Shortly after MTN Uganda recently launched an easy payment plan that allows customers to get smartphones and pay on easy installments over a specified period dubbed ‘Pay mpola mpola’, Airtel Uganda has a similar product offering of its own called Kwata Essimu.
The journey to having all Ugandans digitalized is having a slow pace compared to other East African member states, which has been attributed to both internet and the smartphones. Information from the ICT ministry shows that Uganda’s communication sector has had an increase in active subscribers from 26.7 million in 2019 to 28.4 million last year which translates to a total growth of 1 million subscribers and quarter-to-quarter growth of 7 percent.
ICT minister Judith Nabakooba says they have also recorded an increase in active smartphone users to 7 million as of March 2020. However, even when the government invested in the National Fiber backbone infrastructure, with the aim of having internet costs go down, the cost of smartphones is still hampering their targets. The government believes that Airtel Uganda’s initiative Kwata Essimu will further positively impact smartphone penetration in the country.
As telecom companies continue to struggle to have the number of Ugandans with smartphones increase, Airtel’s smartphone credit facility will enable citizens to own smartphones at a low cost. Airtel has partnered with MasterCard, Asante, and Samsung to introduce this pay on-demand service that will enable individuals and SMEs to afford smartphones on a hire purchase basis at low cost while distributing payments over a period of time. Customers will be able to pay on monthly Installments, Weekly Instalments or Daily Instalments and the payment period is 12 months. The available phones that you can own mpola mpola and pay as you use are Samsung Galaxy A3 Core, Samsung Galaxy A01 and Samsung Galaxy A11
Customers will also be able to get Free data valid every month for loan repayment period
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