Sebastien Crozier, chief executive officer (CEO) of Orange Horizons, which was unveiled in January to establish a presence in new markets, was speaking in Johannesburg earlier today.
The partnership follows Orange launching an e-commerce store and an online portal in the country.
Crozier said: “This is another world first for Orange in which South Africa is the first market where this is being implemented. Today’s announcement is an important step forward in our overall development strategy.”
He described South Africa as a “key entry market”.
Nashua Mobile stores in Sandton, Brooklyn and Canal Walk will now include Orange products and Orange brand services.
The partnership will first look to exploit the mobile tourism market with the stores offering Orange SIM cards for its services in France and Botswana first. SIMs for its networks in other countries will be added at a later date.
Orange’s ultimate ambition is to become South Africa’s second mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), after Virgin Mobile SA, by probably partnering with one of the country’s major network operators.
Mark Taylor, CEO of Nashua Mobile, said: “Nashua Mobile is one of South Africa’s largest independent telecommunications service providers, and we’re delighted to provide the first physical presence here for Orange.”
Orange, based in France, already operates mobile networks in 33 countries and has more than 200 million subscribers worldwide.
