Mr Henri-Marie DONDRA, Managing Director of FAGACE and Mr Appolinaire COMPAORE, Chairman of the Board of Alpha Télécommunication Mali (ATEL Mali), signed a guarantee agreement on the creation of a new telecommunication network in Mali.

Worth FCFA 4 billion, which is 40% of the loan to be mobilised by ATEL-Mali from the West African Development Bank (BOAD), this agreement will enable the deployment of the network and the development of the third global telecommunication licence in Mali, of which ATEL Mali is the successful bidder.

Indeed, the project is essentially justified by the steady growth of the mobile telephone market in Mali and especially the growth potential of internet and value added services. The infrastructure to be deployed for this project will be located throughout Mali with the location of the principal equipment constituting the heart of the network and the fixed internet access in Bamako and in the regional capitals (Sikasso, Ségou, Koulikoro, Kayes).

In the medium and long term, FAGACE wants to strengthen its actions in the information technology and communication fields. It will therefore support the development of integrated regional networks of broadband communication infrastructure in favour of the populations of the member states.

This endorsement of ATEL Mali brings to FCFA 16.417 billion, the global volume of commitments of the guarantee fund to Mali.