By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The founder of Tingo International Holdings, Mr Dozy Mmobuosi, has stated that the rapidly expanding population and the need to convey people from one location to another has necessitated the need for more investment in Africa’s aviation sector.
In a statement on Thursday, the billionaire businessman was quoted as saying that the need to bridge this gap inspired him to collaborate with another investor to establish a Joint Venture Company called Omni-Tingo Aviation Services Limited.
Mr Mmobuosi, who is speculated in the United Kingdom to be interested in purchasing a Championship football outfit, Sheffield United, for £90 million, moved closer to fulfilling his ambition of owing an airline company by establishing Tingo Airlines Ltd (UK) in 2019.
He formed the aviation firm to secure a license and operate flights between Europe and Africa but the COVID-19 pandemic of early 2020 thwarted this dream, forcing him to divest to Tingo Mobile, developing Nwassa and Tingo Pay, which are doing well now.
However, due to his Nigerian fighting spirit, Mr Mmobuosi joined forces in 2020 with Omni-Blu Aviation Limited, a fast-growing airline incorporated in Nigeria, to create Omni-Tingo Aviation Services Limited, sharing an equal stake in the organisation.
flights under the Joint Venture and Mutual Cooperation Agreement (JVMC) between the two firms would be operated under Omni-Blu Aviation licences (the technical partners under the JVCo), with Mr Mmobuosi’s Family Office providing the requisite funding resources for aircraft leasing and acquisitions towards their common objective.
Though the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the commencement of the project, the parties have made significant progress since it resumed its implementation plan, completing the purchase of a Sirkosky S-76C++ Helicopter in November 2022 and currently completing a transaction for the purchase of a Challenger 605 Business Jet in the USA.
The company is also currently in active negotiations for the lease of several regional jets to commence domestic and regional flight operations in Nigeria and across the region.
Modupe Gbadeyanka