By Yero S. Bah
Mr. Kalifa M. Faal is a Software Engineer with expertise in major programming languages and Network Technologies. As Gambian techpreneur, he started his KMF Technologies firm with just $200 and today, the tech company is a household name in the Gambia. It’s still growing as it reaches the shores of neighboring Senegal through Xoom Wireless-an Internet Service Provider (ISP) firm.
In this one-on-one Mansa Banko Online interview, Faal delved into the saga surrounding Xoom Wireless, a licensed Internet Service Provider which has now been acquired by Orange Sonatel, a giant Senegalese telecom firm that is based in Dakar, Senegal.
“At this point, we are doing a licence transfer application which is triggered by the change in the share structure and management of XOOM after the takeover.
“This process should have taken us three months under the Laws of The Gambia but it is now twelve (12) months with no response or results, which is not really fair to us. And for me, I am just seeking for answers to get this deal done,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Faal frustratingly narrated to this medium.
Faal, who graduated in 2009 with a BSc.degree from Florida State University (USA), studied Computer Science and Mathematics. He wasted no time in doubling back to the Gambia to start his technology firm in order to contribute his quota to national development; and he believed his company is one of the top five IT Solutions Providers in the country.
According to the Software Engineer, through KMF technologies, a need to create another arm of business that would complement his first ITC Company through the provision of cheaper internet services to Gambians was felt, and that was how Xoom Wireless came about in 2017. He added that they wanted to grow from just being IT providers to Internet Service Providers (ISP) too.
The techpreneur informed that IT had always been his passion, hence the inspiration behind KMF technologies, adding this helps him to offer end-to-end IT Solutions to companies in the Gambia.
“When I came back from my studies in the US, I could not get a job because IT wasn’t really at the forefront in those days as it is today in this country,” recounted Faal, as he went on to say he was always “over qualified or mismatched” for the jobs available at the time. That, Faal went on, prompted him to go solo and eventually creating KMF Technologies and Xoom Wireless, respectively few years down the line, as he claimed to have served several companies in the Gambia through the provision of high end IT Goods and Services from the inception of his tech firm to date.
The tech CEO said his entrepreneurial mindset is that of a survivor, that no matter the environment, one has to find means to earn a decent living. KMF technologies provides the best IT Services with manufacturer warranty, said Faal.
He pointed out that the Xoom Wireless concept was born out of frustrations over the poor quality and costly internet services in the country. Faal noted that despite their large presence in the country, none of them was making any difference in the market, and “this is what pushed me to start Xoom Wireless”.
He said the focus of Xoom Wireless is to grow the market by connecting every corner of the Gambia to fix broadband, adding the overall target is nationwide coverage but the immediate targeted areas would be the Greater Banjul Area and Brikama West Coast Region. Faal disclosed XOOM would deploy a fixed broadband LTE network while utilizing the National infrastructures such as the ECOWAN and ACE cable to reach potential customers nationwide.
Besides, tech savvy Faal acknowledged that initially, the government of the Gambia together with all its relevant stakeholders such as Gamtel, PURA and the Gambia Competition Commission were supportive of the Xoom Wireless $20 million deal with Orange and that they were even granted the preliminary License Transfer Approval by all the players.
However, in his words, everything was rendered ‘null and void’ when it reached the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure headed by Mr. Ebrima Sillah. He alleged that, at some point, Minister Sillah told him that in fact, the Framework Agreement between XOOM and Gamtel that was signed by Mrs. Ramou Nyass on behalf of the Managing Director of Gamtel, Mr. Alhagie Seedy Jaiteh and Mr. Aly Dia of SONATEL, were ‘null and void’ as the Minister argued that he “wasn’t sure of those signatories of that framework agreement”.
Meanwhile, on September 8,2020 during the “Coffee Time” [program] with Peter Gomez of West Coast Radio, Minister Sillah allegedly said Faal was granted a license to kick off his Xoom Wireless project but on the whole, the product founder did not in fact, have the financial means to hit the ground running for this capital intensive tech project in the Gambia.
But Faal disagreed with that assertion, insisting that he had 10 million dalasis as initial startup capital to cover the first targeted areas of Greater Banjul and Brikama, saying Guaranty Trust Bank had written a Letter of Intent to loan Xoom Wireless up to US$500,000 to boost the project. maintained his company has followed all due processes in this rigorous license transfer application and that his application was vetted by PURA and the Gambia Competition Commission through a rigorous due diligence process, and their application was approved by the concerned authorities.
“But yet still, the final approval of the transfer application has stalled for months since it reached the Information and Communication Ministry under the watchful eyes of Honourable Ebrima Sillah for reasons I don’t know. I have written to the Ministry on many occasions but they have never responded officially,” he unhappily remarked.
The CEO of KMF Technologies and founder of Xoom Wireless spoke on the deal between Xoom Wireless and Orange Senegal, saying it’s a partnership in which Orange Senegal will co-fund a state-of-the-art LTE network, deploy expertise and financial muscle to the Gambia to implement the project. This would translate to cheaper and affordable internet connectivity services for Gambians nationwide as they operates in most of the countries in the sub-region such as Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea Conakry, he argued.
“The telecom sector requires solid financial investments to do large scale projects. There is no Gambian who owns a 100% of all these telecom companies, and it is always a merger or partnership,” Faal added. He said this is a long-term project and even if he owns just 1%, he is fine with it. Under the deal, Orange Senegal acquires 91.6% whilst Xoom Wireless founder Faal owns 8.4%, respectively.
He re-echoed that the delay in the provision of the approved License Transfer Application by the Information and Communication Ministry has actually stalled the entire process, notwithstanding Faal is ever determined to see this through, noting they have a valid licence.
Thus, the acquisition activated a provision of Section 24 of the IC Act which states that, “a change in ownership of the License of fifty per cent or more or a change in the control of management is considered a transfer of License and shall be subject to prior consent of the Authority.”
Faal continued: “We have been given a pre-application approval by PURA and the Gambia Competition Commission as they have vetted our new application, and all of them are in agreement that it is a good investment for the country. It is at the ministerial level where we are having setbacks, even though we don’t know why so.”
He disclosed also that Xoom Wireless and Gamtel had already signed an agreement regarding this deal and they have assured government that they are in agreement with Gamtel, the national telecom company on December 19, 2019. Faal said they took this valid signed agreement with Gamtel to the Minister of Information and Communication, adding that the framework agreement with Gamtel means Xoom Wireless will use the Gamtel’s infrastructure once the final license is granted which include co-location, sharing infrastructure, purchasing capacity on the ACE and using the ECOWAN.
“In the framework agreement, we committed ourselves to using Gamtel infrastructure once the final license is given.”
Still on his allegation about the Minister, Faal asserted that he had received a call from Minister Sillah two days after the submission of the framework agreement and Sillah told him that ‘your agreement is considered null and void by the board of directors of Gamtel’.
Meantime, Minister Sillah had told the ‘Coffee Time’ he was worried about who signed the initial agreement and thateven local operators were also worried of Orange coming into the Gambia.
The unrelented Faal chided that in a free market those issues are unimaginable, as he rhetorically asked how could old players dictate the entrance of a new player, and hopes that the Gambia’s policy makers are not yielding to pressure from local operators.
He strongly refuted the claims that, if Orange-Xoom-Wireless should operate in the Gambia, it could render Gamtel redundant. He assured that his Xoom Wireless would be buying from Gamtel and using Gamtel infrastructure. Therefore, Gamtel stands the chance of raking huge revenues from Xoom Wireless in the Gambia, as he said.
“The shortcomings of Gamtel is not our problem to deal with. Every institution has its challenges and what we want is to use Gamtel infrastructure to reach our clients. We will be using their services in the tune of millions to Gamtel; how can Gamtel go down with our presence?” he queried.
Xoom Wireless is just an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for homes and businesses as clearly stated by CEO Faal, noting they are not a GSM company or anything else.
“How are we going to kill other players?” He explained that, Orange is a global telecom company that is not known for dodgy businesses, as he equally discredited the claims that such deals might jeopardize national security of the Gambia to Senegal. He reasoned that that SONATEL already provides internet backup to Gamtel whenever the country experiences possible ACE blackout or maintenance is due in the Gambia since there is only one internet connectivity which is the ACE fiber optic cable.
“If the ACE is down, there will be total internet blackout, and SONATEL serves as our backup as a nation; so the issue of national security regarding this deal holds no water,” Faal underlined.
He pointed out that as a Gambian and an entrepreneur, he wants this deal done, and he threatens to take all legal measures to make sure the deal is finalized.
“We have been patient, but if things don’t move forward, we will consider legal action,” he warned. His vision for the next decade, he stated, is to see Xoom Wireless adding value to the lives of Gambians, and also doing amazing projects that would make the difference in the Gambia.
The KMF Technologies and Xoom Wireless chief revealed he has documented evidence of all signed frameworks with all the relevant stakeholders as well as his engagements right from the onset. Faal is of the strong position that he is a Gambian and investing in his country is “a right and not a privilege”, so he doesn’t need to beg for approval as long as he is following due processes.
“I don’t need to befriend anyone to get public officials sign my documents for investment in my country,” the determined Faal stressed.
