According to industry reports, billionaire Hassanein Hiridjee, Chairman of Axian Telecom, is central to a pivotal power struggle shaping Africa’s digital landscape. His company, TowerCo of Africa, is currently entangled in a contentious dispute with shareholders in Uganda.
Concurrently, he has joined the Supervisory Board of Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, amid increasing speculation about a potential takeover.
In Uganda, Hiridjee’s tower business faces accusations of attempting to acquire Ubuntu Towers, a local telecommunications infrastructure firm founded in 2019 by Geoffrey Donnels Oketayot, Ronald Onzia, and George Arthur Ssamula. The startup aimed to disrupt the dominance of multinational companies such as American Tower Corporation and Helios Towers by offering more affordable and locally tailored services. However, legal disputes over undervaluation claims, shareholder oppression, and court injunctions have cast TowerCo into the spotlight.
Rebranded as TowerCo Uganda in 2023, the company is now predominantly owned by TowerCo of Africa, which holds a 90% stake. What was originally intended to be a grassroots alternative is now engulfed in legal controversies that may redefine the level of control that local players can maintain in Uganda’s telecommunications sector.
Simultaneously, Hiridjee is expanding his influence in the e-commerce arena. Through Axian Telecom, he has acquired over 8% of Jumia’s outstanding shares. In August 2025, Axian even sought to secure a board position for Hiridjee, indicating an intent for a deeper involvement in the operations of the NYSE-listed company.
Speculation is rife that Axian has already secured $600 million for future acquisitions, raising questions about a potential takeover that could result in Jumia being delisted from Wall Street and brought directly under Axian’s umbrella. For Jumia, this could translate into new funding and enhanced synergies with the telecom sector, but it revives concerns surrounding foreign control over Africa’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
The conflicts in Uganda’s tower industry and the developments within Jumia’s boardroom illustrate one overarching strategy: Hiridjee aims to command the infrastructures and platforms crucial to Africa’s digital future. Whether African regulators and entrepreneurs embrace or resist this vision remains an open question.
