The Minister of Communication, Posts and Digital Economy in Niger, Sidi Mohamed Rahilou, has suggested combining the state-owned Niger Telecoms with the mobile company Zamani Telecom. This proposal comes after a military takeover in July, which led to the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and the establishment of a new government. Rahilou mentioned that if the merger happens, the government will have a majority share in the new company.
Niger Telecoms was created in 2016 by merging the state-owned fixed-line company Sonitel with its mobile subsidiary SahelCom. Zamani Telecom, previously known as Orange Niger, was sold by France's Orange Group in 2019 to Zamani Com, owned by Mohamed Rissa of Rimbo Invest and Moctar Thiam of Greenline Communications.