Yerim Sow is Senegal’s richest individual, with a fortune believed to be worth more than $500 million.
Sow, a Boston University graduate, established his first company at the age of 21 in 1988. Direct Access was a provider of IT services. He started BIP access in 1994, the first company in Senegal to provide radio paging services.
BIP Access quickly established itself in a number of African countries, eventually becoming a shareholder in Loteny Telecom, an Ivorian business that held the country’s first GSM license in collaboration with pan-African operator Telecel International.
Sow sold a controlling stake in Loteny Telecom to the MTN Group in late 2005, reinvesting the proceeds in the formation of Teyliom Group, a holding company with a diverse portfolio that includes a commercial bank, luxury hotels, stakes in financial institutions, beverages, and telecoms.
HowAfrica takes a look at ten of Yerim Sow’s most valued assets.
1. Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire
Sow holds control of Bridge Bank Group, an Ivory Coast commercial bank. BBGCI offers a wide range of financial services and products through 14 locations around the country, serving over 10,500 clients, including 800 corporations and big SMEs.
2. Premium Contact Center International
Yerim Sow owns a 33% share in PCCI (Premium Contact Center International), the leading call center in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 2,000 personnel spread across three production sites: Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and Douala (Cameroon). PCC1 was founded in September 2001 and provides customer service solutions to large African and European companies in the telecommunications, telesales, media, retail, and insurance industries.
3. Stake in Free Senegal
Sow owns 10% of Free Senegal, the second-largest mobile network operator in Senegal, with a market share of more than 25% and over 4.5 million members.
4. Stake in MTN Côte d’Ivoire
Yerim Sow owns a 7% stake in MTN Cote d’Ivoire (MTNCI), a mobile telecom company and subsidiary of the South African-based MTN Group. MTN provides GSM services such as postpaid and prepaid mobile, fixed-line, and internet.
5. POLYTEK
Teyliom, in collaboration with CSE Group, owns a 50% share in POLYTEK. POLYTEK, located in Senegal’s Diass Special Economic Zone, specializes in the production and marketing of PVC tubes, PEHD, PP, and corrugated tubes.
6. Radisson Blu Dakar
The Radisson Blu Hotel, Dakar Sea Plaza, a luxurious 5-star institution, is conveniently located near Dakar’s city center.
7. Noom Hotel
The $32 million Noom Hotel, a distinguished 5-star haven in Niamey, Niger’s capital, was finished in July 2019. It has 141 rooms that include regular, executive, junior suite, and prestige suite accommodations, as well as a gourmet restaurant, bar, conference rooms, a gym, and parking.
8. Seen Hotel
Seen Hotel is a four-star hotel located in Abidjan’s Central Business District.
9. Yaas Hotels
Yaas Hotel, located in Almadies, Senegal, offers three-star accommodations.
10. Continental Beverage Company, Ivory Coast
Continental Beverage Company, which specializes in the production and sale of water and juice under the Olgane and Doucy brands in Cote d’Ivoire, is one of the country’s leading bottled water manufacturers, with a complete countrywide distribution network.
