscribers.

GreenN CI branding The premises of GreenN CI are transformed with the new branding that started at the head office and the entrance of the company. The head office now has a new face.

At a press conference in Abidjan on May 30th 2013, Wafik Shater (LAP GreenN CEO) surrounded for the occasion by his counterparts in charge of the telecom sector Ahmed Ali Kashada (Libya Africa Investment Portfolio CEO) and Abdulghani Ramadan (GreenN CI CEO), confirmed developing a strategy for recovery after crisis. He shared the decision of the group to ensure the profitability of its investments in Cote d’Ivoire while announcing its commitment to expand and diversify its activities in the country.

GreenN CI, the telecommunications operator present in Cote d’Ivoire since 2009, has faced a difficult period because of the crises in Cote d’Ivoire and Libya. over the past 18 months, the company officials have taken steps that led to convincing results. These include the clearance of debt, boosting investment, reducing losses, the recruitment of a dynamic management team, increased teams, reconstruction of the various subsidiaries, etc. LAP GreenN and GreenN CI are fully focused on growing GreenN CI’s subscriber base by making competitive and compelling products available to Ivorian consumers, which includes the following offers: the FCFA 250 starter SIM, which is the lowest price in the market; the lowest on net tariff; and being the first operator to offer per second billing.

LAP GreenN confirms its commitment to restoring GreenN CI’s profitability

NEWSFROMIVORYCOAST

Implementation of key performance indicatorsIt’s been over a year now that GreenN CI has been embarking on a new mode of management by optimizing the efficiency of its human resources. A new procedure was implemented in May 2013, where each staff member had to define their objectives for the next six months and have set key performance indicators.

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UTL Launches International Incoming BonusOn Thursday 30th May 2013, UTL launched a new campaign dubbed INCOMING BONUS. With this campaign, every international call a UTL customer receives, they earn bonus airtime. Simply encourage all customers to ask their friends, family, business associates and every one they know outside Uganda to call them on their UTL line so as to earn free airtime from their calls. Every minute they call, they will receive a minute’s worth of bonus airtime for UTL to UTL calls. The offer is valid for UTL prepaid customers only. Campaign is currently running in the press and all the radio stations across the country.

‘Take 20’ CampaignUTL recently launched a campaign that brings three different services to the public all with one simple theme ‘Take 20’. The three services comprise of UTL’s popular ‘U-Switch’, ‘-1 on 1’ and an attractive SMS bundle. The three product packages provide great value for money to all UTL customers throughout Uganda.With the ‘U-switch’ offer, customers get 20 minutes of UTL-to-UTL calls all day long by simply dialing *1*165#. This service costs a one-time fee of only Ushs 500/=, and UTL Customers may opt in to this service as many times as they want at any time of the day or nightWith the ‘Take20-’ SMS bundle, customers get 20 free SMS’s daily by simply by dialing *166#. This package expires daily so customers are required to send out all their SMS on the day of subscription.The third ‘Take20’ package called ‘1 on 1’ gives UTL customers 20 minutes calling to one preferred number for only 1/- per sec. To register the preferred number on 1 on 1, the customer can just dial *187#. These discounted calls to the 1 on 1 number (which is the first number on your ‘family & friends’ list) are available to all UTL prepaid mobile users.The campaign was introduced to staff and the public through a trade launch held on Tuesday 21st May 2013 at Africana Hotel in Kampala. The campaign has been rolled out to all media and communications channels across the country. The ‘Take 20’ offer is valid for all Uganda Telecom prepaid customers.

NEWSFROMUGANDA

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UTL undergoes business transformation processUganda Telecom aims to create a new exciting experience in communication. In line with this vision and in a bid to stream line operations and service quality, it embarked on a business transformation process that led to structural and human resource changes. All this is aimed at creating a competitive value proposition to our customers. On 3rd of May 2013, UTL held a town hall meeting to communicate the new business objectives to all staff and the core five initiatives for the business going forward.

Win ONE MILLION shillings everyday with Uganda TelecomIn a bid to encourage its customers to register their SIM cards before the UCC deadline, 31st May 2013, Uganda Telecom ran a promotion where customers that registered their SIM Cards before the deadline stand a chance to win ONE MILLION shillings EVERY DAY. The draws were held every day, winners called and the money was wired through the Msente platform.

NEWSFROMUGANDA

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SHOOTSQ2 | 2013



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GEMTEL CONNECT- COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPOn April 1st, Gemtel officially signed a strategic partnership agreement with communities from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenyan that represent over 40% of international communities in South Sudan. This is to connect and stimulate usage of all Gemtel customers and lead to revenue sharing.

The strategic partnership with communities from church, mosques & International communities consisted of contributing to better acquisition-making, creating proximity, informing business decisions, sharing best practices and creating clubbing effect.The partnership resulted positively as it helped increase brand usage and awareness among the international communities.

BATTLE OF THE GIANTS CONCERT - JUBA SPONSORED BY GEMTELAs part of it commitment to Social Responsibility, Gemtel sponsored a Night Concert dubbed “Battle of the Giants” held on 18th & 19th April where top artistes in South Sudan battled for the best Talent.

This initiative is to cater its customers with the elements they love most and continue to support the young and upcoming artistes in the Region, as well as to help spread a message of Peace and Unity amongst the South Sudanese community.

The two-day event, held at Akok Hotel & Kush Resort attracted both locals and foreign revelers. It was very successful in outlaying the brand Image and accrued sales.Lucky revelers won amazing prizes from Gemtel that included T-shirts, Airtime and SIMPACKS.

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GEMTEL’S PEACE PROMOTIONFor the first time in South Sudan, Gemtel has provided a discount on international calls to Sudan, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, China, USA, Canada, India and Australia. This promotion is the number one hit in town which drives good business performance. Gemtel has received positive feedback from subscribers.Recharge Bonus on-net is still ongoing as has had a good impact on retention.

Gemtel SMS & Win Promotion is still ongoing with more valuable prizes to be wonThe SMS game criteria is to have subscribers answer simple multiple-choice questions daily to have a chance to win motorbikes, computers, cows, daily talk-times and electrical appliances such as LCD TVs, mobiles & much more. All they have to do is SMS the word ‘WIN’ to 300 to subscribe. The more one plays the bigger chances of winning.

The introduction of cows as part of the goodies has brought more interest in this gaming. In South Sudan, cows are cash and objects of beauty.Promotion is running until July 9th 2013, during the 2rd anniversary of South Sudan Independence.

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YAMBIO & MARIDI PROMOTION (Western Equatorial States)

As part of their strategy to drive sales and brand awareness within South Sudan, Gemtel uses guerilla marketing by staging concerts for the local communities.

For the Yambio Peace Concert, Gemtel sponsored the Battle of Giants winner Mr. Lengs to perform in the two big shows, Yambio and Maridi respectively.Gemtel subscribers were treated with two nights of fun and thrilling entertainment, packed with comedy, local artists and dancers.

The entrance ticket was a Gemtel airtime voucher of value 10SSP.

Gemtel’s main goal for these two concerts was to:1.Drive brand awareness amongst the locals in Yambio by staging road drives advertising the concerts. 2.Make as many connections as we could. A team of foot soldiers (sales) was to take advantage and penetrate the large crowds to make connections.3.Promote the on-going SMS GAME by sensitizing the crowds to the aspects of the game and how they could enter to win amazing prizes.4.Maximize/enhance the awareness of the 50% discount on international calls that was newly launched.

Achievements:•Brand awareness was achieved since thorough drives and stopovers were done. •Sales were achieved with thousands getting connected to the network. •This promotion saw lots of participants in SMS GAME, both new subscribers and old participated in playing which gave Gemtel a revenue boost.

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At LAP GreenN, no two days are the same for the CEO office. One day could be spent in meetings with key suppliers or preparing for an upcoming Board meeting. The next can revolve around discussions with the M&A team regarding potential opportunities, or creating a project tracker for all company-wide initiatives. I only joined 3 weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it so far. Lap GreenN is a dynamic organization to be a part of – everyone is extremely driven and committed to getting things done, and a strong team spirit is felt across the company. You really feel that what you do has an impact, which is something you don’t find in most organizations. It's also amazing to see the progress that the Group and the opcos have made in such a short period of time, and is a testament to how hard work pays off. It is a very exciting time for LAP GreenN and I am happy to be back on board to take part in this journey.

Michelle Hirst joined the team as the Manager, CEO Office with effect from 2nd June 2013. Prior to this she worked at Intigral, a leading digital content provider, as a strategy and corporate development consultant, and Delta Partners Group, where she previously worked with Lap GreenN. She also worked at Stocks & Securities Ltd., in Jamaica and Greenwich Associates in the US and London in various capacities. Michelle is from Kingston, Jamaica and holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BA in Economics from New York University.

A dayin the life of Michelle Hirst

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"For more information about our semi-annual meeting, please check-outGreenN Shoots SPECIAL EDITION''

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Editorial Committee

Green Shoots has been prepared by Hend Abdulwahed from LAP GreenN, with the collaboration of Iya Koisse Adoum from Gemtel, and Hervé Yao from GreenN CI and Jamal Sultan from UTL If you would like to contribute to our newsletter, or have any feedback or comments to share with us,please contact: Hend Abdulwahed Email: [email protected]


greenn shoots q2 2013

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