Airtel Africa unveiled what it labelled as the “most affordable 4G smartphone” to be launched in Rwanda, as part of wider plans to boost connections to its network.
The move was conducted in partnership with the Rwandan government under the ConnectRwanda 2.0 initiative which aims to connect one million Rwandans with LTE smartphones by 2024, reported Business Today. Only 1.6 million Rwandans own a smartphone, out of its 13 million plus population.
The smartphone will be priced at RWF20,000 ($16.30) coupled with a 1GB data plan costing an additional RWF1,000 per month. The device was not named neither was a release date revealed.
Airtel Africa Group CEO Segun Ogunsanya said: “We are proud to be part of this transformative initiative that promises to rewrite Rwanda’s digitisation story and give more Rwandans a reason to imagine.”
“This partnership demonstrates our unwavering commitment to the Rwandan government’s digitisation drive and our belief that digital empowerment is vital for socioeconomic progress.”
Rwanda’s Minister of ICT Paula Ingabire represented by the Director General of Digital Transformation in the Ministry, Mr Gordon Kalema, added: “All government agencies have a target of 2024 to digitise their activities. So, this initiative is aimed at enabling the realisation of that ambitious target”.