Nuran Wireless (NUR.C), a Canadian-based company focused on providing 2G, 3G and 4G wireless solutions to rural and remote regions, announced today that it had signed an agreement with MTN Ivory Coast to install up to 1,000 rural sites under the network-as-a-service (NaaS) business model in Ivory Coast.

The deal runs for five years and is expected to be Nuran’s second largest contract in terms of number of sites, with the potential to generate over $75 million USD in gross revenue over the life of the agreement. The contract includes an automatic renewal for an additional five years.

MTN Ivory Coast is part of the MTN Group, a company committed to bridging the digital divide in Africa, provides a diverse set of telecommunications solutions from fintech to NaaS to support governments, communities and individuals advancing the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The company has connected 272 million customers in 19 markets across Africa.

Francis Letourneau, CEO of Nuran, commented on the deal, “We are extremely pleased to add Ivory Coast to our growing portfolio of African countries and to bring essential mobile connectivity to potentially over three million people. Ivory Coast is a stable country both politically and financially. The country has well maintained roads and excellent infrastructure which helps to expedite the installation of new sites as compared to other countries. We are also thankful to MTN for their continued faith and support in our mutually beneficial and strengthening relationship. With the addition of these 1,000 sites, we have now reached 4,142 sites under contract and are quickly approaching our goal of 10,000 sites under contract within five years. Nuran is proud to be at the forefront of our mission to bring essential mobile connectivity to those that need it most in a cost-effective, profitable and an environmentally friendly manner.”

The Ivory Coast agreement is similar in nature to the previously announced MTN Sudan and MTN Namibia transactions. Nuran expects to retain the ownership of the infrastructure after the completion of the contract, enhancing the deal value substantively. Ownership of the infrastructure by Nuran extends the potential for recurring revenue generation to over 25 years.

Nuran also reported that an additional 11 sites, including the first site in South Sudan and 10 in Cameroon, have been added, bringing the new total of live sites to 101 under NaaS business model. The company continues to push forward to its goal of 400 live sites by year-end.

Earlier in October, the company announced that a European investment bank approved an $18.0 million financing of Nuran.

The company reported $246,944 CAD in cash as of June 30, 2022, with revenues of $231,128 for the three months ended June 30, 2022, for a net loss of $2.32 million for the quarter.

Nuran currently trades at $0.64 per share for a market cap of $21.10 million.