Telecoms company Airtel plans to invest some $100 million in its operations in Rwanda over the next three years.
Airtel’s entrance into the Rwandan market would see the company bringing in partners like IBM and Ericsson to set up and manage world-class facilities in the country.
Manoj Kohli, chief executive officer and joint managing director, Bharti Airtel, said "Rwanda is a promising telecommunications market and we are grateful to the government and people of Rwanda for the support extended to us since our entry into the country."
“We plan to work closely with the government to provide access to affordable telecoms products and services across the country,” he said.
The telecommunications company also plans to roll out other services including its 3G services in the next quarter.
Kohli explained that although Kigali is currently operating on a 2G network, Airtel's 3G platform would help stimulate change to how subscribers experience the web on internet-enabled devices technology. He also stated that Airtel was committed to the development of wireless broadband infrastructure in the country.
Dobek Pater, telecoms analyst, Africa Analysis, said, “Rwanda is still a relatively low penetrated market with just over 40% penetration and there is still room for growth.”
“Broadband in the country is quite low, it’s rather at a dismal state so there’s an opportunity for mobile operators to step into that void and it’s still early days so Airtel has an opportunity to actually become a larger broadband player,” he said.
The company said Rwanda would also benefit from Airtel's mobile commerce platform – Airtel Money. This service would enable consumers and communities to conduct a range of financial transactions quickly and easily.
“This is a strategic move for Airtel as a Pan-African operator, they have presence in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania now they’ll have presence in Rwanda which is becoming a key market in East Africa, Pater added.
Share