Former MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa has joined the board of rival operator Cell C as the company looks to push its growth and steady investor confidence.
- Motsa vacated the CEO office at MTN’s SA business at the end of 2021, and is credited as a turnaround specialist for making it the most profitable telco in the market.
- Maya Makanjee, who has held various executive director positions across industries spanning close to 30 years, has also been appointed to the board.
- The appointments bring a wealth of cross-industry knowledge and strategic guidance that will invigorate Cell C’s growth trajectory, according to the company.
- Cell C has struggled to make a profit since it opened for business in 2001, with long-term debt of R8.7bn, prompting Blue Label and Lesaka Technology to write down their combined R7.5bn investment to nil.
- Following a long-awaited recapitalisation of the troubled mobile operator in September 2022, Blue Label positively revised the value of Cell C on its books to R962.5m.
- Cell C has shifted away from owning and operating its own network infrastructure in favour of roaming agreements with MTN and Vodacom.