Major telecoms reach out to rural dweller

ROSE ATHUMANI

MOBILE phone service providers Vodacom and Tigo have started implementing strategies to provide mobile services to people living in rural areas to help Tanzanians to benefit from mobile telecommunication services.

Addressing journalists during the 4th Annual Mobile360 Africa in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director, Ian Ferrao, said his company has been providing low interests loans to different groups including women through mobile phones.

He said Vodacom has spread its coverage countrywide with a focus on ensuring the Tanzania society benefit socially and economically.

“One of the things exciting about my job is walking around the streets and seeing the great changes that we have created in people’s lives through our products and services.

I go out there and see how we have created jobs and wealth for our distributors and agents.. I see how mobile money, East Africa’s greatest invention has completely transformed the way Tanzania works,” he explained.

He noted that through the Vodacom Foundation the power of technology has brought instrumental impact on education, health and financial inclusion. Tigo Tanzania Acting General Manager, Shavkat Berdiev said through the strategy company has provided a total of 400 mobile phones to needy women.

“Tigo is also providing training on mobile use... the 400 mobile phones were provided to women in rural Kilwa and Rufiji district in a move to close the mobile gender gap,” he explained. Berdiev said the move was deliberate by Tigo Tanzania to open up the barriers to both access and use of mobile phones such as costs, cultural issues and low level of digital literacy.

He said Tigo Tanzania targets to reduce gender gap in mobile financial services by 5 per cent, stressing that mobile phone ownership and usage by women had the potential to unlock benefits for women as well as the mobile industry and broader economy in general.

Berdiev noted that according to a research conducted last year by Tigo Tanzania and a leading research organization in the country - Repoa, showed that cost was the greatest obstacle to obtaining a mobile phone handset.

“The telecommunication company focused on reaching special low-income groups by providing them with mobile phones at a very small price. We have already identified these special groups which include youths, women and teachers and we provide the normal phones at 5,000/- and smartphones at 10,000/- ,” he explained.

The Tigo Tanzania acting General Manager said the company’s objective is to enable access to the low cost mobile phones countrywide so that these groups can benefit economically through access to various information including markets for their products.