(2 minutes read)
- Airtel granted a 12-year unified license to operate as Airtel Rwanda
- Airtel’s campaign to drive financial inclusion through ICT called Mukazi Kose
After establishing its successful presence in Rwanda for more than eight years, India’s leader in the telecom sector, Airtel will now operate as Airtel Rwanda. The company has been operating as Airtel-Tigo . It has been granted a 12-year unified license to operate as Airtel Rwanda. The announcement was made by Amit Chawla, the Airtel Rwanda Managing Director. Mr Chawla said that the company has been relentlessly striving to merge the two brands for the last two years. With the merger, customers will be able to see a uniform face of the company with the harmonised products. In other words, customers of Airtel and Tigo will be able to use seamlessly the network, products, and services.
According to official sources, Airtel enjoys a customer base of over 5 million in Rwanda. It has doubled its service centers and deployed 600 more kiosks across the country to take its services closer to customers.
The Rwandan government has been trying to boost the concept of a cashless economy. Airtel has also launched a promotional campaign in line with the government agenda to drive financial inclusion through ICT called Mukazi Kose. Mr.Chawla added that the campaign intended to cover the entire ecosystem from voice to data and everything between. The move will enable public utility bill transactions through the medium of mobile financing services. To encourage the use of mobile money, Airtel has waived off the transfer charges for person to person money transfer. The other incentives in the package include the scrapping of charges, for paying water bills using Airtel Money, bonus money for buying electricity etc. The consumers can earn 30 percent extra for buying packs or data bundles.
Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, appreciated Airtel’s people-centric approach, investment to support Rwanda’s development and also promoting digital and financial inclusion.
In 2018, Airtel set the record as the first mobile money service in Rwanda to distribute to its customer’s interest generated from their trust accounts. Airtel Rwanda is the leading service provider and currently accounts for over 98 per cent of 3G coverage.
