Etisalat, the leading emerging markets telecom group, with operations in 16 countries, has spoken highly of the Nigerian market, revealing that it has exceeded the company’s expectations.

“Etisalat Nigeria has so far developed above all expectations of a late entrant, coming into the market seven years after the other operators,” said CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans. “Our strategy has been focused on delivering superior customer experience, high quality services and driving operational efficiency by making the right decisions. We will continue to be the innovator not only in terms of voice products but also digital media services for the mobile broadband market,” he added.

Evans spoke while giving an overview of the Nigeria operations during the group’s annual Capital Markets Day event held at the Jumeriah Hotel, Abu Dhabi, yesterday.

His presentation showed that Etisalat achieved best in class fourth entrant performance with an outstanding growth in market share to 15% in just four years of operations.

Essa Al Haddad, Chief Regional Officer for Africa cluster at the Etisalat Group while reviewing Africa and Asia markets highlighted the importance of Africa to the Etisalat business. “Africa is the growth engine of the Etisalat Group and I am delighted to be in charge of this region. They always covert challenges into opportunities as we see in the case of Nigeria during the SIM registration exercise,” he stated.

The Capital Markets Day provided an update on Etisalat’s 2012 business, financial and commercial overview as well as focusing on its drive for growth of broadband and digital services through innovation, cost savings and productivity improvements.

The company explained its strategy to build its position as the leading and most admired emerging markets telecom group by its customers, employees as well as shareholders and how it is implementing its plan to achieve key strategic initiatives, with focus on market-led business development, strategic partnerships and joint ventures.

•Photo (L-R):  Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Group, Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, and Chief Regional Officer-Africa, Etisalat Group, Essa Al Haddad, at the Etisalat Capital Markets Day event held at the Jumeriah Hotel, Abu Dhabi.