When Martin Cox joined the Paratus Group in 2021, his principal mandate was to champion the group’s ambitious expansion across Africa. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing the organisation’s broader strategic goals, including the successful rollout of Paratus 500, a major milestone that marks the group’s achievement in securing licences and operations reaching 500 million people in sub-Equatorial Africa.
As chief commercial officer, Cox’s impressive track record and experience are brought to bear in leading the Paratus Group’s charge across Africa.
In the run up to the Paratus 500 announcement, Cox used his strategic capability to great effect in shaping and negotiating agreements that are now strengthening the group’s long-term position and mission in Africa. Over the past two years, this expansion journey included establishing new companies, securing operating licences and launching Paratus operations in seven additional African markets. Together with the Paratus team and the group’s in-country partners, the expansion plan has culminated in the creation of a licensed network footprint reaching 500 million people.
Key to the Paratus Group’s expansion plan has been the addition of East Africa, and Cox has spearheaded the group’s plans in making this a reality.
“I’m very proud to have led the Paratus move into East Africa,” he says. “Together with our in-country partners, Paratus now offers unequalled cross-border links, fibre and satellite networks. This makes us a compelling partner for any intercontinental, national or global business that requires robust, secure and fast connectivity across Southern and Central Africa. It’s exciting because, as we carve out new territories, we are opening opportunities for African businesses to connect with the world and to become digitally transformed.”
Cox says that the Paratus Group’s growth strategy in sub-Equatorial Africa is unique on the continent.
Local teams
“Paratus has not only decided to grow organically, but has partnered with local ISPs that provide us with local teams on the ground to support our customers. This means we can service our clients with a seamless and contiguous network with focus on providing a quality service with a significant local presence in each market. Additionally, the Paratus Group has four data centres in Southern Africa and was the landing partner for the Google Equiano subsea cable in Namibia.”
Cox also leads the group’s partnerships into the low-Earth orbit satellite services market. In 2023, Paratus was one of the first appointed authorised resellers for Starlink in Africa and this enhances the group’s ability to service its customers no matter how remote the location.
Next on Cox’s agenda will be to consolidate the expansion to date and focus on now growing the business organically within each new territory.
“Our next main goal, having announced Paratus 500 is to drive customer and revenue growth in our markets and to make Paratus a significant local player in each new market and leverage the synergies of the coverage we have created.”
Background on Martin Cox
Cox’s work in the international telecommunications sector began when he worked in the mid 90s with a private equity development company that invested in telecom operators in emerging markets. Investments included Axtel (Mexico) in 1997 which is now a US$650-million revenue operator, Celtel (the pan-African mobile operator) in 1998 and Neotel (South Africa) in 2003. Cox was one of the founding shareholders and executives at Neotel, where he was initially responsible for raising the financing before taking over the strategy and sales functions, growing revenue to R4-billion before Neotel was acquired by Liquid Telecommunications. More recently, Cox was responsible for strategy, commercial and mergers & acquisitions at Internet Solutions (part of the Dimension Data Group). UK-born and educated, Cox is also a qualified lawyer and MBA graduate. He is married to a South African, has three daughters and lives in Johannesburg.
About Paratus Group
Paratus Group is committed to raising the bar on providing quality connectivity in Africa. With an eye on the future, the group is investing in infrastructure and establishing itself as a key player in delivering integrated network services across the continent. Among its many and diverse achievements, the group has invested in and launched the East-to-West Africa fibre route, the Express Route from Johannesburg to the rest of the world and announced Paratus 500, which signals that the telco now has licenses to reach half a billion people in sub-Equatorial Africa.
Paratus Group has operations in 16 African countries and employs over 1000 staff and contractors across the group. This connects African businesses across the continent and delivers end-to-end service excellence. The group’s footprint extends beyond Africa to international points of presence in Europe, the UK and the US.
Born and bred in Africa, Paratus is thinking big as it grows its footprint to deliver Africa’s quality network. The group aims to deliver real value and services to communities across Africa, while making a positive contribution to transformation in terms of both the people and the environment.
