Ghana will provide funding to the mobile operator it bought for $1 in a bid to reach profitability within two years.

AirtelTigo, now fully owned by the government, will receive “bridge financing” this year, Minister of Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said in an interview in the capital, Accra. The amount is still being discussed.

The West African nation is also considering giving a sovereign guarantee to help the service provider secure funds from other lenders, she said.

Ghana acquired AirtelTigo this month from Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Millicom International Cellular SA, which had combined their local operations in 2017. The third-largest mobile operator, with 20.1% of the country’s voice subscribers by December, has been vying for second place with Vodafone Group Plc’s local unit that controlled 20.8% market share at the same period.

 Lagos-based Globacom Ltd. has the remaining 2% of subscriptions.

The government is renegotiating some of the company’s short-term loans after its former shareholders wrote off the debt they were owed. “Once we create some space for the company it will be able to stand on its own feet,” she said. “This could take up to two years.”

Tough Competition

Some of the debt was incurred trying to keep up with the competition. Unlike its two main rivals, AirtelTigo hasn’t acquired a 4G license for instance, putting it at a clear disadvantage, she said.