TNM sees opportunity for growth—Stevenson

TNM plc new chief executive officer (CEO) Douglas Stevenson has described the economic turmoil that Malawi and most of African countries are currently facing as an opportunity for growth.

He made the remarks in Blantyre on Wednesday on the sidelines of a cocktail the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed telecommunications service provider organised for the outgoing managing director (MD) Willem Swart and to welcome the new CEO.

Stevenson said if businesses would understand the economic woes, they would create investment opportunities that could help companies to grow.

He said: “The economic environment is tough and I believe the economic environment in Africa is also tough. But Africa is an investment destination for the world.

“I think it is important for the investment community and the businesses to understand the operating environment there in, and take advantage of that. In my opinion, I believe TNM and, Malawi as an economy, has a bright future.”

Stevenson said for TNM to excel in the tough economic environment, it will largely depend on how innovative the company is on the market and how fast it embraces the transition in the information and communication technology (ICT) framework.

“For us to grow, we need to offer products that are customer-centred and leapfrog with the technologies. In the past, we used to be more prescriptive in our products development to our customers but now, we have to give what our customers need which is an enabler in doing business,” he said.

Stevenson said as the world is fast moving into data, TNM will need to generate own content that is understood by the market while embracing new developments in the telecommunications sector.

The new CEO hailed the strong coverage that TNM has and hoped to develop new services using fibre optic network that currently is in phase two of installation.

TNM board chairperson Matthews Chikaonda said with a subscriber base of three million, the company intends to make huge investments in the next three years as one a way of championing its service delivery.

He said it is sad to note that Malawi is failing in the ICT development despite Malawi having more players in the industry that can help in moving the country forward.

Outgoing MD Swart said TNM has invested $150 million (K84 billion) in the past five years which has improved the company’s profitability and increased the subscriber base.