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Yérim Sow: Building Strategic Infrastructure Across Africa

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Yérim Sow – Africa Signal Profile
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Yérim Sow

Ivorian Senegalese entrepreneur and founder of Teyliom Group. He built a diversified pan African portfolio across telecoms, real estate, hospitality, finance, and industry, with a focus on strategic assets.

Nationality: Ivorian Senegalese Sectors: Telecom, Property, Hospitality, Finance, Industry Key role: Group builder and investor Active: 1988 to present Reach: West and Central Africa

Yérim Sow is a pan African operator who moved from early telecom services into long term sector building.

Through Teyliom Group, he invests in infrastructure that shapes daily economic life: housing districts, hotels, banking services, industry, and telecom assets.

His path shows how African private capital can scale across borders and across cycles.

Key Numbers

Teyliom Group footprint and hospitality platform, latest reliable data.

2001
Group founded
61
Companies
16
Countries active
1,300+
Employees
5
Hotels operating
6
Hotels building
6
Hotels planned
15% / 20%
MTN CI and Yas Senegal stakes

Sources: Teyliom Annual Report 2020 and group history. Mangalis corporate presentation 2025. Public portfolio summaries.

The Story

From telecom pioneer to strategic sector investor.

Born in Dakar in 1967, Yérim Sow studied in North America before returning to West Africa. He entered business through early telecom services, launching Direct Access in 1988 and BIP Access in 1994, when regional connectivity was still limited.

His telecom expansion included stakes in several operators, including Loteny Telecom in Côte d’Ivoire. After MTN acquired control in 2005, he redirected capital toward long term real assets.

In 2001 he created Teyliom, a holding group that diversified into property, hospitality, finance, industry, and strategic telecom investments across West and Central Africa.

Sow’s playbook: generate momentum in frontier sectors, then reinvest into infrastructure that scales economic activity.
1988
Direct Access
Technology services company, Senegal.
1994
BIP Access
Paging pioneer, expanded regionally.
2001
Teyliom Group created
Platform for multi sector investments.
2005
Shift to real estate and hotels
Telecom value recycled into property and hospitality.

Ventures

Key platforms built or scaled by Yérim Sow.

Teyliom Group

Founder, Chairman and CEO
2001

Pan African holding group investing in property, hospitality, finance, industry, and telecom, with a long term capital approach.

61 Companies
16 Countries
1,300+ Employees
5 Divisions Strategic sectors
Long term capital Multi sector Regional scale

Teyliom Properties

Group real estate arm
2005

Develops large residential and commercial projects in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali, with a focus on mixed use districts and business parks.

Senegal Core market
Côte d’Ivoire Growth market
Mali Selective projects
Urban scale City shaping
Waterfront projects Business parks Capital intensive

Mangalis Hotel Group

Hospitality platform
2011

Built three African hotel brands. Noom for upscale, Seen for midscale, and Yaas for economy hotels. Portfolio concentrated in West Africa.

5 Hotels open
6 Hotels building
6 Hotels planned
3 Brands
Noom Seen Yaas

Teyliom Finance and Telecom

Strategic holdings
2006

Includes Bridge Bank Group in Côte d’Ivoire and minority stakes in major telecom operators, keeping a footprint in the digital economy.

Bridge Bank Commercial banking
15% MTN CI stake
20% Yas Senegal stake
Regional Investment focus
Finance Telecom West Africa capital

Contribution to Africa

What changes because these platforms exist.

Direct Impact

Urban supplyTeyliom projects expand housing and office capacity in fast growing capitals.
Hospitality upgradeMangalis brands raise service standards in West African business travel.
Jobs and skillsMore than 1,300 employees across a multi sector operating base.
Local capital at scalePrivate African investment deployed into long term infrastructure.

Structural Impact

  • Sector bridges: Telecom cash cycles financed entry into property and hospitality, then into finance.
  • Regional playbook: Shows how West African groups can scale across multiple regulatory areas.
  • City shaping: Real estate strategy targets business parks, waterfront districts, and mixed use zones.
  • African brands: Built hotel brands designed for African travelers and cities.

Signal

Yérim Sow represents a modern African operator who builds across cycles. He converts frontier sector wins into long term assets that shape cities and services. His trajectory is strategic diversification with regional intent.
Sources:
Teyliom Annual Report 2020 and group history page.
Mangalis Hotel Group corporate presentation 2025.
Public portfolio summaries for telecom stakes.
Data verified November 2025.
teyliom.com | mangalis.com

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