Amitabh SharmaFeatures Coordinator

Junaid Munshi - photo by Amitabh SharmaHe has multifaceted experience, starting out as an engineer and now carving a successful career as a marketing professional in the telecom market. Junaid Munshi, commercial director at Digicel Jamaica, has worked in various markets in Africa and is upbeat about Jamaica. He speaks with Jobsmart on the opportunities in the burgeoning telecom sector.

Early days

I was born and grew up South Africa, a country which went through apartheid. Living in such circumstances has been an experience in its own.

I studied in Johannesburg, and after that I joined the Department of Post and Telegraph, which is the now the basic telephony provider.

I joined as a junior engineer and worked my way up to chief engineer in the organisation.

After working for seven years I thought I had all under control. But it was the commerce side which was calling the shots. We had to develop products and services in accordance with their advisories.

It was then the commerce side caught my eye, it is where I wanted to be. There was a deliberate ambition to do an MBA (Master's in Business Administration). I shifted to the commercial side of it, telecom is the only industry I know; it might be an advantage or a disadvantage but I have grown with it.

Working on both sides

Being in the technical side gave me understanding of how things worked, in that position I was closely working with marketing. I did not have much knowledge about advertising and media, the best way to learn was to roll up the sleeves and learn on the job.

I had my set of failures, but failures give opportunity to learn and improve. I strongly believe that one should always find out the opportunities to improve, when faced with failures.

Jamaican experience

This is my first stint outside of Africa; I have worked in South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique. I feel that the Jamaican telecom market is very dynamic and advanced, and comes with a degree of sophistication. There are many products that will be hitting the market soon.

Opportunities

Convergence is the key in this sector. From the technical perspective the industry is enjoying, and will continue to enjoy, tremendous growth in the island. The lines between IT (information technology) and telecom have blurred, the opportunities are manifold in this sector. One can seek formal employment with the telecom companies in human resources, technical and technology and marketing.

Digicel is looking to become an ICT (Information Communication Technology) company. There will be a growing demand from the technical perspective.

Entrepreneurship

Apart from direct employment opportunities, one can look at entrepreneurship as an option. One can become a reseller of the products and services, and with the growth in the sector, there is a need for people to maintain these services.

There are a number of opportunities, the market is dynamic. There are reselling opportunities of products and services. You can work through the numerous dealers throughout the island, and develop new marketing opportunities.

One could also look at servicing corporate customers, installation and maintenance of equipment. Integration services, go-between services.

There are also a myriad of sub-categories; with the market becoming dynamic, there is need for people who can be in training and development. Consultants and real-time solution providers are also in demand.

Value addition

There are a lot of value added services that can be done in the mobile platform. In Tanzania there was a service connecting the buyers to sellers. Here the buyers could showcase their needs and they were connected with the people who could fulfil that need.

For example, if someone wanted to buy a produce and a particular farmer had that produce, the service provider would scan the database after the buyer gives information, and connect him to the seller. The farmers could sell their produce at a fair price, via the cellphone.

You should now how to create opportunities. Selling mobile content could be another area to look at; here one can work on web and the mobile platform.

Key to success

You should be energised and not constrained, and always explore the possibilities that are presented. There is also a need for the youngsters to keep their options open. There are so many opportunities, look at them from a different approach, not getting bogged down by failures, need to possess the drive, determination and the willingness to succeed. Be creative, harness high values, and have faith and a plan of action ready to roll.

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com