As part of i2’s recently launched business expansion drive, the company known as the region’s largest and most diverse mobile distributor in the Middle East and Africa acquired Cellempower, a Dubai-based company specialized in mobile value-added services and mobile marketing.
“This acquisition will allow us to better serve our customers and our partners through the consolidation of our leadership in our markets. Together we will have stronger bundling programs, content, applications and several new offerings that will benefit the end user by leveraging i2’s strong distribution and retail network,” said Abdul Hameed Al Sunaid, President and CEO, i2.
The trend in value-added services indicates that i2 has made a shrewd decision by acquiring Cellempower. According to industry research, the Middle East market for value-added services in 2005 was worth $350 million, and is predicted to boom to $1.7 billion by 2010.
Dr. Ben Dhia, President and CEO of Cellempower described the acquisition as one that “will not only differentiate i2 and improve its competitiveness but will reinforce the position of Cellempower in its core activities by adding the effective reach of customers through the Mobile Devices that i2 is distributing across all its markets. Cellempower / i2 is the optimal fit and we are extremely happy to assist our Group in addressing the ever growing market challenges and competition.”
i2’s began its relationship with Cellempower as a founding stakeholder with 12.5 per cent ownership, believing in its operating practice of value added services as the way forward. Cellempower is able to offer numerous value added service through its direct connectivity with over 10 operators in the region,.
According to industry forecasts provided by Cellempower, non-voice services will reach 30 per cent of total telecom operators’ revenue in the next three to five years. SMS services are the most popular of these, and currently constitute a 50 to 60 per cent share of non-voice revenues.
“Our mission is to increase i2’s value for our customers, partners and stakeholders and we plan to do this by being number one in our business. As a result we have big plans ahead of us which include new acquisitions, new market penetration and retail expansion,” said Sunaid. The company recently announced its expansion into four new markets in Africa and will announce new developments in the near future.
About Itsalat International (i2):
Founded in 1993 in Saudi Arabia, i2 is the region’s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider. Over 1,300 employees across 350 stores in 20 countries are dedicated to providing i2 customers with technological solutions and services that enhance their lifestyles and shopping experience. I2 stores offer the widest range of mobile phones, PDAs, wireless technology, software; value added services and mobile accessories in the region. It is the first mobile phone provider to offer its customers a life-time warranty and a comprehensive after sales maintenance program on all products purchased in store or online. To better serve their customers, i2 has expanded its reach to include i2 magazine, i2 club, i2 prestige, i2 café and other innovative support programs. For more information about i2 products and services please visit www.i2-mobile.com . i2 operates in: Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Reunion, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and UK.
About Cellempower:
Cellempower is a “one-stop-shop” for mobile telecom operators, enterprises and content & applications’ providers, offering them comprehensive end-to-end solutions to enable new revenue streams and / or achieve strategic and business objectives by leveraging the full capabilities of wireless technologies under the model of Wireless Application Service Provider. The company was founded in Dubai by a team of seven experts in the fields of marketing, telecommunications, business development and technology and has two core activities; Mobile Value Added Services Platforms and Mobile Marketing. Both are served by the Wireless content department. Cellempower services its customers within the GCC, Middle East and African Markets and addresses the most active and promising part of the value chain: Mobile value added services.
