EMOSIM’s eSIM launch poised to disrupt global connectivity market

• Drive significant FX savings for Nigeria

By Chinenye Anuforo

EMOSIM, a Nigerian-led innovator, on Wednesday, May 28, unveiled a groundbreaking eSIM solution set to significantly reshape global connectivity for travellers and businesses, while simultaneously addressing critical foreign exchange outflows for the nation. This strategic launch positions EMOSIM not merely as a new market entrant, but as a disruptive force leveraging Nigerian ingenuity to solve universal connectivity challenges.

“Today marks a pivotal moment, not just for EMOSIM, but for every Nigerian traveller, entrepreneur, and dreamer who has ever felt the weight of the world’s digital divides,” asserted Jimmy Eboma, Chairman and Founder of EMOSIM.

He highlighted the chronic frustrations of international roaming, exorbitant charges, complex SIM changes, and fragmented networks, which EMOSIM directly tackles. “EMOSIM is not just a product. It is a revolution built on a simple truth that connectivity is not a luxury; it is a lifeline,” he stated, emphasising the solution’s seamless global access across 190 countries with 600 connectivity options, all without swaps, shocks, or borders.

The economic ramifications of EMOSIM’s local solution were a central theme. Bayo Adedeji, CEO of Wakanow, a major travel platform, illuminated the financial bleed caused by reliance on foreign eSIM providers. “Companies like ours, we buy the eSIM from another company outside Nigeria. We bleed foreign exchange to that country. The Nigerian customer pays me Naira. I pay the company that I buy the eSIM from in US dollars. And now we bleed that US dollar out from profit to cost,” Adedeji explained. He noted, “Now with having a local organisation, having that solution, it’s about 1.5 billion customers at Wakanow.com. It means that I can give that product to 1.5 billion customers and reduce the foreign exchange bleed out that happens in Nigeria.” Adedeji further stressed the potential for collaboration between Nigerian brands to take a Nigerian product outside of Nigeria, attracting foreign exchange back into the country.

The launch also garnered strong support from regulatory and industry bodies. Prof. Umar Danbatta, former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), praised EMOSIM for fulfilling the NCC’s vision for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). “You are truly helping to solve a real problem, providing affordable, reliable telecommunications services to people who have historically been left behind,” Danbatta remarked, commending EMOSIM’s alignment with universal access pillars: Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability.

The Director-General of the ICRC, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, underscored the importance of global partnerships, noting how Tata Communications, EMOSIM’s technical partner, signifies a growing international trust in Nigeria. “The way Tata, the global giant in telecommunication, has believed in us and has partnered with us, I would like to look at that as a trust that Nigeria is able to build across the globe, and Nigeria is looked at as an opportunity, and at the same time, seen as one of the leading emerging market countries.”

Tony Agenmonmen, immediate past President of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), attested to the solution’s direct business utility, sharing anecdotes of past travel frustrations. “When you go to some other countries, the instructions you give them in that way, they don’t understand, and it can be a big challenge,” he said, expressing confidence that EMOSIM’s offering brings a kind of confidence that good things can come from Nigeria.

He concluded with a bold statement on Africa’s rising influence: “Africa does not follow trends. We set them. Nigeria does not wait for the future. We build it. And with EMOSIM, we are connecting ambition to opportunity, potential to progress, and Nigeria to the world.”