Vikram Sinha – raising Ooredoo Maldives to new heights

Over the past few years, the Maldives has witnessed a major revolution in the nation’s telecommunications industry. A leading telecom giant has steadily made a niche for itself in the archipelago with state-of-the-art technology, investing hundreds of millions of dollars to launch cutting edge new services in the island nation. That giant is Ooredoo Maldives and the man heading the revolution was Vikram Sinha, who was appointed as the company’s CEO in 2014.

After bringing about major changes to the telecom sector within a few years, Vikram Sinha is currently serving as the COO of Ooredoo Myanmar. However, the veteran born to Jamshedpur of India remains on the Board of Directors of Ooredoo Maldives, serving as the company’s managing director.

Sinha undertook a number of successful projects contributing to Ooredoo Maldives’ progress as well as the Maldives’ telecom development during his three years in the archipelago. One of the most notable ventures is the submarine cable project Ooredoo launched once it was authorised to provide internet service in the Maldives. Costing a hefty USD 25 million, Ooredoo laid a submarine cable system spanning the archipelago from its northern tip to southern end in an ambitious bid to provide high speed internet connection to each and every inhabited island across the Maldives.

The project was successfully completed last January, thus bringing high speed internet broadband services to every corner of the nation via China’s Huawei 100G technology.

In addition to expanding Ooredoo’s reach to all borders of the Maldives, Vikram Sinha’s three year stint in this country also saw the launch of a wide range of brand new services. With the introduction of 4G+ across the country, Ooredoo Maldives earned the status of the first 100 percent 4G+ network in Southeast Asia, also adding 4G+ high speed mobile data to its repertoire.

It was under Vikram Sinha’s direct guidance that Ooredoo Maldives realised this dream of becoming a 4G+ network, a feat accomplished within a mere 19 days.

The company did not focus only on strengthening telecommunications infrastructure during those three years. Under Sinha’s leadership, Ooredoo also commenced several customer-focussed services, such as mobile payment.

Ooredoo Maldives’ then CEO Vikram Sinha speaks at the launching of Ooredoo m-Faisaa.

Ooredoo launched the brand new “Ooredoo m-Faisaa” mobile money service in the Maldives in early 2016. The m-Faisaa system provides Ooredoo Customers with virtual accounts designed for easy money transactions. Comprising over 300 agents including Ooredoo shops across the country, the service allows customers to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts. Ooredoo m-Faisaa is currently available in more than 180 islands.

Another notable accomplishment during Sinha’s impressive three years is the introduction of fixed broadband across the whole country. The Ooredoo “Supernet” featuring the fastest internet package in the Maldives yet was launched last year May with Sinha heading the project. His contributions to the Maldivian branch of the Qatar-based Ooredoo Group played an important role in raising Ooredoo to rank among the Top 50 telecom brands in the world last year.

Ooredoo Maldives’ Head of Sales Hussain Niyaz described Vikram Sinha as a leader with an open policy who meshed well with all the employees.

“Each new change brought about under Vikram’s leadership included the staff’s opinions. He loves challenges and new ideas; he’s a proficient leader who enjoys experiencing new things,” said Niyaz.

Vikram Sinha (L) plays a garlando game against famous local footballer Ali “Dhagandey” Ashfaq (L-2). PHOTO/OOREDOO

The company’s Head of Planning Shabeen Ali seconded Sinha’s image of being friendly and close with others.

“He’s done great services to the Maldives; he is someone who has changed the landscape of the Maldives’ telecom industry. He’s added much value to Maldivian society and contributed a lot to the telecom sector, this country and this region.”

The understanding and appreciation shared between Vikram Sinha and the staff of Ooredoo Maldives become more and more apparent with the answers of every person asked for a comment regarding their former CEO. The Manager of Customer Care Dhiyana Afeef expressed satisfaction for the opportunity to work under Sinha, highlighting the company’s accomplishments and achievements with Sinha in the lead.

“[He] has even done things once thought impossible. He always urged the staff to achieve the company’s targets,” she said.

Vikram Sinha (R) pictured at the launching of Ooredoo Smart School project

Dhiyana went on to describe Vikram Sinha as an amiable and trustworthy team player.

“Vikram gave high priority to empowering women and worked hard for the advancement of female employees, especially of local women,” she added.

Vikram Sinha is a leader that won the trust and affection of his staff and customers within a short period of time. His particular care and precedence for Ooredoo Maldives’ social responsibilities are testimony to that fact.

In addition to achieving the company’s targets in the telecom sector, he also worked hard to achieve Ooredoo’s UN Sustainable Development goals while laying efforts for women’s empowerment, educational growth, better healthcare and combating the negative effects of climate change.

Vikram Sinha is now a name that will be known as a capable prodigy that revolutionised an industry within a few short years; the mastermind behind Ooredoo Maldives’ rise to new heights.