MTN has joined forces with large telcos from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America to create an alliance develop startups and aid innovation in new telco technologies, such as 5G and Fibre.
The alliance is known as Alaian, consisting of global telcos to reach 50 countries and 700 million customers.
The members of Alaian are Bouygues Telecom, Cellnex, KPN, MTN, Telefónica and WINDTRE.
The alliance is also committed to global open calls to attract companies that are aligned with its strategic innovation priorities. In this context, they are taking the opportunity to announce a global call for start-ups, which opens today. Interested companies can participate via this link.
Alaian will be looking for start-ups with 5G-based use cases in Communications & infrastructure, Industry, manufacturing & logistics, Mobility, Utilities & Energy, Metaverse & Web3, Media, Entertainment & Gaming and Retail.
The selected companies will be able to access the best 5G connectivity and edge computing resources of the alliance’s member telcos, as well as carry out tests in the 5G LABs with the intention of integrating them into the solutions of the different telcos.
In addition, the companies will also be able to exchange knowledge with specialists and network teams with whom to co-develop and solve problems together, taking advantage of the technical, commercial and product support of the alliance members’ network of experts, mentors, and trainers.
The start-ups selected by the alliance will be able to benefit from the resources available to the telecoms such as knowledge of the markets they are in, access to their network of contacts, design and build pilots with customers around the world.
Apart from this, there is the opportunity to help start-ups additionally with fundraising, training for entrepreneurs, visibility and exposure at the alliance partners’ headquarters, flagship shops, demo centres, labs, and hubs to showcase their product to the network of customers and partners. In addition, equity investment will be possible from any of Alaian’s member investment vehicles, as well as exposure to its global network of venture capital firms.
“We are proud to form part of the Alaian alliance which will give us an opportunity to work with and share best practices with globally competitive telcos,” Chika Ekeji, Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer of MTN Group.
“Innovative digital solutions are a huge part of our strategy and our involvement in the alliance will further expose us to partnering with start-ups that are a strong fit with our Ambition 2025 strategy of leading digital solutions to Africa’s progress.”
