Africa Focus: Mobile Phone penetration transforming lives in Rwanda
Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:
Mobile phones were once something only rich people used. In fact in today's modern world and societal advances, mobile phones have played a key role in changing people's lives.
These days, mobile phones are lighting up Rwanda to an extent people own more than two phones, which shows how the devices are treasured in their daily lives.
The coming of mobile phones in Rwanda has been the most magical and amazing thing that has transformed Rwandans, a phenomenon that has left the rural population obsessed with the use of phones.
Close to 7.8 million Rwandans out of 11.5 million total population own mobile phones, according to statistics from Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).
Rwanda has three mobile telecom firms - Airtel, Tigo and MTN Rwanda. Over 70 percent of Rwandans own mobile phones, according to RURA, up from 63 percent in 2013.
"Owning a mobile phone has helped me a lot because I use it to communicate to my relatives living abroad. I use my phone to buy electricity and sometimes I use it to send and receive money using mobile money platform," Immaculee Uwingabire, a resident of Capital, Kigali.
She noted that the use a mobile phone has transformed her life for the better because she can access entertainment, business, health, communication services with ease.
"Without a phone, it's really changing to get a job because my friends send me text messages and sometimes calls me telling where there are available job opportunities in different companies in the country. I find the introduction of mobile phones in post- conflict country like Rwanda very impressive and helpful," said Antoine Mugiraneza, a resident of Masaka sector, Kicukiro district, Kigali City suburb.
Mugiraneza said that phones have transformed his community for the better because they have increased the level of interaction and trading activities among the people.
Mobile devices have been described as the new solution to efficient provision of services that provide opportunities to generate income.
Different Rwandan companies have been fighting for clients by introducing new products and conducting promotions using free mobile money transactions, cash prizes for using mobile money and sending short messages to win cash, cars and houses.
According to Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwandan minister of youth and ICT said that access to information and increased communication through mobile communication results into productivity gains among Rwandans.
"Apart from communication, people are using mobile phones for a wide range of business transactions has boosted their income for example mobile money platform where people send and receive money using their phones," he said.
Rwanda has invested in donating free mobile phones for all volunteer health workers and disaster management committee at local administrative levels across the country. Endi