Wananchi Group (Holdings) Ltd, the parent company of Zuku, is now under new management. With the acquisition complete, AXIAN Telecom’s subsidiary, Yas, now controls nearly all of Wananchi Group, holding a 99.63% share.
The acquisition was completed at a cost of KES 9.6 billion.
Yas is a company incorporated in Mauritius and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Axian Telecom Limited (ATL). This integration of Wananchi is expected to strengthen Yas’ position in the East African market, notably Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Malawi.
Hassan Jaber, CEO of AXIAN Telecom, commented, “Yas already has a strong presence in East Africa, and this acquisition builds on our deep understanding of the region’s opportunities and needs while giving us access to new vibrant markets in Kenya and Uganda.”
Wananchi, which operates under Zuku (consumer) and Simbanet (enterprise), is expected to gain substantial investment capacity and group expertise under Yas’s ownership.
This will enable it to quickly expand its core services (FTTH, SD-WAN, and cloud connectivity) via its existing extensive fibre network. Investment in key markets will be timely as Zuku has been losing its FTTH market share.
“Together, we will unlock new potential for growth, innovation, and value creation – delivering better access and new digital services for the communities and businesses we serve,” Jaber added.
News of this inquiry was first made public in September 2024. This was after the COMESA Competition Commission formally received official notification about the proposed deal.
AXIAN and Wananchi Group Subsidiaries
AXIAN maintains a significant presence across the COMESA common market through numerous subsidiaries.
These include operations in Comoros (Telecom Comores, Telco Money S.A.), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Kenya (Axian Telecom Kenya Limited), along with several entities in Madagascar (BNI Madagascar, Mvola S.A., and Telecom Malagasy S.A.).
However, the Kenyan subsidiary serves only as an administrative office that provides business support for Axian and does not generate any revenue in Kenya.
Therefore, within the Common Market, the Acquiring Group operates in Comoros, the DRC, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Uganda.
Wananchi Group subsidiaries span several countries with notable entities like Wananchi Telecom Ltd and Simbanet Com Limited in Kenya, along with subsidiaries in Uganda (Simbanet (U) Limited), Malawi (Simbanet Malawi Limited), and the active subsidiaries: Wananchi Satellite Limited, Wananchi Programming Ltd, and Wananchi Telecom Ltd.
Several entities in the group, including the Rwandan subsidiary, are currently dormant.
Wananchi Group Founders
The late Njeri Rionge, together with former Kenya ICT Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru, co-founded the firm Wananchi Online Limited (WOL), which grew to become today’s Wananchi Group in February 1999.
Rionge served as the company’s CEO, and Joseph Mucheru served as CTO and later Director of Strategy, leading the company alongside a six-member board.
James Mungai Gachui (Chairman of Jimana Ltd) was the majority shareholder with 51% ownership. Rionge and Mucheru each held a 20% stake. The remaining 9% belonged to board member Joseph Kamau.
It later became today’s Wananchi Group, Zuku’s parent company, and East Africa’s leading pay-TV, broadband Internet, and VoIP services firm. Zuku is one of Kenya’s earliest Fiber To Home providers.
Following Rionge’s passing in October 2023, news of the Wananchi Group acquisition was made public approximately a year later.
