Yas

What Yas does

Yas is the pan-African consumer and enterprise telecommunications brand of AXIAN Telecom, operating licensed mobile, fixed, and digital financial services across five African markets: Madagascar (its primary market, where the operating entity is TELMA MOBILE S.A.), Comoros, Senegal, Tanzania, and Togo. The company was previously known as Telma Madagascar before being rebranded into the unified Yas identity in 2024-2025 as part of AXIAN's consolidation of its telecom assets, and reports a workforce of 1,001-5,000 employees headquartered in Antananarivo. Its product portfolio spans prepaid and postpaid mobile voice and data plans (Ye'low, M'Ora, First, Net), fiber and wireless fixed internet (La Fibre and Kiasy Home), roaming and international calling, eSIM and tourist connectivity, MVola mobile money, Moozik music streaming, MBalik digital health, and device sales including 5G/4G MIFI hotspots and smartphones.

The underlying technology stack is anchored by a 4G/5G mobile network deployed in partnership with Ericsson (5G commercial launch in Madagascar in June 2020), a fiber optic access and backhaul footprint, and the MVola mobile money platform integrated with utility (JIRAMA), social security (CNaPS), and banking partners. A March 2026 strategic partnership with AST SpaceMobile extends the network layer into Low Earth Orbit satellite direct-to-device broadband for 4G LTE and 5G connectivity to unmodified smartphones. Distribution combines 255+ Yas Shop retail stores across Madagascar (including an airport tourist eSIM point), self-serve online portals (services.yas.mg, recharge.yas.mg), the Yas & Moi mobile app, USSD service codes, B2B enterprise account managers, MVola merchant agents, and wholesale channels to other operators.

Yas generates revenue through subscription mobile plans ranging from 100 Ar daily prepaid bundles to 200,000 Ar monthly data plans, recurring fiber subscriptions (49,000-249,000 Ar/month), one-time device sales with consumer financing, usage-based roaming and international calling, B2B enterprise contracts, and transaction-fee-based wholesale and MVola services. The company serves individual consumers (including a youth segment via the Eh'Wa program), PRO & PME small and medium businesses, large enterprises, government and NGO clients, wholesale telecom operators, and tourists; no single customer concentration risk is disclosed and the company remains privately held under AXIAN Telecom.

Name

Yas

Legal name

TELMA MOBILE S.A.

Website

https://yas.mg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Yas is the pan-African telecom brand of AXIAN Telecom, offering mobile, fixed internet, mobile money (MVola), and digital services across five African markets led by Madagascar, anchored by a 4G/5G network, 255+ retail stores, and a new satellite direct-to-device partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (517112), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171), Satellite Telecommunications (5174), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Radiotelephone Communications (4812), Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Mobile Operators (HDAIAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) & Business Broadband (HDAIAFAD), Wireless ISPs (WISPs) & Fixed Wireless Access Providers (HDAIADAD), Billing, Payments & Subscription Management (MPAHAJAC)

Keywords

• Mobile telecommunications
• Mobile money services
• Fiber internet
• Enterprise connectivity
• International roaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Antananarivo

HQ country

Madagascar

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Mobile Voice and Data Services: Prepaid and postpaid mobile plans offering voice minutes, SMS, and internet data. Includes Ye'low, M'Ora, First, and NET plan families with various price points from 100 Ar to 200,000 Ar.
2. Fixed Internet (Fiber): Fiber optic internet plans for residential and business customers. Plans range from 49,000 Ar/month (Fibre IN) to 249,000 Ar/month (Fibre Home) with FUP limits.
3. Device Sales: Sale of smartphones (Samsung, Motorola, ZTE brands) and mobile broadband devices (MIFI, Box routers). Prices range from 24,000 Ar feature phones to 8,900,000 Ar flagship smartphones. Device financing available.
4. Roaming Services: International roaming packages for travel to France, Saudi Arabia, and Yas network countries (Comoros, Senegal, Tanzania). Prices from 12,000 Ar to 350,000 Ar depending on destination and duration.
5. B2B Enterprise Solutions: Dedicated internet, mobile plans, value-added services (USSD, security), and financial solutions for enterprises and government organizations.
6. Wholesale Services: International voice services, national interconnection, SMS solutions, and infrastructure services for other telecom operators and service providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Yas provides mobile telecommunications services (prepaid and postpaid voice, SMS, and data plans), fixed fiber optic and wireless home internet, international roaming and calling, eSIM connectivity, and mobile financial services through the MVola mobile money platform. The company also sells smartphones and 5G/4G mobile WiFi devices with financing options, and offers B2B enterprise solutions including USSD, M2M, and satellite direct-to-device broadband.

Product overview

Yas (formerly TELMA Madagascar, rebranded in 2025 under AXIAN Telecom's pan-African unified brand) offers a comprehensive telecommunications portfolio spanning mobile services (prepaid plans Ye'low and M'Ora, postpaid First plans, data-only Net plans), fixed internet (fiber optic La Fibre and wireless Kiasy Home), international services (roaming and international calling), mobile money (MVola), entertainment (Moozik streaming, gaming), and device hardware (5G/4G mobile WiFi devices, smartphones, feature phones). The company serves consumer, business (PRO & PME, large enterprises, government/NGO), and wholesale market segments across five African countries, with recent expansion into satellite direct-to-device broadband via AST SpaceMobile partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MVola: Mobile money and digital financial services platform for secure payments, transfers, and financial transactions.
• MBalik
• eSIM
• Kiasy Home
• Moozik
• Eh'Wa

Products and services

• Ye'low (Mobile Prepaid Plan) Entry-level prepaid mobile data plans offering data bundles (20 Mo to 2.4 Go) with call credits and SMS, available in daily and short-term validity periods for individual consumers.
• M'Ora (Mobile Prepaid Plan) Prepaid mobile plans with bundled call credits, data, and SMS including automatic renewal option and international calling features, targeted at individual consumers.
• First (Mobile Postpaid Plan) Postpaid mobile plans offering bundled call credits, data, SMS, and international calling minutes with monthly subscription for individual subscribers seeking higher usage tiers.
• Net (Mobile Data Plan) Data-only mobile plans (Net Week and Net Month) offering larger data bundles from 700 Mo to 100 Go with weekly or monthly validity for individual consumers.
• Roaming International roaming plans for travel to France, Saudi Arabia, and Yas network countries (Comoros, Senegal, Tanzania) with bundled data, calls, and SMS for travelers.
• International Calling International calling and SMS service from Madagascar to global destinations at competitive per-second rates starting from 15 Ar/sec for individual subscribers.
• La Fibre (Fiber Optic Internet) Fixed fiber optic internet service for homes and businesses offering very high-speed connectivity with plans ranging from 100 Go to 1.5 To FUP (Fibre IN, Fibre Go, Fibre Family, Fibre Home).
• Kiasy Home Wireless home internet service using 4G/5G modem technology offering plug-and-play connectivity with data plans from 110 Go to 1 To per month for households.
• eSIM Embedded SIM (eSIM) technology built into compatible smartphones (Apple, Samsung, Google, Huawei, Oppo, Honor), eliminating the need for a physical SIM card and activated by scanning a QR code. Includes a dedicated tourist eSIM package.
• MVola (Mobile Money) Mobile money service enabling money transfers, bill payments (JIRAMA utilities, CNaPS social security), salary payments, airtime purchase, and financial transactions via mobile phone for individuals and merchants.
• Moozik (Music Streaming) Music streaming platform offering unlimited access to Malagasy and international music with exclusive playlists, priced from 500 Ar/day to 10,000 Ar/month for individual subscribers.
• Smartphones and Mobile Devices Retail sale of smartphones from Samsung, Motorola, and ZTE, plus feature phones, 5G/4G MIFI hotspots, and Box routers, with device financing options.
• USSD Services (Enterprise) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services for enterprises including Standard (up to 250,000 sessions/month) and Premium (up to 500,000 sessions/month) tiers with VPN connectivity and network monitoring.
• M2M (Machine-to-Machine) Machine-to-machine communication service enabling connected devices to communicate via mobile network for remote equipment management, IoT sensors, and real-time data transmission.
• Satellite Direct-to-Device Broadband Space-based cellular broadband service using AST SpaceMobile's Low Earth Orbit BlueBird satellites to deliver 4G LTE and 5G connectivity directly to standard mobile devices in remote, rural, maritime, and aviation areas without additional hardware.
• SOS Credit Emergency credit service allowing users to borrow airtime credit with 0% fees if repaid within 72 hours, escalating to 10-30% fees for longer repayment periods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5G offers 10x faster speeds than 4G with capacity for 1 million connections per km²

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AST SpaceMobilecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026AXIAN Telecom (parent company of Yas) partnered with AST SpaceMobile to launch Africa's first direct-to-device satellite broadband service. The collaboration uses AST's Low Earth Orbit BlueBird satellites to deliver 4G LTE and 5G connectivity directly to unmodified smartphones in remote, rural, maritime, and aviation areas. The service will be delivered through Yas brand with one-click activation integrated into existing mobile plans.
• EricssoncoreTechnology or IntegrationEricsson is the technology partner for Yas Madagascar's 5G network deployment. 5G was launched in June 2020 making Yas an early 5G adopter in Africa.
• Maison du NumériqueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYas Madagascar partners with Maison du Numérique association for the E-Jery program, which provides digital literacy training to children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Madagascar. The program aims to reach 1000+ children annually.
• École 42 AntananarivominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYas Madagascar provides primary financial support to École 42 Antananarivo, an innovative free computer programming school preparing Malagasy youth for digital careers. This reflects Yas's commitment to digital education and skills development.
• Axian TelecomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAxian Telecom is the parent company of Yas pan-African telecom group. Yas operates in Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal, Tanzania, and Togo under the unified Yas brand identity. Axian provides strategic direction and shared services across Yas markets.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sonatel (Orange Senegal): Incumbent MNO in Senegal — one of Yas's five operating markets — and a direct competitor for Yas Senegal's mobile, internet, and Orange Money customers. Closest peer in Yas's West African geography.
• Safaricom: Kenya's leading MNO and pioneer of integrated mobile money (M-Pesa). Closest comparable to Yas's integrated telecom-plus-mobile-money-plus-content strategy and a benchmark for MVola's fintech trajectory across African markets.
• Orange Madagascar: Direct MNO competitor to Yas in Madagascar, offering mobile voice/data, fiber, and Orange Money mobile-money services. Most direct head-to-head rival for Yas's consumer, enterprise, and fintech customers in its home market.
• Airtel Madagascar: Direct MNO competitor to Yas in Madagascar, part of Airtel Africa's pan-African footprint. Competes on mobile voice/data pricing and Airtel Money mobile-money services against Yas's MVola.

Broad incumbents

• Vodacom Group: Pan-African MNO operating in Tanzania (one of Yas's five markets), DR Congo, Mozambique, and South Africa; comparable integrated telecom-and-M-Pesa-style financial services strategy and benchmark for Yas's Tanzania operations.
• MTN Group: Africa's largest pan-African MNO with presence across multiple markets; competes against Yas in several geographies (or adjacent markets) and offers a benchmark for pan-African telecom-plus-MoMo execution.
• Millicom (Tigo): Pan-African and Latin American telecom operator focused on emerging markets with integrated mobile-money (Tigo Money); comparable business model to Yas in terms of emerging-market concentration and fintech-led growth thesis.
• Airtel Africa: Pan-African MNO with mobile-money (Airtel Money) operations in 14 African markets; competes directly with Yas in Madagascar and other overlapping geographies and offers scale benchmarks for emerging-market telecom.
• Orange S.A. Global telecom operator with major pan-African footprint including Madagascar, Senegal, and other Yas markets. Competes through Orange Money and offers a benchmark for parent-group strategy and capital allocation in African telecom.

Emerging players

• Econet Wireless: Pan-African operator with mobile-money (EcoCash) and emerging-markets focus across Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and DRC; comparable emerging-market MNO-plus-mobile-money model and useful benchmark for Yas's fintech expansion thesis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@yasmadagascar
• Facebookfacebook.com/YasMadagasikara
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yas-madagascar
• Instagraminstagram.com/yas_madagascar
• Xx.com/yas_Madagascar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yas