Prism Holdings Ltd. says that it is making inroads into the burgeoning African G.lobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM) market following the conclusion of a partnership agreement with Mithratech SA (Pty) Ltd., the Johannesburg-based prepaid telephone scratchcard manufacturer.
This partnership has resulted in a deal in which Mithratech will supply Prism’s South Africa developed and manufactured SIMetrix SIMs to Mozambique’s largest GSM network operator, mCel.
According to Deon Visser, director of Prism’s chip card business unit, while Prism’s offshore focus has largely been on delivering its SIM Intellectual Property (IP) to operators in South-East Asia, it recognized the enormous potential for its technology closer to home with the explosive uptake of GSM cellular communications across Africa.
“Prism’s approach of developing partnerships with companies that have existing relationships with potential customers in our markets is proving successful in Asia, and we have decided to follow the same strategy in Africa.
“Mithratech has strong relationships with network operators in most sub-Saharan countries where it already supplies prepaid top-up scratchcards. As the deal with mCel clearly indicates, Prism will be able to leverage these relationships to deliver our SIMs into these areas,” he adds.
Leon Skylakis, CEO of Mithratech, says the partnership with Prism is a win-win situation for all concerned.
“We were looking at ways to offer our African customers value-added services, and Prism, with its IP and advanced software engineering on the SIM, allows us to do just that. By utilizing the Prism SIM, African network operators will be ideally positioned to provide their subscribers — both prepaid and post-paid — with a host of new and exciting services.
“The fact that all aspects of the SIM’s development — from software engineering through personalization — are handled in Africa offers additional cost and logistical benefits to the continent’s network operators,” he adds.