By Cyriacus Nnaji
Globacom, owners of the only most prominent indigenous telecommunications company in Nigeria, GLO, remains the only company in its category that is sustainably committed to the welfare, ideals and aspirations of the Nigerian people having tailored its business vision and mission to uplifting Nigerian people through its multiple customer centred value added services (VAS).
Customer-centricity is a business strategy that is based on putting the customer first and at the core of your business in order to provide a positive experience and build a long term relationship. With this Globacom has continued to soar like the eagle in the information technology space in Nigeria, the Sub-Sahara Africa and beyond.
As a corporate telecommunications entity, Globacom through its Value Added Services (VAS) has mesmerized and dazed her competitors who obviously do not even understand the magic wand with which Globacom ensures and enhances implementations of her value added services.
The latest in the bouquet of her VAS offering is the Promotional bonanzas including her Festival of Joy Promo. Since its inception, the Festival of Joy has uplifted many Nigerians from grace to grass and from grace to millionaire status. The number of generators, grinding machines, sewing machine, tricycles won by GLO customers are uncountable, the same with houses. Then Prado Jeeps are being won as if they are ordinary motorcycles. Many customers have won countless number of Globacom sponsored festival of joy bonanzas which have significantly changed their lives.
If there is something GLO realised in its business operations, it is the importance of her customers. The customer is the reason why they are in business, hence the enthronement of customer centrism in all it does; this is contrary to her competitors that are hell bent in ripping the customers off through some subterranean practices.
No Wonder, well-meaning Nigerians have continued to emphasize and clamour for the criticality of local content in Nigeria’s economic life especially, because no indigenous company would abandon her people in their moment of debilitating economic conundrum or hour of need.
Of course it is imperative to recall the experience of the people of Nigeria before 2003, when the first telecom companies were only concerned about money. In 2003 when GLO first made her entry into the Nigeria’s telecommunications firmament, it obstructed what could be termed traditional GSM operators’ stranglehold on the necks of Nigerians when they milked the people dry.
That mind blowing business decision to introduce per second billing (PSB) was the revolution, the transformation that the Telecommunications space in Nigeria needed to be where it is currently. That today the regulatory body quote subscriber based figures as current teledensity was made possible by the coming of GLO otherwise, not minding the inherent benefits of GSM, the Nigerian teledensity would have still been at its lowest ebb, because with less purchasing economic power, Nigeria would still have been where NITEL left her.
The cutthroat and unrepentant insensitivity of those who came before her made GSM at its inception in Nigeria to be above the reach of the common man until Globacom landed. Alas, these so-called GSM operators in Nigeria are still hell bent to destroy the milestones which Nigeria has covered through Globacom. This great indigenous company has weathered the storm and has survived the harsh operational economic environment in the country and stand tall head and shoulder above her contemporaries.
Aside their noncommittal approach to nigerianness, expatriate telecom companies are of course first answerable to their mother countries, whereby the gains they make in Nigeria are obviously repatriated to their own countries of origin, the same with employment. They first recruit their people especially the top echelons of their workforce usually come from the owners of the company. The above reasons must be part of the obvious reasons the federal government is laying stress on local content, so that companies can source their employees locally except where such expertise is lacking in Nigeria. Profits are obviously ploughed back into the company and into the society via salaries, corporate social responsibilities, VAS and others too numerous to mention, this is where Globacom stands head and shoulder above her competitors.
Recently Globacom has unveiled a deal with Samsung, world’s leading manufacturer of electronic devices, to avail unique benefits to Glo subscribers on the new Galaxy S25 phone series.
Globacom disclosed that the exciting deal gives Glo customers the opportunity to pre-order the fashionable Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone and enjoy unique benefits including 18GB bonus data, just for her customers.
In Entertainment including Nollywood, music, GLO sponsorship is graded as the primus inter pares among her competitors, in sports, through sponsorship of CAF competitions, it has carved a niche which has obviously embarrassed her rivals; it has even delved into the sponsorships of cultural activities, like the Ofala festival et al.
Indeed Glo Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) are a bunch of products and services which have been specially designed to better serve the network’s customers beyond the traditional voice and data services. The array of value added services offer a world of convenience and fun in a variety of content tailored to suit individual needs and help them receive value in terms of personal satisfaction or business and monetary success. These services are brought to the subscribers through third party SMEs who are also growing the business landscape and deepening the potentials of the ICT industry.
Of course the value added services are very much diverse but they are segmented into various groups such as Lifestyle, Entertainment, Education, Lottery Services, Sports, Storage, Chat, Jolly Services. They have been designed to impact subscribers positively by “adding value” to them and enriching their lives in diverse ways. Globacom’s 22 years of operation has borne evidence of its successful transition to a digital solutions company. Beyond the core mandate of telecommunication services, it has become a total digital solutions provider, putting at the convenience of subscribers what they would have had to spend time, money and energy to access.
More importantly as the saying goes, health is wealth, there is also the Glo Health Insurance package, in partnership with AXA Mansard Health, it is a fitting example of value adding, a phenomenon that Globacom is well at home with. At the heart of this partnership is Globacom’s shared goal of making life easier and better for its subscribers. It brings affordable healthcare to Nigerians, especially in underserved areas and has been well accepted by Glo subscribers given the expanding patronage. Globacom is also leveraging the advancement in technology to draw its customers to make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to learn and earn money.
Similarly, the “GloAwoof Win SMS-to-Ai” uses artificial intelligence (AI) to give users rapid, precise information on any subject without requiring an internet connection. The “Ask AI by Glo” service is an SMS-based platform that provides users with access to a variety of informational resources, including news, sports scores, weather predictions, traffic updates, educational advice, and celebrity information. The third one, “GloAwoof Win Ai Fortune” is an educational service designed to empower users by teaching them how to leverage AI for generating income and improving business processes.
Globacom has consistently recorded an increase in the number of subscribers in its 22 years of operation due to freebies regularly enjoyed by both old and new subscribers. The company’s continuous network upgrade and extension of 4G data coverage to more cities have also contributed to its internet subscribers’ growth.
In 2021, the giant telecommunications experienced consistent growth from June to September 2021. A report on internet subscriber data by NCC showed an increase of 338,189 subscribers from June to July. In August, the number increased by 453,109, and in September, 234,979 subscribers were added. And the good news continues to soar till date.
While Glo is among the networks with the cheapest data, its consistent release of promo bundles appears a welcome relief for many Nigerians burdened by dwindling income.
Other Globacom’s ‘awoof’ plans over the years include 22x value on every recharge from N100, Glo ‘Win and Rule’ promo, Glo Berekete, Glo Berekete Plus Plus, which enables subscribers to win cash tokens of N50,000 as well as extra voice and data value.
Over time Globacom sustained its leadership as the “Most Reliable Mobile 4G LTE Network” and “Most Innovative Mobile Network. This was even made manifest at the annual Beacon of ICT Awards because of its unique products and value added services such as Glo Berekete, Glo Café and friendly recharge and data plans”.
As a company at the forefront of revolutionary changes in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria, it crashed the cost of acquiring SIM cards in the country from about N25,000 to just about N200. Finally it dropped the long lasting and most effective telecoms bombshell as it launched operations on a Per Second Billing platform, a feat others had described as impossible to achieve until another five years.
It is also gladdening to know that Glo pioneered in Nigeria, Blackberry, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Magic Plus, Glo Direct, Glo Fonepals, Africhat, Glo Mobile Internet, GloFleetmanager, M-Banking and Glo Mobile Office. Glo was also the first to launch 2.5G, 3G and 4G LTE networks. It also independently built an international submarine cable, Glo 1 to connect West Africa directly to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. It also connects 12 nations in the West African sub region, including some of them that are landlocked.
Glo1 is credited with crashing the cost of internet services and is today the preferred cable system by global OTT providers. It connects thousands of kilometres of national fibre to all parts of Nigeria.
Talking of VAS, the Festival of Joy promotion offers a range of mouth-watering prizes, including Toyota Prado, Kia Picanto cars, tricycles, power generating sets, sewing machines and grinding machines. The Festival of Joy promotion was packaged in line with the company’s commitment to empower Glo customers and put smiles on their faces as the yuletide season approaches.
In Effurun, Thursday, November 21, 2024, the fortunate subscribers, among whom are the winners of a brand-new Toyota Prado and the winners of tricycle, sewing machines, generators and grinding machines. The same in Ibadan, Abuja, Ibadan, Lagos, Jos, Port Harcourt, and till February, 2025 people were still winning.
But according to the Bible, if we may apply it here, Jesus in his earthly ministry at one point asked his disciples ‘who do people say that I am’? Those who have won mouth-watering bonanzas have a lot of things to say about this wonderful telecoms company, Globacom, this company that has performed fantastically well.
Speaking after receiving his car, Etukudo, an indigene of Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State, recounted his journey to becoming a brand-new car owner after opting into the Festival of Joy promo. According to him, “when I got a call from a Glo official, my first instinct was that it was a fraudster, but when the caller insisted that I should come to Glo office and even said I should look at the video of the office on my Whatsapp, I became convinced and I screamed. My fellow workers immediately joined me in celebrating, while some volunteered to follow me to the Glo office. Immediately, I called my wife to break the good news to her. I am very happy. I thank God and thank Globacom for making me a brand-new-car owner, after I sold my old car last year”.
In Jos Plateau State, winners of generators, sewing machines and rechargeable fans also expressed appreciation to Globacom and its Chairman for initiating the promo for the benefit of its subscribers. 21-year-old Mercy Michael who won a sewing machine promised to gift the machine to her elder sister who is a fashion designer. “I can’t wait to get home and present this sewing machine to my elder sister who sows, as she has sacrificed a lot for me through the years and I’ve never been able to do anything important for her. Thank you Glo for giving me this opportunity to show her how grateful I am”.
The car winner in the Ijebu Ode edition of Glo Festival of Joy promo, Temitope Bakare, rolled on the floor and shed tears of joy when she beheld her brand new Kia car at the presentation ceremony.
It was reported that some staff members of Glo had to pay a visit to a 27-year-old newly graduated hairdresser at her home in Itaalaga Street, Ijebu Ode, soon after her number was drawn as winner of the prize. Attempts by the officials to convince Bakare on phone were rebuffed as she kept terminating the calls. When the calls became frequent, she simply switched off her phone. The Glo officials therefore decided to pay the doubting customer a visit at her house located just about one kilometer to the Gloworld Outlet in Ijebu Ode.
The visit paid off as Bakare eventually realised that she had hit a jackpot in the Glo customer appreciation promo, she said, “When the calls kept coming and coming, I thought they were from fraudsters. Though I dialed *611# short code and kept recharging, I never thought I could win among millions of subscribers. This was why I decided to switch off my phone to block further calls”.
The entire community erupted in jubilation at the presentation ceremony, while her relations and neighbours hugged her in excitement. Incidentally, the winning SIM was a gift from the winner’s 39-year-old seamstress aunt, Mrs. Adijat Adesoye, who was also on hand with Temitope’s 54-year-old father, Mr. Moroof Bakare, and other members of the extended Bakare Family to receive the prize.
The State Commissioner for Finance, Honourable Waheed Odusile, who graced the occasion said he was pleasantly surprised to see the quality and quantity of prizes being presented to subscribers at the event. He commended Globacom for taking special interest in the welfare of its customers and their empowerment through Festival of Joy.
It is simply excitingly unimaginable, Glo remains the best
