Pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom has appointed Mohamed Abdel Bassit as its new Regional CEO for Middle East and West Africa (MEWA), effective January 1, 2019.

A statement issued by the company explains that Bassit will be based in Cairo and will oversee the group's expansion further into MEWA following the recent news that it is investing US$400-million in the Egyptian market and has completed the first fibre network to stretch all the way from Cape Town to Cairo.

In early December 2018 Liquid Telecom announced the R5.6-billion three-year investment in partnership with Telecom Egypt, which includes network infrastructure and datacentres.

Bassit will also explore new market opportunities in West Africa as Liquid Telecom begins expanding its service offering into the region, the company stated.

The Regional CEO of MEWA is a new position within Liquid Telecom, and forms part of the group's wider digital transformation strategy.

"The MEWA region is home to some of the fastest growing economies in Africa and we are delighted to bring on-board Mohamed Abdel Bassit to help accelerate our expansion into these markets. He is a highly experienced telecoms executive with extensive local knowledge that will help guide us to success in these regions," said Ahmad Mokhles, Group Chief Operating Officer, Liquid Telecom.

According to Liquid Telecom Bassit brings more than 20 years of experience in the ICT industry spanning sales, business operation and product development, outsourcing and establishing partnerships.

Bassit joins Liquid Telecom from Orange Group where he served as Regional Director for voice, data and mobile services in the Middle East for the past year.

He previously served as VP of operations for Gulf Bridge International, and prior to that spent ten years as Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa at Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), where he helped establish the company as a leading regional voice and mobility services carrier.

"I am excited to be a part of Liquid Telecom's expansion into new markets across the Middle East and West Africa. There is enormous potential to connect many of these countries to our extensive pan-African fibre network, bringing new competition and helping to develop the local telecoms ecosystem," said Bassit