Mapula Bodibe, CEO, MTN Rwanda.

MTN Rwanda invested RWF 9.4 billion ($7.2 million) in its network in the first quarter of 2024.

MTN Rwanda revealed that it completed the upgrading of 140 network sites across the East African country when it reported its financial results for the quarter ending 31 March.

During the period under review, the company's total mobile subscribers increased by seven percent year on year (YoY), with a customer base of 7.4 million at the end of the quarter.

The telecom provider reported a 2.3% YoY gain in service revenue to RWF 59.8 billion ($46 million), primarily driven by its fintech, enterprise, and digital business categories, which were supported by significant subscriber growth.

According to the company, data traffic increased by 30% due to constant demand growth and ongoing investment in network quality and coverage.

On the Mobile Money division, the telco stated that it made an immense impact in its financial inclusion strategy, with a 16.8% rise in MoMo subscribers, totalling 5.1 million, and a revenue growth performance of 31.5% YoY.

MoMo also recorded growth in its active merchant base, which increased by 117% YoY to 427,000, with transaction volumes increasing by 18% to 181 million and transaction value increasing by 49% to RWF 2.3 trillion ($1.78 billion).

Mapula Bodibe, CEO, MTN Rwanda, said: “Overall, we are very pleased to see the remarkable growth in our subscriber base, MoMo’s stellar performance and the efforts of our Connect Rwanda 2.0 digital inclusion initiative yielding positive results with the continued increase in smartphone adoption.

“Our key initiatives included the launch of Connect Rwanda 2.0 in March 2024, which is focused on increasing smartphone affordability and accessibility, to bridge the digital divide. We unveiled the IKOSORA+, an affordable 4G-enabled smartphone priced at only RWF 20,000, which aligns with our ambition to drive digital inclusion.

She added: “We continued to drive our Macye Macye device financing programme as an ongoing measure to increase the affordability of smartphones.”