Alieu Conteh

Alieu Badara Mohamed Conteh (* around 1952 in Gambia ) is a Gambian businessman who works in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . He is chairman of the board of directors of Vodacom Kongo .

Life

He studied in London and at California State University .

He was the deputy editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper and in 1981 he went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He initially traded in metals, foodstuffs and mainly exported coffee beans to London. In the last major civil war in the Congo, he lost everything to the rebels. After Laurent-Désiré Kabila seized power in May 1997, he gave a speech in Kinshasa that prompted Conteh to start thinking about telecommunications.

In 1999 he started the "Congolese Wireless Network" (CWN) with initially 4,000 customers. He finally bought a GSM license for $ 2 million. At that time the civil war was still at its peak. Since rebel troops had closed Kinshasa airport , no foreign manufacturer sent a cell phone receiver tower, so Conteh had to convince local residents to collect scrap metal to make one themselves. The tower still stands today.

In 2001 he entered into a joint venture with Vodacom , South Africa's largest wireless operator, in which Vodacom acquired 51 percent. In mid-2006, Vodacom Congo already had more than 1.5 million customers.

Individual evidence

↑ 2019: Top Richest Gambians And Net worth. In: whiteniche.com. 2019, Retrieved July 22, 2019 (American English).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Conteh, Alieu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Conteh, Alieu Badara Mohamed (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Gambian telecommunications entrepreneur in the DR Congo
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH	Gambia

[1] 2019: Top Richest Gambians And Net worth. In: whiteniche.com. 2019, Retrieved July 22, 2019 (American English).