KDN changes to Liquid Telecoms after sale of stake

Kenya Data Networks CEO Shahab Meshki. Photo/FILE 

By OKUTTAH MARK

In Summary

• The new owners are betting on Liquid’s vast infrastructure in East Africa to win new customers, mostly international firms that have set up headquarters in Kenya or South Africa.
• The move is seen as an effort by its new owners, Liquid Telecoms, to recover lost ground in the data market where players such as Wananchi Group and AccessKenya have made inroads and edged out KDN as a top player.
• Shahab Meshki, the KDN chief executive officer, told the Business Daily that other measures to reclaim lost market share are expanding its product portfolio to include video and voice services and upgrading its switches to improve the quality of its network.

Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has rebranded to Liquid Telecoms Kenya six months after Mauritius-registered Liquid Telecoms acquired an 80 per cent stake in its owners, Altech.

The new owners are betting on Liquid’s vast infrastructure in East Africa to win new customers, mostly international firms that have set up headquarters in Kenya or South Africa.

Liquid Telecoms operates in 13 African countries including Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and has over 15,000 kilometres of fibre network across the borders.

The move is seen as an effort by its new owners, Liquid Telecoms, to recover lost ground in the data market where players such as Wananchi Group and AccessKenya have made inroads and edged out KDN as a top player.

Shahab Meshki, the KDN chief executive officer, told the Business Daily that other measures to reclaim lost market share are expanding its product portfolio to include video and voice services and upgrading its switches to improve the quality of its network.

“We have a future-focused approach and are constantly striving to deliver the best communication technology to everyone,” said Nic Rudnick, CEO Liquid Telecoms.

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According to the latest data from the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), KDN’s market share dropped to 23.4 per cent (21,377 clients) in the year to March from 30.2 per cent (24,094 clients) the previous year. The firm slipped to the second position after being overtaken by Wananchi Group (35.4 per cent).

Liquid Telecom owns 80 per cent of KDN after buying a 60.8 per cent stake from South Africa’s Altech and 19.2 per cent from businessman Naushad Merali. The sale was driven by the quest for new capital to boost operations.