Axian Telecom

Axian Telecom is a telecommunications and digital-infrastructure group active across Africa and the Indian Ocean. Its activities include mobile network operations, broadband and enterprise connectivity, mobile-money and digital banking services, telecommunications towers, data centres and related information and communications technology infrastructure. The group began operating in 2003 and has developed from a Madagascar-centred telecommunications business into a regional platform with activities in eleven markets: Madagascar, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Senegal, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Réunion, Mayotte, Kenya and Malawi. Its headquarters are maintained in Mauritius and Dubai. The group’s historical foundation is its Malagasy telecommunications business. In 2004, it acquired a controlling interest in Télécom Malagasy. The operator was subsequently rebranded Telma in 2006 and later became part of the pan-African Yas brand in 2024. Madagascar also became the home of MVola, launched in 2010 as the country’s first mobile-money service. MVola obtained a banking licence in 2021 and was presented as Madagascar’s first digital bank, extending Axian Telecom’s role beyond network connectivity into payments and financial services. Axian Telecom expanded its infrastructure base through tower-company operations. TowerCo of Africa Madagascar was created in 2011 following the separation of part of the Malagasy operator’s tower portfolio. The group later extended the TowerCo of Africa model to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. In Uganda, it acquired Ubuntu Towers in 2021 and subsequently rebranded the business TowerCo of Africa Uganda. These businesses construct, own or operate telecommunications sites and provide infrastructure to network operators. The group’s West African expansion included an investment in Senegal. In 2018, Axian Telecom entered a partnership with Xavier Niel’s NJJ and Teyliom through Saga Africa Holdings to acquire an interest in the Senegalese operator formerly associated with Tigo and later Free Senegal. The business operates as Yas Senegal and provides mobile communications and mobile-money services through Mixx Senegal. It became the first operator in Senegal to introduce 5G technology in March 2024. In Togo, a consortium involving Axian Telecom and Emerging Capital Partners acquired a 51 percent stake in Togocom during the privatization of the country’s telecommunications sector in 2019. Togocom’s financial-services activity, formerly T-Money, operates under the Mixx brand; Togo introduced 5G mobile data services in December 2020. A major eastern African expansion took place in 2022, when Axian Telecom and Tanzanian investor Rostam Aziz formed a consortium to acquire Millicom’s Tanzanian operations. The transaction included Tigo Tanzania, Tigo Pesa and Zanzibar Telecom, commonly known as Zantel. The acquired businesses were subsequently integrated into the group’s Tanzanian telecommunications and fintech platform, with the mobile operator later adopting the Yas brand and the financial-services business becoming Mixx Tanzania. The transaction was financed in part through Axian Telecom’s debut bond issuance of 420 million US dollars. Approximately 400 telecommunications sites associated with the Tanzanian portfolio were separated and transferred to TowerCo of Africa. In 2024, Axian Telecom undertook a broad consumer-brand transition. Its mobile network operators in Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal and Togo adopted Yas, while fintech businesses in Tanzania, Togo and Senegal adopted Mixx. The rebranding was intended to give the group a common regional identity across mobile connectivity and digital financial services while retaining local operating companies and market-specific products. The group continued to broaden its portfolio in 2025. It acquired a 9.97 percent minority stake in Jumia Technologies AG, an e-commerce and fintech company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Yas also completed the acquisition of Wananchi Group, a fixed-broadband and enterprise-connectivity provider serving Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi. These moves expanded Axian Telecom’s exposure to e-commerce, fixed broadband and business connectivity alongside its established mobile and infrastructure operations. Axian Telecom is wholly owned by Axian Group Limited, whose activities extend across telecommunications, finance, energy, real estate and innovation. Axian Group is wholly owned by Hassanein Hiridjee, a Malagasy-born French entrepreneur. Axian Telecom is chaired by Hassanein Hiridjee, while Hassan Jaber serves as chief executive officer. The group was ranked 74th in the Financial Times’ 2025 list of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. Its current business model combines consumer mobile services, mobile money, digital banking, passive telecommunications infrastructure, data centres and fixed connectivity across a geographically diverse African and Indian Ocean footprint.

Axian Telecom began its activities in 2003 and developed initially around telecommunications operations in Madagascar. In 2004, it acquired 68 percent of Télécom Malagasy. The business was rebranded Telma in 2006, creating the operating identity that became closely associated with the group’s Malagasy telecommunications activities. In 2010, the group launched MVola, Madagascar’s first mobile-money service. MVola later received a banking licence in 2021, enabling it to operate as the country’s first digital bank according to the group’s historical account. The group expanded its physical network infrastructure through TowerCo of Africa. TowerCo of Africa Madagascar was established in 2011 after part of Telma Madagascar’s tower portfolio was separated from the mobile-network business. Axian Telecom subsequently built a wider tower platform, including operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. In 2021, it acquired Ugandan tower company Ubuntu Towers and renamed it TowerCo of Africa Uganda. Axian Telecom’s international expansion accelerated in the late 2010s. In 2018, it acquired a 40 percent interest in the Senegalese operator then known as Tigo Senegal, working with NJJ and Teyliom through Saga Africa Holdings. The business later operated as Free Senegal and is now branded Yas Senegal. In 2019, a consortium comprising Axian Telecom and Emerging Capital Partners acquired a 51 percent stake in Togocom as part of Togo’s telecommunications privatization. Togocom’s mobile-money service, formerly T-Money, became part of the Mixx fintech brand. Togo launched 5G mobile data services in 2020. In 2022, Axian Telecom partnered with Rostam Aziz to acquire Millicom’s Tanzanian operations. The transaction covered Tigo Tanzania, Tigo Pesa and Zantel, giving the group a substantial East African mobile and mobile-money presence. Axian Telecom financed the acquisition partly through its first bond, valued at 420 million US dollars. A portfolio of roughly 400 towers was subsequently carved out and transferred to TowerCo of Africa. The 2024 Yas and Mixx rebranding unified the group’s customer-facing telecommunications and fintech activities across multiple markets. Yas replaced earlier mobile brands in Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal and Togo, while Mixx replaced or consolidated fintech brands in Tanzania, Togo and Senegal. The Senegalese business launched 5G in March 2024. In 2025, Axian Telecom entered the African e-commerce and fintech sector through a 9.97 percent investment in Jumia Technologies AG. It also completed the acquisition of Wananchi Group, adding fixed broadband and enterprise services across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi. Alongside mobile-network operations, the group maintains TowerCo of Africa infrastructure companies and STELLAR-IX data-centre businesses in markets including Madagascar and Tanzania. Axian Telecom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Axian Group Limited. The wider group operates across telecommunications, finance, energy, real estate and innovation and is wholly owned by Hassanein Hiridjee. Axian Telecom’s board is chaired by Hiridjee, with Hassan Jaber as chief executive officer. Its present structure is that of a diversified regional infrastructure and services group rather than a single-country mobile operator.

• 2025

  Jumia investment and Wananchi acquisition

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired a 9.97 percent stake in Jumia and completed the acquisition of Wananchi Group.

• 2024

  Yas and Mixx rollout

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Mobile operators in five markets adopted Yas, while selected fintech operations adopted Mixx.

• 2022

  Tanzanian operations acquired

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Axian Telecom and Rostam Aziz acquired Millicom’s Tanzanian operations, including Tigo Tanzania, Tigo Pesa and Zantel.

• 2021

  MVola receives a banking licence

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  MVola received a bank licence and became Madagascar’s first digital bank according to the group’s account.

• 2021

  Ubuntu Towers acquired

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Axian Telecom acquired the Ugandan tower company Ubuntu Towers and rebranded it TowerCo of Africa Uganda.

• 2019

  Togocom privatization investment

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  A consortium involving Axian Telecom acquired a 51 percent stake in Togocom.

• 2018

  Senegal investment

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Axian Telecom acquired a 40 percent interest in the Senegalese operator formerly associated with Tigo through Saga Africa Holdings.

• 2011

  TowerCo of Africa Madagascar established

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  A portion of the Malagasy operator’s tower portfolio was separated into TowerCo of Africa Madagascar.

• 2010

  MVola launches

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  MVola launched as Madagascar’s first mobile-money service.

• 2006

  Telma rebrand

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Télécom Malagasy was rebranded Telma.

• 2004

  Acquisition of Télécom Malagasy

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired a 68 percent interest in Télécom Malagasy.

• 2003

  Activities begin

  [1]Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org

  Axian Telecom began its telecommunications activities.

A pan-African telecommunications and digital-infrastructure platform combining mobile networks, fintech, tower infrastructure, data centres and broadband connectivity, with a focus on underserved and fast-growing African and Indian Ocean markets.

• Mobile telecommunications · 2024

  Yas

  Yas is Axian Telecom’s common mobile-network brand. It replaced earlier operator brands in Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal and Togo during the 2024 regional rebranding. Services include mobile voice, messaging, data connectivity and, in selected markets, 5G access.

• Mobile money and fintech · 2024

  Mixx

  Mixx is the group’s fintech and mobile-money identity in markets including Tanzania, Togo and Senegal. It consolidates digital payment and financial-service activities that previously operated under local brands such as Tigo Pesa and T-Money, subject to market-specific operating structures.

• Mobile money and digital banking · 2010

  MVola

  MVola is Axian Telecom’s Malagasy mobile-money and digital-banking service. Launched in 2010, it was Madagascar’s first mobile-money service and received a banking licence in 2021. The service extends the telecommunications business into payments and broader digital financial services.

• Telecommunications infrastructure · 2011

  TowerCo of Africa

  TowerCo of Africa owns, constructs and operates passive telecommunications infrastructure, including base-station towers and related sites. Its operating companies have activities in Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, supporting mobile-network deployment and infrastructure sharing.

• Data centres

  STELLAR-IX

  STELLAR-IX is Axian Telecom’s data-centre platform. The group’s disclosed operations include STELLAR-IX Madagascar and STELLAR-IX Tanzania, held through a Mauritius-based holding company. The business provides data-centre infrastructure as part of Axian Telecom’s broader ICT platform.

• 2024Yas regional rebranding

  Tanzania · Madagascar · Comoros · Senegal · Togo

  Axian Telecom replaced several local mobile-operator identities with the common Yas brand as part of a regional effort to present its telecommunications businesses as one pan-African platform.

  Outcome. The participating mobile operators continued serving their individual markets under a shared customer-facing identity.

  Source
• 2024Mixx fintech rebranding

  Tanzania · Togo · Senegal

  Axian Telecom introduced Mixx as the common identity for selected mobile-money and fintech activities, including businesses previously known as Tigo Pesa and T-Money.

  Outcome. The rebranding aligned the group’s financial-services activities with its wider Yas telecommunications platform.

  Source

• 2025

  Investment in Jumia and acquisition of Wananchi GroupM&A

  Background

  Axian Telecom pursued growth beyond mobile networks into African e-commerce, fixed broadband and enterprise connectivity.

  Action taken

  The group acquired a 9.97 percent minority stake in Jumia Technologies AG and completed the acquisition of Wananchi Group.

  Aftermath

  The transactions broadened Axian Telecom’s portfolio into e-commerce and fixed connectivity across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.

  Source

• 2024

  Common Yas and Mixx brand architectureStrategy

  Background

  Axian Telecom operated multiple mobile and fintech businesses under locally established names across its African markets.

  Action taken

  The group introduced Yas for mobile-network operations in five markets and Mixx for selected fintech businesses.

  Aftermath

  The group gained a unified regional customer-facing architecture while retaining market-specific operating companies.

  Source

• 2022

  Acquisition of Millicom’s Tanzanian operationsM&A

  Background

  Axian Telecom sought to expand its East African telecommunications and mobile-money presence through a consortium with Rostam Aziz.

  Action taken

  The consortium acquired Tigo Tanzania, Tigo Pesa and Zantel. Axian Telecom issued its debut 420 million US dollar bond to help finance the transaction.

  Aftermath

  The acquired businesses became part of Axian Telecom’s Tanzanian platform, while approximately 400 towers were separated and transferred to TowerCo of Africa.

  Debut bond issuance. 420 million US dollars (2022)

  Source

1. 1Axian Telecomen.wikipedia.org