Moroke Sekoboto
TELECOMMUNICATIONS powerhouse, Econet Telecom Lesotho (ETL), has completed a remarkable five-year turnaround journey as of February 2025, emerging as a profitable, fully fledged technology solutions provider poised for future growth.
The transformation was driven by prudent management, sustained investment in a future-proof network, innovative products that resonated with the market, a strong focus on customer experience, early adoption of emerging technologies, and strategic human capital development.
At the heart of the turnaround was the “Win with Data” strategy, launched five years ago. It underpinned a major rollout of both fibre and 5G networks – investments that have now begun to pay off.
Stakeholder and supplier relationships have been restored. Staff welfare and capacity building have improved service delivery, while Econet’s commitment to social impact has been reaffirmed through increased investment in education via the Higherlife Foundation and other strategic initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable communities.
To fully appreciate the scale of Econet’s revival, ETL revisited the situation six years ago when the company was teetering on the brink of collapse.
ETL’s Chief Financial Officer, Teboho Tjaoane, said eight years of sustained loss-making had eroded the balance sheet to a point where the company was technically insolvent.
“We barely existed to pay employees and regulatory obligations only,” Mr Tjaoane said, adding that they had to draft technical papers to justify that the company was still a going concern.
“What was left funded critical working capital and lastly investment in the network.”
In addition to the liquidity crisis, the network was cranky due to years of neglect. Customers had lost patience, staff morale was low, and relations with stakeholders were strained.
“And we were not investing in the network, which is not ideal in telecoms.”
Mr Tjaoane recalls that Econet was on a “downward spiral trajectory and effectively nonexistent on the consumer mass market and barely keeping up with its payments on key financing facilities such as the Government of Lesotho on-lending loan”.
The monumental task of pulling the business from the precipice fell on the shoulders of the new management team—entirely made up of locals.
After a thorough assessment, the team realised quick fixes would not be sustainable. So, a turnaround strategy focused on implementing long-term solutions to all key facets of the business was adopted.
Rooted in the ‘Win with Data’ strategy, the turnaround centred on building a new mobile network, expanding the existing fibre network, upscaling human capital, focusing on the customer, launching new products, rejigging internal systems, and restoring relations with stakeholders.
Mr Tjaoane said the results of that strategy were almost instant, with the “defining moment being the beginning of the consistent double-digit growth in revenue and being able to do that profitably”.
The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin has almost doubled from 18% to the current 35%.
“The debt with the Government of Lesotho has been restructured and we have consistently adhered to the repayment terms, settling close to M200 million in the last five years.
“Despite the rising cost of wages, operations, equipment, and taxes, Econet has invested over M560 million in future growth areas such as advanced LTE and optimising operational processes.”
He said a significant portion of that capital had been internally generated through prudent financial management, sustainable profitability, and strategic partnerships with key technology suppliers. Mr Tjaoana also said local financial institutions had chipped in to fill some gaps.
The evidence of this investment has been the rapid expansion of the network across the country, which has resulted in a significant increase in the revenue market share from below 18% to the current 37%.
Mr Tjaoane said, having steadied the ship, Team Econet was now dealing with the “normal challenges of running a business as opposed to resuscitating it from the Intensive Care Unit.”
“We have fortressed our balance sheet by drastically reducing the gearing, improving liquidity, and clearing legacy payables.”
The next five years, he added, would be defined by the ability to monetise 5G at a time when profit margins are depressed globally across the sector.
“We have invested in 5G to be future-ready, and it helps us to provide reliable redundancy to our enterprise customers and provide fibre-like speeds to our customers outside fibre coverage.”
“The plan is centred on investment in future-ready technologies and products informed by the intelligence gathering from customer behaviour we gather from the network patterns, feedback we receive from physical and online touchpoints. This was backed by a sound market strategy, which ensured availability of products and visible presence.”
He said Team Econet was grateful for the support from the government, the board of directors, the shareholders, partners, and customers.
