Lyca Group wants to be more than a mobile player

But mobile is still a big priority as its MVNO business looks to grow in Africa

Lyca Group’s new CEO has revealed that the company is keen to be more than just a mobile business.

Navanit Narayan, who was appointed Lyca Group CEO earlier this month, said the company wants to become a “digital player” that incorporates its range of services for its customers.

Aside from telecoms and its own MVNO, Lyca Mobile, the group offers services in the areas of entertainment, travel, healthcare, media, technology, financial services, marketing and hospitality.

Narayan was previously Lycamobile Group chief operating officer, a role that he started last October. Earlier, he also held positions at Nokia and, more recently, Vodafone Idea.

“The business is going through a transformation right from the target segment to what the customer is looking for and desiring, and it’s our vision that we should become more of a digital player that offers more than just mobile,” he said.

“We really want to cross- leverage the businesses we have built over the last few years and bring them together in a way that enables us to become a one-stop shop for these services that our customers are looking for.”

Still a priority

Mobile is, however, still a big priority for Lyca Group, says Narayan, who acknowledges that the pandemic has had an influence on that part of the business.

Its MVNO arm is currently in 23 countries worldwide, with Narayan eyeing up Africa as the next market for launch.

“We’re trying to launch our MVNO proposition in the African market, as we see some big growth there in the coming years,” he said.

“So far we’re in 23 countries, but we’re looking at new geographies and parts of the world that we’re not yet in.”

Narayan added: “Our traditional market has been people visiting specific locations in various countries, usually as tourists, but understandably this has slowed down due to the pandemic.

“But this has given us time to reinvent ourselves and invest money in technology and platforms to extract much better business in these markets as they open up.”