Upward mobility

Bharti made Indian business history when it acquired the African mobile networks of Kuwaits largest public company,Zain,in a 10.7 billion deal. It will now be Africas second largest mobile operator ironically,right behind MTN,with a firm grip on 15 African countries. This makes Bharti the fifth largest firm by user-base,and gives other Indian companies a new measure for success,with its purchase of a global behemoth. It has not only enlarged the arena for itself,but also significantly boosted Indias cred in Africa and the world.

Despite our long history of commerce and exchange with Africa,China has far outpaced India,aiming to reach 100 billion in trade this year,while recent figures peg Indias trade with Africa at about 39 billion. Indian industry is only gingerly stepping into this vast frontier but instead of a purely extractive,profit-seeking agenda,they have focused on capacity-building and training as well as private entrepreneurship. Africas share of Indias total FDI outflows,which hovered around 8.6 per cent in the early 90s,has recently climbed to 13.5 per cent and most of this has been led by small and medium investors.

Now,thanks to the telecom giant,India will loom much larger in the continent.

Africa is one of the most vibrant mobile markets in the world,with much to share with South Asia. From ringtones to financial services and crop price data,every segment of the telecom sector there is buzzing,and has had a transformative impact on the continent. Indian companies like Bharti,with their tremendous experience in rural India and strong management cadre,are uniquely positioned to provide these services. Whats more,to be associated with this purely enabling technology is good for India,and a far cry from the days when Air India was the only lacklustre face we presented to the world. After decades of near-invisibility in the international market,companies like Bharti and Tata are acquiring a whole new name-recall in the rest of the world,and some of that shine also spills over to Brand India. These companies have that intangible grrr factor a mix of ambition,confidence and intensity that is only now beginning to rub off on Indias public image.