Mapula Bodibe, MTN Rwanda CEO.

Fintech continued to lift MTN Rwanda in the 2023 first quarter ended March, as the telco recorded solid performance.

MTN Rwanda released its quarterly performance today, saying its active subscribers grew by 7.0% to 6.9 million in the period.

Mobile Money (MoMo) subscribers increased by 17.2% year-on-year to 4.4 million, service revenue surged by 14.9% to Rwf 58.4 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 9.4% to Rwf 27.0 billion.

In the quarter, there was a slight reduction in MTN’s active data subscribers to close the period with 2.2m subscribers at the end of the quarter.

On the fintech front, MTN Rwanda CEO Mapula Bodibe, said: “We continued to achieve double digit growth in our active Mobile Money subscribers, growing by 17.2% to 4.4 million subscribers as well as delivering a strong revenue growth of 39.4%, as MoMoPay merchants continued to grow, showcasing the popular rise in mobile payments across all spheres of modern-day life in Rwanda.

“We expect to deliver a continued solid performance from the fintech business, as more advanced payment products are rolled out in the course of this year.”

As a result of the strong showing by the fintech business, she said, MTN Rwanda delivered a 14.9% growth in service revenue over the period.

Turning to other performance metrics, Bodibe said, in the first quarter of 2023, MTN Rwanda furthered its population coverage to 99.0% on the back of Rwf 12.9bn capex investment that saw a roll out of 34 sites, which improved network performance and enabled the telco to regain its #1 Network NPS position.

Looking ahead, she said: “We are looking forward to the launch and rollout of our own 4G network, scaling our Macye Macye device financing initiative, as well as the introduction of advanced mobile money products which are all expected to drive growth in line with our midterm guidance.

“As we execute on our Ambition 2025 strategy, we look forward to continuing to drive leading digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress.”