When you started Celtel, what were the biggest barriers to building a business at that time?
The biggest barrier really is funding. We found it almost impossible to get funding for our business in Africa. The banks would not touch us. On one hand, of course, there was the telecom bust of 2001-2002, so for two years the banks were reluctant to do anything with telecoms, but actually over the whole period of the company, until 2005 when we sold the company, we managed to raise very little debt. We sold the company in 2005 for $3.4 billion dollars and the total amount of debt on the company was less than $90 million. It just shows how difficult it was. This is a company that was making $200, $300 million profit a year, net profit, who could not get funding. The same bankers who were doing all the toxic stuff around here wouldn’t lend to Africa for a successful business which is profitable, which is growing at nearly 50 percent per annum. No, Africa was considered to be a risky place while the housing market here was considered to be a safe place. It just gives you an idea of what
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