Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Telkom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Telkom story across 5 areas:
We'll start with some context about the South African telecoms sector
Telkom's early history
We'll deepdive into Telkom's primarily telco & non-telco businesses
Telkom's operating & financial performance
.Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Mar 27, 2022
Companies discussed: Telkom, Vodacom, Vodafone, Cell C, MTN, Southwestern Bell Communications (now AT&T), Safaricom, M-Pesa, Rain Networks & Multilinks
Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Cell Towers spinoffs & Telco regulation
Conversation highlights:
(01:10) - Telkom and why we’re talking about it
(07:12) - South Africa context
(13:20) - Telkom’s transition to commercial company
(15:30) - SBC and Telekom Malaysia investment in 1997
(18:44) - 2003 IPO
(33:20) - Telkom sale of Vodacom stake
(35:00) - Telkom market expansion
(43:17) - Telkom’s mobile business
(55:08) - Telkom’s non-telco businesses
(1:17:38) - Investments and Partnerships
(1:21:38) - Financial results and stock performance
(1:31:44) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:36:40) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:46:55) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Wealthy Gardner, Generalist AngelList article (AngelList is probably my favorite company in the world), Live life with Passion (Brendon Burchard)
Recommendation: AwardLogic & Point.me. There's never really been an Expedia of airline miles
Small win: Got Samsung Galaxy S22, looks nice. Just need to set it up
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at
[email protected]
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at
[email protected]
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman & Encanto
Small win: Played basketball for the first time in several months
Other content: San Francisco Has Become a Shoplifter’s Paradise
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email
[email protected] to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.