Airtel Africa Rolls Out Affordable 4G-Enabled Smartphones

Last week, Airtel Africa launched 4G-enabled smartphones to equip more than a million Rwandans with advanced high-speed LTE smartphones by 2024.

This launch is in partnership with the Rwandan Government as part of the ConnectRwanda 2.0 programme.

The Connect Rwanda campaign aims to increase smartphone ownership in Rwanda. According to the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, only about 1.6 million Rwandans own smartphones out of the 10 million people who own mobile phones.

The smartphone will cost 20,000 Rwandan Francs (US$16.5), with a monthly fee of 1000 Rwandan Francs (US$0.8). Subscribers will receive a smartphone along with 1GB of data per day and unlimited calls to any network in Rwanda.

Segun Ogunsanya, CEO of Airtel Africa, said new avenues for learning, business, and connection would open up with the release of this reasonably priced smartphone, ultimately propelling innovation and economic growth.