MAPUTO – Vodacom Mozambique, a unit of South Africa’s Vodacom , will invest $50 million to expand infrastructure in rural areas and win market share, in Mozambique.

“We are investing $50 million in our expansion plans to build new base stations, particularly in the inner remote reaches,” Vodacom Mozambique Chairman Hermenigildo Gamito said.

Vodacom Mozambique, one of two mobile phone operators in the country, has some 40 percent of the market with around 1.5 million subscribers.

Gamito said Mozambique’s Whatana Investments, chaired by Graca Machel, the wife of South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela, had taken a 5 percent stake worth $10 million.

He added that Vodacom Mozambique planned further stake sales but will retain a majority holding.

Local shareholding in the company stands at 15 percent.

Source – Reuters