Sam Darwish

Issam "Sam" Darwish[2] (Arabic: عصام درويش‎) is a U.S.[3] entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry.[4][5][6] He is Chairman and Group CEO of IHS Towers, the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.[7][8] He is a frequent speaker at industry and academic events such as the 2015 Wendel Investor Forum and the 2016 Economist Nigeria Summit, as well as on international broadcast channels.[9][10]

Sam Darwish
NationalityAmerican[1]
OccupationBusinessman

Early life and education

Darwish was brought up and educated in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.[11] He went on to graduate with distinction from the American University of Beirut, where he majored in Computer and Communications Engineering.[12] He also holds a Certificate in Quality Control from SONERA (previously Telecom Finland) and one in Network Management from Mobilcom, Austria.[5]

Business career

He began his professional career in 1992, in Beirut, after joining MCI as an executive.[5] At the time, the company was one of the world's largest telecoms carriers. He then joined Libancell, now known as MTC Touch, where he assumed a leading role in establishing the first Lebanese mobile network.[13] Subsequently, in 1998, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director of Motophone, Nigeria's first GSM operator.[14]

Following the Nigerian government's 2001 plan to privatize its telecommunications industry, he set up a mobile infrastructure company, IHS Towers, which he has led since then.[15][16] Under his tenure as CEO, the company has been named one of the largest equity fundraisers in Africa, as well as one of the overall largest fundraisers of the past decade.[17][18] Moreover, IHS Towers has won a series of awards and nominations for its rapid growth and high-profile tower transactions, such as the 2015 African Company of the Year at the CEO Forum Awards and Africa Investor's 2015 ICT Project Developer of the year, as well as the Middle East and Africa Deal of the Year at the Telecomfinance Awards in 2013 and 2015, and 2014 EMEA Finance's prize for the Best Telecommunications Deal in EMEA region.[19][20][21][22][23] As of 2017, IHS Towers is the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East by tower count and the third largest independent multinational tower company in the world.[24]

Darwish is a supporter of green energy research and has overseen the roll out of renewable energy solutions throughout the continent.[25] He is also a proponent for the development of the mobile banking industry across the continent and in Nigeria in particular.[26]

In 2015, he was nominated Business Leader of the Year for West Africa as part of the All Africa Business Leaders Awards in collaboration with CNBC Africa.[27][28] In 2016, he won the award for his founding and continued leadership of IHS Towers.[29]

Other ventures

Darwish has founded additional businesses in the US and Middle East such as Vorex, a software provider for small enterprises across the US.[11] He is also the Founder and President of Singularity Investments, Dar Properties and Dar Telecom.[30][31]

Darwish is involved in setting up incubator programs for aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Lagos and oversees local community projects throughout Nigeria.[11] He has been a financier behind the establishment of educational facilities in underserved areas throughout Africa and is a believer of the fact that increased employment opportunities is the key to boosting Africa's economy.[15]

In September 2015, he served on an entrepreneur judging panel for She Leads Africa, a venture which invests in promising women entrepreneurs from across the continent.[32][33] In the same year, he was asked to join the Africa 2.0 Advisory Board alongside individuals such as Reverend Jesse Jackson, Joaquim Chissano, the former President of Mozambique, and Samba Bathily.[34] Africa 2.0 is a pan-African project aimed towards driving sustainable growth throughout the continent.

Darwish is also on the advisory board of the Woodrow Wilson Center, a bipartisan think tank based in Washington DC.[35]

Personal life

Darwish holds the chieftain title “The Adimula of Erin Ile” in the state of Kwara in Nigeria.[11]

He counts Raphael Udeogu, the former managing director of Motorola's Nigerian division, and Bashir El-Rufai, the former Managing Director of Intercellular Nigeria Limited, amongst his personal mentors.[11]

References
  1. "Sam Darwish, President and Group CEO". Crunchbase. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  2. Osmotherly, Kieron, ed. (November 2017). "The strategic vision of EMEA's largest independent towerco" (PDF). TowerXchange (21): 253.
  3. Flanagan, Ben (May 25, 2019). "INTERVIEW: Sam Darwish, Group CEO at IHS Towers - the accidental engineer who found his calling". Arab News.
  4. Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Nigerian Multi-Millionaire Tycoon Issam Darwish Raises $2.6 Billion For Telecom Towers", Forbes, 3 November 2014. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  5. "Sam Darwish", Bloomberg [profile]. Accessed 9 February 2018.
  6. "Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Founder". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  7. "The Global Advisory Council". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  8. Smith, Matt. "Africa phone tower firm IHS raises $2.6 billion", Reuters, November 3, 2014. Accessed 27 July 2015.
  9. " The Economist Events’ Nigeria Summit to take place on March 7th and 8th 2016", Naija 247 News. Accessed 2 February 2016.
  10. "IHS CEO Issam Darwish Speaks at the Wendel Investors Forum December 2015" [video], 3 December 2015. Accessed 13 January 2016.
  11. Darwish, Issam. Interviewed by Owolawi, Abisola. "Bus or Food? The First Crossroad on the Path to Being a Millionaire" [pdf], Forbes Africa, March 2014. Accessed 27 July 2015.
  12. "Issam Darwish"[pdf]. Accessed 29 July 2015.
  13. Clémençot, Julien. "Issam Darwish a plus d’une tour dans son sac", Jeune Afrique, 24 September 2014. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  14. "IHS Nigeria PLC", Reuters. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  15. Darwish, Issam. Interviewed by Landon, Claire. "Q&A: Issam Darwish, IHS Towers co-founder", Telecom Finance, December 2015. Accessed 13 January 2016.
  16. Rice, Xan. "IHS: Local knowledge is important in fulfilling towering ambitions", The Financial Times, 27 November 2012. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  17. Thomas, Daniel; Blas, Javier. "IHS in biggest African fund raising since crisis", Forbes, 2 November 2014. Accessed 4 September 2015.
  18. "IHS CEO Issam Darwish talks towers", TMT Finance, 26 November 2015. Accessed 13 January 2016.
  19. "Rapport de couverture médiatique AFRICA CEO FORUM 2015 " [pdf], Africa CEO Forum, 20 May 2015. Accessed 22 October 2015.
  20. "IHS Africa awarded Middle East & Africa Deal of the Year ", TowerXchange, 25 February 2013. Accessed 22 October 2015.
  21. "IHS Towers awarded Telecom Finance Deal of the Year", Biztech Africa, 20 February 2015. Accessed 22 October 2015.
  22. "Africa’s infrastructure project development leaders recognised at Ai Project Developer Awards", Africainvestor, 4 June 2015. Accessed 22 October 2015.
  23. "Project Finance Awards - EMEA winners", EMEA Finance, 29 April 2015. Accessed 22 october 2015.
  24. "Kuwait's Zain inks $165m mobile towers deal". Arabian Business. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  25. Sikhakhane, Zweli. "IHS Holding acquires MTN towers in Rwanda, Zambia", Biznis Africa, 2 May 2014. Accessed 4 September 2015.
  26. Darwish, Issam. Interviewed by Karlsson, Markus. "Issam Darwish, CEO of IHS Africa", France 24, 28 November 2011. Accessed 4 September 2015.
  27. "AABLA: All Africa Business Leaders Awards", All Africa Business Leaders Awards. Accessed 14 October 2015.
  28. "2015 All Africa Business Leaders Awards: The nominees are…", My TV News, 7 September 2015. Accessed 14 October 2015.
  29. "IHS Towers CEO wins AABLA award". The Guardian. October 26, 2016.
  30. "Africa", Singularity Invest. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  31. "President's Profile", Dar Telecom Consulting. Accessed 3 September 2015.
  32. Adebiyi, Deola. "Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Joins She Leads Africa for Live Entrepreneur Showcase", The Guardian, 21 September 2015. Accessed 14 October 2015.
  33. "How two young West African women are creating Africa's next billionaires", CNBC Africa, 9 March 2015. Accessed 14 October 2015.
  34. "Africa 2.0 - Advisory Board", Africa 2.0. Accessed 13 January 2016.
  35. "The Global Advisory Council". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
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