About

Number of years practice: 25+

Principal practice areas: TMT

Languages spoken: English, French and Japanese

What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?

Pan-African practice.

Please describe the most important matters you have worked on in the African market in the last two years, including your role and the significance of the matter (if any) to the development of business and law.

I have worked on advising Facebook on numerous projects to roll out digital infrastructure and telecoms across Africa, Cell C (Pty) on a national roaming agreement with MTN Group in South Africa and IFC in connection with the financing of a telecoms company for the upgrade and expansion of its GSM network in Chad.

I’ve also advised Nedbank on the financing of 4G network roll outs in Africa, Warid Telecom in connection with the US$168.5m financing for the purchase of equipment from Huawei by China Development Bank in Uganda and the DR Congo.

Finally I have advised IHS on acquisitions of tower portfolios from Bharti operators in a number of African jurisdictions and associated MTSAs with the sellers and Bharti on the acquisition of operators from Zain, in 15 African jurisdictions.

What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers?

I am part of a team offering an end-to-end service focused on the telecoms and digitalisation sectors advising clients on strategic commercial, corporate, competition and regulatory, disputes
and IP matters.

Whether on a stand-alone basis or in the context of M&A and financings, I have substantial experience in African jurisdictions of connectivity infrastructure arrangements (including fixed and wireless terrestrial networks, towers and subsea cables), telecoms services arrangements (including network shares, MVNOs, m-payment offerings, e-commerce offerings), channel launches and distribution (whether transmitted by cable, satellite, terrestrial or OTT), as well as the creation of new services rights and acquisitions, licensing and audits.

Why has Africa been a particularly strong focus for you?

Africa as a continent is experiencing rapid growth. Half of the world’s 25 fastest growing nations are in Africa and the continent’s
population is set to grow by 50% to 1.5 billion by 2030. By 2040, the population of people at working-age will be 1.1 billion. The rapid growth of the continent requires infrastructure and clients are keen to cement their positions as first movers in these new markets.
Our clients in the digital economy space are in prime positions to contribute to this growth and we are positioning ourselves to give them the strategic advice needed to carry out successful ventures on the continent. Rolling out telecoms networks contributes massively to growth.

It is really important to me to be able to work on fascinating projects that are making an impactful and positive change to people’s lives. Facebook’s original mission statement was “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”, and I certainly believe that the work we’re doing in Africa is doing just that.

What changes have you seen in the appetite for Africa-based ventures and investments over the last five years?

Africa’s rapid growth has been coupled with an increase of business confidence and social/political stability. Furthermore, there is a strong drive to diversify away from traditional markets which are beginning to suffer from saturation and therefore lower returns on investment. Notably, there has also been a recent shift away from the focus on natural resources in Africa which has meant that other sectors are opening up and investment in alternatives is increasing.

Communications is a vital pillar of African development – “a mobile phone is more important than beer”. We have seen particular interest in the opportunities arising from the development of Africa’s connectivity and digital infrastructure. Africa represents 10% of the world’s total internet users, despite being 16% of world population. The market was traditionally led by mobile network operators, but it has now expanded to include a much wider range of businesses and, as a result, interests – from specialist mobile tower companies to fintech businesses and start-ups. The breadth of opportunity in this sector is obvious and we have seen a rise in the number of traditional telcos and also non-telcos, heavily investing in African digital infrastructure.

Are there any aspects of the African legal market that you would like to see change?

I’m less concerned with the development of Africa’s legal market than the development of Africa itself. There is no doubt in my mind that dealing with corruption and improving respect for the rule of law will make a real difference in Africa.

What megatrends do you think will shape the African market over the coming five years? How (if at all) will these trends affect your practice?

From our perspective one of the most interesting megatrends unfolding on the continent is urbanisation. By 2030, more than 50% of the population of Africa will be living in cities and over 60% will be living in cities by 2050. Urbanisation puts pressure on infrastructure and resources, meaning that opportunities are arising quickly and there is an urgency to investment and development. Urbanisation is both supported and propelled by the rising middle-class across the continent. The middle-class income category is expected to account for 47% of the total population in 2025. The rising middle class is giving way to a population who are heavy consumers of technology, media and telecommunication services. We are particularly excited about the development of smart cities within megacities and megaregions and the opportunities this will present for our clients to expand their operations into Africa. Our practice is developing its focus on strategic advice in relation to digital infrastructure ventures, specifically tailored to the complexities of African markets.