Orange is considering the reduction of stakes in mobile operations in Uganda and Kenya, according to a Bloomberg report.

A representative from Orange said in an emailed statement that the options in Kenya and Uganda include finding new financial or operational partners to invest in the networks and services.

The review of operations in Uganda and Kenya is part of an evaluation of the company’s footprint, according to the representative, who added that the company remains committed to Africa and the Middle East.

Orange owns 70 per cent of Telkom Kenya and 95 per cent of Orange Uganda.

According to GSMA Intelligence figures, Telkom Kenya had 2.3 million connections at the end of the Q4 2013, making it the smallest operator in the market, behind Safaricom (21.5 million), Airtel (5.7 million) and Essar Telecom’s yu (2.8 million).

Orange Uganda is a minor player with around 640,000 connections compared with MTN’s 8.7 million, Airtel (7.8 million) and Uganda Telecom’s UT Mobile (2.1 million).

Orange operates in a number of other African markets, including Botswana, Cameroon, Mali, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.

These markets contribute the vast majority of the 8.9 million subscribers to the prepaid money service offered by Orange in emerging markets.

Orange previously sold assets in Switzerland and the Dominican Republic, while CEO Stephane Richard has said the company is looking for opportunities to increase its presence in markets such as Spain and Romania.