Currency crisis weighs heavily on Econet Wireless operations, despite growth

Zimbabwe’s largest mobile operator Econet Wireless posted notable growth in data volumes and voice usage in 2021, however, the company’s latest figures reveals how much the country’s currency crisis is has become a drawback to its operations.

Econet Wireless subscribers used 58% more data and voice usage was 19% higher, the company said in its financial report for the year ending February.

Apparently, Econet Wireless is worried by the impact of the rising costs and the volatile exchange rates being experienced in Zimbabwe.

The challenges include investments in infrastructure have been hampered by lack of foreign currency, high taxes and exchange rate volatility making the cost of doing business unsustainable.

“The inflation that was experienced since that time has not been factored into our pricing framework as at February 2022, meaning that our tariffs are now unviable for the business to continuously invest to meet the increasing demand for its services,” says Econet.

In some instances the company has resorted to tariffs hikes in order to stay afloat.

Zwnews