Orange opens up in DRC

Orange has announced today the launch of its operations under the Orange brand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, giving a new dynamic to operations marketed until now under the CCT brand. Orange DRC customers will now join a global community of 183 million Orange customers. Present in 33 countries, France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading operators. It will bring its technical and commercial know-how to the DRC as well as its research and development expertise.

Since the acquisition of CCT in October 2011 and in line with its overall strategy, Orange has invested 87.4 billion CDF (Congolese francs, i.e. $95m) to expand and upgrade its network. Through these efforts, Orange is able to offer extensive, high-quality coverage across the country from the first day of its launch.

Orange has also deployed the country’s first 3G+ network in the leading cities. This network is now operational in Kinshasa and will be switched on in Lubumbashi and Matadi in the coming days. In early 2013, residents of Goma, Bukavu and Mbuji-Mayi will also be covered.

From the outset, Orange DRC will have a chain of 22 own-branded retail outlets to propose the full range of its mobile offers, and its products and services will be widely available through 22,000 indirect points of sale.

To maintain the Group’s high-quality technical and commercial standards, Orange DRC has rolled out an extensive program of 18,000 hours of training. It has recruited extra employees to achieve its goals, bringing its total staff to more than 600 people, and it can rely on more than 30,000 distributors and partners. The majority of the managerial positions are being filled with local talent.

Through the Group’s global network of 15 Orange Labs, the DRC will benefit from Orange’s ability to develop innovative products and services designed specifically to meet local requirements. Drawing on its knowledge of Africa’s markets, the Group has already worked to refine its catalogue of offers in the DRC based on targeted customer segments.

“Our objective is to harness the power of a large Group in order to benefit the Congolese population. We think that there is a strong desire for simple, dynamic and innovative services in the DRC, a country with incredible development potential; it is the Group’s ability to meet these requirements that makes Orange one of the most renowned brands in the world. We are committed to giving access to a reliable, high-quality network and to the possibilities offered by mobile broadband services using the 3G+ network,” notes Jean-Léon Bonnechère, CEO of Orange DRC.

Orange DRC will support the country’s socio-economic development through socially responsible corporate activities in the fields of healthcare and education through its Orange Foundation, which will be operational in 2013.

Staff Writer