MTN Uganda says it has reinforced its partnership with M-KOPA, a fintech platform in a bid
to avail 4G smartphones at instalment payment terms as a way of making them
accessible to the people who may not be able to pay for smartphones, upfront.
This
according to a statement issued on the official website of MTN Uganda, follows
a successful partnership between MTN and M-KOPA last year that enabled the sale
of over 70, 000 smartphones on M-KOPA’s fintech platform, which has financed
over 2 million customers across Africa.
The statement
noted that under the partnership customers can choose from a wide range of up
to 11 assorted Samsung and Nokia devices from M-KOPA and finance them for up to
one year while enjoying free data from MTN, every day for a year as they use
their smartphones.
The MTN
Uganda High-Value Segment Marketing Manager, Ian Mugambe noted that the
partnership is aimed at enabling the public to acquire smartphones in the most
financially convenient way that doesn’t affect their cash flow.
“With the current
digital evolution, a smartphone is more than just a phone. It is an enabler for
work, business, education, and access to a wealth of information that can help
people get ahead in life. However, many people fail to own smartphones due to
their high cost of purchase. Therefore, by availing of such a flexible payment
solution coupled with free daily data, we believe many more people will now
find owning a smartphone much easier,” he said.
Commenting
on the partnership M-KOPA Uganda spokeswoman, Brendah Nambalirwa also stated
that the partnership has already proven to be a successful way to accelerate
smartphone penetration and digital inclusion in Uganda.
“Affordable
payment solution for our customers, who would ordinarily find it difficult to
access credit or save large deposits, can now instantly have a 4G smartphone in
their hands and connect to the internet for a myriad of services. Many of our
customers are doing so for the very first time,” she noted.
The partnership,
MTN Uganda believes is one of the various customer-centric partnerships it has
undertaken with a vision of driving digital inclusion through accelerating
penetration.
By: Kanto Okanta
