Our approach: solution-orientated and customer-centric

IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure, or tower operators, in the world.  We are the largest independent tower operator in six of the nine markets in which we operate and we are the only independent tower operator in five of these markets, with approximately 27,000 towers in our portfolio. We are the largest independent multinational emerging-market-only tower operator and one of the largest independent multinational tower operators globally, in each case by tower count.  We launched in 2001 and have established operations across nine countries. 

We provide mission-critical telecommunications infrastructure to our customers and facilitate mobile communications coverage for over 586 million people across our footprint, supporting economies to implement nationwide digital agendas. Our core business is providing shared telecommunications infrastructure services to mobile network operators (MNOs), who in turn provide wireless voice and data services to their end users. 

We have a well-defined growth strategy designed to grow in existing markets with our existing customer base and, given the significant global emerging market opportunities in telecommunications infrastructure, enter carefully selected growth-oriented markets with compelling underlying fundamentals. 

We provide our customers with opportunities to lease space on existing towers alongside current tenants, known as colocation, or to add equipment to an existing site, known as lease amendments, or to commission the construction of new sites to their specifications, known as  “New Sites.” We also provide managed services in certain strategic situations, such as maintenance, operations, marketing and leasing services, for certain towers owned by third parties. To support the telecommunications infrastructure needs of our customers, we enter into long-term contracts with our customers, which provide for many years of contracted revenues.

IHS Towers has a strong track record of successfully increasing the number of tenants on each tower and implementing operational efficiencies to maximise the profitability of our towers. Our markets provide strong fundamentals for future growth and we hold the #1 position in each of the markets in which we operate. This puts us in the ideal position to capitalize on future growth opportunities across our footprint and throughout emerging markets.

The business is run by an experienced management team led by its three founders, Chairman and Group CEO  Sam Darwish, and Executive Vice President and Group Chief Operating Officer William Saad, and Senior Vice President and Nigeria CEO Mohamad Darwish. The broader management team brings 100+ years of business management experience, from within the telecommunications sector and emerging markets generally.

IHS Towers is supported by a group of blue-chip international investors that have invested more than US$3.4 billion of equity to fund our current and future growth initiatives. We have also partnered with some of the leading global financing institutions to fund a significant yet sensible portion of our growth with debt, including a number of debt capital markets transactions as well as traditional forms of lending. We seek to provide all our stakeholders with the benefits of emerging markets growth, coupled with the stability of a telecommunications infrastructure business.

Consumers expect, and increasingly rely on, high quality mobile coverage at all times. They will be loyal to mobile operators that can provide the level of service they demand. We are achieving market-leading network uptime for our mobile network provider customers.