(Ecofin Agency) - Celtiis is trying to make its way in a national telecoms market dominated by MTN and Moov Africa. In its first three months of operation, the company recorded some 600,000 subscribers, representing a 4.12% market share.

Mobile operator Celtiis, a subsidiary of the Benin Digital Infrastructure Company (SBIN), has registered 1.5 million subscribers after one year of operation in Benin. The company announced this satisfactory result on social media to celebrate its first anniversary.

Celtiis launched its commercial services on October 21, 2022, joining MTN Benin and Moov Africa Benin, which have been operating as a duopoly since 2018. The company managed to attract around 600,000 mobile subscribers in its first three months of operation (October-December 2022), capturing a market share of 4.12%, according to the sector regulator -ARCEP.

The regulator's statistics for Q2 2023 (April-June) show a market share of 5.37% for Celtiis, against 59.35% for MTN and 35.28% for Moov Africa, for the mobile telephony segment. In mobile financial services, Celtiis' C'Cash platform controlled 3.66% of the 9.3 million active accounts, while the Moov Money and MTN Mobile Money platforms held market shares of 24.36% and 71.98% respectively. The latest mobile Internet market data (first quarter) shows 423,610 subscribers for the SBIN subsidiary.

During its first year of operation, Celtiis invested in strengthening its network to provide quality services to its subscribers and to compete with its rivals. Four months after launching operations, the telecom operator declared its network ready for 5G. More recently, the company signed a partnership agreement with German technology company Oculeus to enhance its wholesale business.