Mike Adenuga on business-government relations
From Dr Adenuga, Founder of Globacom · · Digivation Network TV
“Big business doesn't fight government; they work with government. That's what we try to do, and luckily I think it ended up well.”
On , Mike Adenuga, Chairman at Globacom, spoke about business-government relations during Dr Adenuga, Founder of Globacom on Digivation Network TV.
About Mike Adenuga
Mike Adenuga, the founder and chairman of Globacom, has spoken in interviews about his early business ventures and the challenges of launching a telecommunications company in Nigeria. He said that after returning to Nigeria in 1974, he began importing car stereos, which he described as a major break that gave his business a strong head start. Adenuga recounted that when Globacom sought a telecommunications license, the company faced difficulties after a third party informed its financiers that the license was "litigious," leading to a loss of funding. He said that Globacom then remitted the full $285 million license fee into an account at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York with a caveat, keeping the money there for three weeks while making appeals, and that the situation was eventually resolved with the help of the government. Adenuga has also discussed the company's business strategy and its investments in infrastructure. He stated that Globacom introduced per-second billing so that customers pay only for the time they use, and that the company deployed what he described as the latest state-of-the-art technology. He said that Globacom's Glo 1 submarine cable, which he said is connected to a 10,000 km fiber optic network, would provide clearer lines and high-quality internet bandwidth at affordable prices, and that it would allow Nigerians to compete with the rest of the world on an equal footing. Adenuga added that the company has partnered with Manchester United and has been building a mobile network in Ghana.