IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count. It has left the footprint of its activities right from its inception in 2001. From there, it rapidly grew to become the vanguard of the communications space, blazing the trail of new innovations across Nigeria, connecting people to great things, and accomplishing much across other continents.
Operating from a small office in Victoria Island, Lagos, which was opened in Nigeria, IHS Towers’ Chairman and CEO is Sam Darwish. He was joined by William Saad as Chief Operating Officer and Mohamad Darwish as the Chief Executive Officer of IHS Nigeria. It was established with a clear vision of bridging the telecommunications gap between the served and underserved regions. The company has, in the course of time, increased its footprint—the African continent first, subsequently Latin America and the Middle East. Currently, with a portfolio of roughly 40,000 towers, including over 16,000 in Nigeria, IHS Towers has become the third-largest independent multinational TowerCo in the world by tower count. Operations at IHS Towers now extend to Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia.
The growth of the company is underscored by strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Notable among the acquisitions are the towers from MTN Nigeria Communications PLC and 9mobile, which were acquired in 2014 and 2015, respectively; Helios Towers Nigeria in the year 2016; and more than fifteen others across all operating markets for company and tower acquisitions. These have considerably upgraded and increased its infrastructure capabilities to help the company come up with six key solutions: colocation and lease amendments that essentially encourage the sharing of existing infrastructure; building of new sites in new locations where coverage doesn’t exist; inbuilding solutions by wiring inside large buildings; small cells for dense areas; fibre connectivity to support broadband; and rural telephony directly targeted to help the people remaining unconnected in remote corners.
IHS Towers has extended its services in Nigeria and began deploying fibre through its subsidiary known as Global Independent Connect Limited since December of 2021. GICL started in 2024 by completing the rollout of over 10,000 km of fiber optic cables within the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory. It serves to support the Federal Government’s National Broadband Plan for attaining 70% broadband penetration by the year 2025. The global reach enables the firm to leverage experience and innovation from its larger fibre services siblings. One of the most prominent cases was in Brazil, whereby IHS Towers has partnered with mobile network operator TIM Brasil—a subsidiary of Telecom Italia—to establish I-Systems, a specialist provider of shared optical fiber networks that cover approximately 8.8 million homes. These strategic steps have increased the geographical footprint of IHS Towers, improving their ability to provide reliable, sustainable, and customer-focused solutions.
The peak reached by IHS Towers is listing on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2021, which opened up new doors to new capital and recognition across borders. That further positioned the company as core to the sector of telecommunications. It is now deftly positioned to play the role of a global corporate ambassador striving hard to demonstrate globally the potentials that continue to emanate from Nigeria and that Nigerian companies can succeed globally.
The impact of IHS Towers is not specific to offering communicating infrastructure alone; it drives economic development and empowers local communities. It has enabled digital economies through connectivity, enhanced access to information, and driven the expansion of businesses and services in both urban and remote, underserved areas. In essence, IHS connectivity acts as an agent for socio-economic enablement by powering businesses and connecting communities to access essential services.
IHS Towers has a comprehensive sustainability programme in Nigeria working with national and international organisations. It collaborated with UNICEF to ensure the development of child-friendly communities in Nigeria where access to clean water will be easy, births are registered, and mothers are trained on health issues.
IHS Towers contributed to space education by partnering with Limitless Space Institute, a Houston US-based non-profit organization. The initiative includes a 12-month Limitless Global Educator Programme that exposes ten teachers from Nigeria to a great depth of the limitations, implications, and benefits that space exploration holds. Through the programme, they will get exposure to leading space industry organizations, subject matter experts, and collaboration in designing new and innovative lesson plans. The idea being that these teachers will turn around and encourage those students to also dream big. After all, if three engineers can start a global company out of Nigeria, then the next generation can create wonders with education and determination. More recently, IHS Nigeria has made a deeper commitment to growing technical skills among the youth of Nigeria under the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative. The program will equip 3 million young Nigerians with technical and digital skills within a period of 3 years, launched in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy—a challenge taken by the current administration.
IHS Towers aspires to and aims at its stewardship of the environment, seeking reductions in the environmental footprint—board-wide—through green energy solutions.
Helios Towers announced its Carbon Reduction Roadmap back in October 2022 and the ambition to reduce the Scope 1 and Scope 2 kilowatt-hour emissions intensity of its tower portfolio by 50% by 2030. This would be done by connecting more sites to the grid, executing and integrating more battery storage and solar panel solutions as part of Project Green—the current phase of the roadmap. In its 2023 Sustainability Report, the Company disclosed that it has approximately reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 kilowatt-hour emissions intensity by 11 percent as of 2021 and is on track to meet its 2030 goal, which remains reiterated. The IHS Towers story is a story of growth, impact, and dedication to sustainable development. From its humble beginnings in Nigeria to its current status as a global communications infrastructure giant, IHS Towers continues to cement its commitment to empowering communities, driving economic progress through the power of mobile connectivity.
Nigeria was, is, and will be the backbone of IHS Towers; it holds the largest market in the company’s portfolio. What has been done is a testimony to what many more things Nigeria can do. It should be a story that has made every Nigerian proud, each and every Nigerian a dreamer—that he or she can rise against any kind of odds and make a difference.