Orange has announced that it has set up a new subsidiary called Orange Horizons that aims to seek out new business opportunities in countries where the Group is not already present as a main telecoms provider. Orange says the aim is to provide a new source of revenue for the Group and improve customer loyalty across its international footprint without the need for significant investment.

Examples of the type of new business opportunities the new company would consider include: online stores selling telecoms-related equipment or airtime; what it calls “over-the-top country websites”; innovative roaming solutions (using wi-fi or VoIP), or launching mobile virtual network operators.

Orange Horizons has already launched a branded online store and news website in South Africa, to coincide with the start of the (surprise surprise) Orange-sponsored Africa Cup of Nations football tournament. Six of the national teams in the finals are from African countries where Orange operates, so many of its customers will doubtless be travelling to South Africa for the tournament. A similar e-commerce initiative has also been opened in Italy. The Group plans to launch business ventures in several other countries in 2013 in Europe, Africa and South America.

Elie Girard, senior EVP of strategy and international development at Orange, said Orange Horizons fits into the Group’s overall ‘Conquests 2015’ strategy:

“Due to traditional migratory flows or cultural and professional ties, there are many countries where Orange is already very well-known despite not having an operational presence. We think there is strong potential to create a new source of revenues in these countries by leveraging awareness of the brand to propose very simple mass-market offers.”