Vmobile

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Vmobile was a Nigerian mobile network that had about one million subscribers in 2004. It was originally owned by Econet Wireless Nigeria, but after a shareholder dispute it was briefly bought by Vodacom of South Africa. The Vodacom deal didn’t last, and the operator started trading as VMobile Nigeria, owned by Vee Networks Limited. The “Vee” name came from Vodacom after the deal fell through. Vodacom’s South African staff were kept on to run the network. Willem Swart became CEO, with several former Econet staff as directors. The investors said they were Nigeria-based, including the state governments of Lagos, Delta, and Akwa Ibom. On April 16, 2006, Celtel made a conditional offer for Vmobile, and in May 2006 Celtel bought Vmobile for about US$1.005 billion, gaining a 65% stake. Vmobile marketed itself as “the network for the Nigerian people” with the slogan “it’s all about you.”