MTN Rwanda launches brand refresh in line with Ambition 2025 strategy

MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda), has rebranded to reflect its evolution from Rwanda’s most valuable telecommunications provider to the nation’s leading digital technology company.  It is only the second brand overhaul since the mobile operator’s entry in 1998, the previous refresh being in 2004.

The rebrand reflects MTN Group’s commitment to its Ambition 2025 strategy to build leading digital platforms that enable Africa’s progress across the telecom, fintech, infrastructure, API and content and messaging ecosystem.

Kicking off with a thought-provoking and simple question, “What are we doing today?”, the brand refresh promises to be a trigger reappraisal of MTN Rwanda as more than just a telco.  In developing and designing its brand refresh, MTN is responding to the reality that whilst it was born into the analog era, its customers today spend much of their time in the social and digital world.  The new brand identity and its expression is modern, simple, bold, and digitally dynamic.

Through its delivery of Ambition 2025 MTN Rwanda aims to accelerate growth and unlock the value of its infrastructure assets and platforms. A pioneer of progress from the beginning, the brand refresh reasserts MTN Rwanda’s role as a technology leader in Rwanda and its role in accelerating progress through the simple act of doing.

Mitwa Ng’ambi, MTN Rwanda Chief Executive Officer said, “ICT and digital transformation are at the forefront of Rwanda’s development and its only right that we aren’t left behind as a mobile operator.  We’ve been growing with the country for the past 23 years and therefore, we too must make the shift from an analog based telco to a digitally based techo. This move has been in the works for quite some time now, for example with the digitalization of our distribution channel and we are pleased to unveil this fresh look and way of doing business to our valued customers and stakeholders as we steer towards leading digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress.”

MTN Rwanda has always been inspired by the belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. With a clear and concise brand strategy that ‘Opportunity + Energy = Progress’, the Company understands that to truly unlock the full benefits and potential of the digital world, it requires a combination of drive, progressive thinking, and the right tools that help doers make that step from can to done.

The Chief Consumer and Digital Officer, Yaw Ankoma Agyapong commented on the new look, stating “Our new positioning and refreshed brand identity is centred on the notion that Rwanda is never still. And now more than ever, true progress for this nation we call home, can only be realised by closing the gap between ‘can’ and ‘done’.

“It is off this insight that our new campaign, “What are you doing today?” will launch across our footprint by challenging, celebrating and providing tools for doers, because as we progress, as individuals and communities, Rwanda progresses too”, he concludes.

www.mtn.co.rw

Africa’s first AI research center inaugurated in Congo

The Republic of the Congo’s Prime Minister H.E. Anatole Collinet Makosso has inaugurated the African Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence (CARIA) in the nation’s capital of Brazzaville – the first of its kind on the continent.

Funded by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in partnership with the Jack Ma Foundation; the International Telecommunications Union; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization; the research center will provide a hub for the development of emerging technologies in the region.

The project aims to advance Agenda 2063 through a human-centered approach meeting social issues with technological solutions, according to Congolese Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy H.E. Minister Léon Juste Ibombo.

“This institution aims to undertake cutting-edge research on artificial intelligence by focusing on a human-centered approach to maximize benefits and counter development challenges,” said H.E. Ibombo at the inauguration on February 24.

CARIA is situated at Denis Sassou Nguesso University and has at least six initial research ventures defined for the coming year. The center will also offer an accredited Masters of Science Degree specializing in AI, along with certified online training for students and other interested parties into robotics and AI.

www.energycapitalpower.com

Telstra collaborates with Ericsson and Microsoft to begin 5G-enabled edge compute trials

The 5G SDWAN enabled Edge solutions focused on extending private connectivity (5G and fixed) and cloud services to the customer and network edge, bringing compute, storage, network and marketplace services closer to customers.  

With early adopter enterprises such as FKG Group, Telstra is co-developing the enterprise application solutions to be offered, and testing the resiliency and scaling in order to accommodate different enterprise footprints. 

Telstra is exploring the solution in its Telstra Retail store environment rolling out a smart video solution to simplify operations and enhance the overall customer experience. 

The Edge solution uses a mixture of technologies including Telstra’s advanced 5G network, fixed connectivity, Ericsson’s Service Orchestration Cradlepoint (5G connectivity device), Microsoft Azure Stack Edge for Edge compute and SD-WAN, all enabled by automation and service orchestration.   

Nikos Katinakis, Group Executive for Network & IT at Telstra said, “Our global collaboration now extends to our enterprise customers, and we are applying a real focus on the use of these advanced technologies to solve customer and industry operational problems.” 

“These ground-breaking results are being achieved as we develop a combined, automated solution framework for the future.  We are making our network smarter, more resilient and automated, while leveraging the benefits and scale of new and advanced 5G network and cloud architectures.” 

The end-to-end solution, offered as a managed service from Telstra Purple, will be able to deliver fast and resilient connectivity, with greater availability and throughput, which is ideal for enhanced application performance. These applications help customers implement their cloud-first, IoT enablement and advanced analytics strategies. 

Grant Statton, Head of Innovation and Growth for the FKG Group said, “Technology solutions such as Edge compute will change the construction industry and its value chain for the better. 

“Our collaboration with Telstra enables the FKG Group to use applications such as AI, Robotics and AR to unlock data-driven insights and transparency across our operation. The Edge solution gives our teams the opportunity to collaborate and make decisions in real-time across different worksites to deliver projects on time and within budget.” 

Jan Karlsson, Ericsson’s Global Head of Digital Services said: “Ericsson has a proud history of delivering innovation to offer businesses a whole new world of opportunities through enhanced connectivity. In this latest Australian-first milestone, Ericsson technology provides Telstra’s 5G network with greater resiliency, optionality, and adaptability. With a simple design, scalable delivery, and modular approach, Telstra can offer a wider range of services to meet the growing needs of their customers as 5G use-cases continue to emerge.” 

Shawn Hakl, Vice President, 5G Strategy, Azure for Operators at Microsoft, said, “Our collaboration with Telstra and Ericsson to develop 5G-enabled edge solutions will drive operational flexibility and optimization for enterprises by using Microsoft Azure and Azure-managed edge compute.”  

www.ericsson.com

Next Engineers programme launches in Johannesburg

General Electric (GE) in partnership with FHI360, PROTEC and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) officially launched the Next Engineers programme in Johannesburg to increase the diversity of young people in engineering. The programme launch, which was officiated by the Gauteng MEC for education, Panyaza Lesufi, will provide more than 3500 students between the ages 13 to 18 over five years with hands on exposure to engineering concepts and careers, and ultimately award financial support to students pursuing engineering degrees.

Next Engineers, funded by the GE Foundation, has also been launched in Cincinnati, Ohio and Greenville, South Carolina in the United States of America, and Staffordshire in the U.K. Since announcing the selection of Johannesburg as one of the four launch cities to implement Next Engineers globally last year, PROTEC and the GDE ensured Next Engineers garnered significant interest in the programme from high schools across Johannesburg’s five educational districts. In fact, approximately 1100 students have applied to be among the first to participate in the programme’s exciting Engineering DiscoveryEngineering Camp and Engineering Academy pillars. Today over 550 high school learners have been selected as the first cohort of students to develop their engineering identities through programme’s Engineering Discovery and Engineering Academy pillars.

Nyimpini Mabunda, CEO of GE South Africa says, “As we slowly start recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that we require more diverse solutions that will contribute to the growth of the economy. Through GE’s Next Engineers programme, we are not only exposing tomorrow’s engineers and changemakers who will solve society’s most pressing challenges to invaluable hands-on learning experiences but we are playing our part in increasing the representation of females in the engineering sector”.

“As the GDE, we welcome this initiative and are grateful that GE will be investing in transforming our engineering sector, especially through our learners. As we are aware, the engineering sector has a critical role to play in ensuring that Gauteng achieves its goals as articulated in the Growing Gauteng Together Vision 2030,” said Gauteng Education MEC, Mr. Panyaza Lesufi.

The total $2.5 million USD investment in Johannesburg will cover funding to PROTEC to implement and grow the programme, provide financial support for up to 150 Engineering Academy participants and funding for tuition for 800 youth to attend Engineering Camp.

“Working with the GE Foundation is a key step to uplifting the lives of many potential engineers in Johannesburg while also contributing to the acceleration of the engineering industry. Through this collaboration we look forward to mentoring and exposing students to endless possibilities brought by the engineering sector and giving them an opportunity to turn their passion into a career in engineering”, says PROTEC CEO, Mr. Balan Moodley.

Across South Africa, while education has made vast improvements, particularly in the past 15 years, there remains various challenges regarding access to varying levels of education. The Next Engineers programme starts with raising awareness as early as age 13 (grade eight), igniting interest throughout high school (ages 14 to 18), and alleviating financial barriers to higher education through financial support.

Students, educators and the community can obtain updates and more information at https://bit.ly/3HmEu10.  

www.GE.com

Rwanda’s largest bank completes core modernization with Temenos

Temenos, the banking software company, announces that Bank of Kigali Plc, Rwanda’s largest bank by assets and market share, has gone live on Temenos. Replacing its core banking system with Temenos open platform for composable banking allows the bank to break free from legacy constraints and accelerate its digital transformation.

“Congratulations to the team at Bank of Kigali. The go-live on Temenos is a major milestone for the bank and its customers. Rwanda has “bet big” on digitization to accelerate growth and reduce poverty with some of the highest rates of coverage for mobile broadband on the continent. Bank of Kigali has similarly bold ambitions for digital transformation to improve the financial lives of all Rwandans. A modern banking platform is vital to thrive in the world of instant, always-on digital banking and Temenos is proud to support the bank to realize its vision,” said Jean-Paul Mergeai, President EMEA – APAC, Temenos.

Bank of Kigali can now quickly expand its digital channels and engagement to deliver faster, smarter customer experiences. Powered by Temenos, Bank of Kigali aims to double its retail and SME customer base to over one million in the next year through increased automation and new digital services such as payroll loans and enhanced mobile offerings.

The Temenos platform, including Financial Crime Mitigation (FCM) solution, was implemented by Temenos partners Inlaks and MCB Consulting. With integrated core banking and data management capabilities, the bank can deliver a smooth customer experience with controlled risk.

Dr. Diane Karusisi, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Kigali, commented: “We are delighted to be live on Temenos, the modern technology platform of choice for banks worldwide. Temenos is crucial to our vision of giving anyone, anywhere, the best customer experience through digital and retaining our position as the leader in the country. We also benefit from a wealth of insight and information on banks worldwide as part of the Temenos Value Benchmark that helps us understand, accelerate, and optimize the business value created by our technology investment. I commend our staff and the support of Temenos, Inlaks and MCBC for their hard work in ensuring this go-live went as planned despite all the constraints brought by COVID-19 in the past two years. We can now propel our product innovation and lead the way in digital financial services while benefiting from increased automation to achieve operational efficiency.”

www.temenos.com

Bloomberg Philanthropies Partners with CARE to Support Women Small Business Owners in East Africa

Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced a partnership with CARE to expand existing Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) for agricultural funds in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.The partnership will enable women who own small agriculture-based businesses to build capital and access credit to invest in and grow their businesses, ensuring long-term economic sustainability for themselves and their families.

VSLAs are member-driven community funds that encourage financial inclusion and independence by pooling resources and providing low interest rate loans. The partnership advances Bloomberg Philanthropies Women’s Economic Development Initiative, which has invested $65 million since 2007 in training opportunities for women internationally that build marketable skills across 12 vocational tracks in high-demand industries leading to economic independence for participants.  

In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies piloted a VSLA program in Tanzania which successfully trained leaders of 29,000 informal Village Savings and Loan Associations on how to use agricultural funds. Working with CARE, Bloomberg is taking the next impactful step in creating financial stability for women by teaching 150,000 people, over two years, how to invest their capital and grow their small businesses in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The program will trainwomen who are currently enrolled in or who are recent graduates from Bloomberg sponsored training programs, as well as their adult family members. This investment is projected to have a secondary impact on more than a half million families and community members. 

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Women’s Economic Development Initiative brings together government agencies, corporations, and nonprofits to provide individuals with sustainable income-generating and civic participation opportunities. Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked with partners to provide vocational training, financial literacy, and education on health and wellness to women and families. Globally, Bloomberg Philanthropies has invested in more than 568,000 women which has benefitted more than two million children and family members. 

“Access to capital and credit allows women to apply their skills, grow their businesses, invest in their families, and achieve economic independence – with benefits that spread throughout communities,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. and 108th Mayor of New York City. “Too often, that access is lacking – but our partnership with CARE is helping to fix that, and we’re looking forward to expanding our work together through this new collaboration.” 

“Women enrolled in the economic development programs funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies immediately invest in their children once they earn an income. With increased income and assets, they become decision makers on their children’s education, competitors in the international marketplace, participants in local elections, and leaders in their local governments,” said Verna Eggleston who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Women’s Economic Development Initiative. “We know that VSLAs work, providing entrepreneurs with access to banking resources and capital. Through this partnership with CARE, we are proudly providing more avenues for women to succeed for years to come.”  

CARE will collaborate with existing Bloomberg Philanthropies partner Sustainable Growers, which works with women coffee producers in Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and Women for Women International, an organization operating in nine post conflict regions, assisting women who are survivors of war. The partnership will:  

  • Expand existing infrastructure for VSLAs 
  • Providing financial literacy training 
  • Increase women’s leadership and negotiation skills 
  • Connect women with banks, access to small loans, and emergency insurance 
  • Create direct connections between VSLAs and private sector partners to ensure women have access to markets 
  • Build partnerships with governments and local authorities to help women with land acquisition 

     

In Tanzania, these efforts will focus on supporting small-scale farmers invest in land ownership, equipment, and infrastructure to increase agricultural productivity and export premium tea. In Rwanda and Congo, the work will focus on supporting existing VSLAs and identify opportunities in the coffee, cocoa, horticulture, and legume markets as well as improving gender equity in agricultural cooperatives.   

“We know it is impossible to reach economic prosperity if women are not able to realize their full potential and capacity to contribute. Bloomberg Philanthropies and CARE are helping unleash that power,” said Michelle Nunn, President & CEO of CARE. “We took the long-standing and highly impactful model of small savings groups that work together to save, lend, and start small-businesses and brought these groups together to amplify their savings power and to pool their resources to invest in equipment and tools for the next harvest. This is just the beginning. We hope others will follow the lead of Bloomberg Philanthropies in helping us build on the potential savings power of millions more women working together.”

“Sustainable Growers takes pride in being part of such a noble global partnership. It is such a huge opportunity for women farmers in East Africa. Through the partnership women in this region and Africa as a whole shall have reliable and affordable access to more capital in their pathway to entrepreneurial growth and development,” said Sustainable Growers Executive Director, Christine Condo.” “Their economic growth and independence as well as entrepreneurial skills impacts immeasurably on sustainable growth of the entire community. Working together we shall make it happen.” 

The partnership is being announced at Expo 2020 Dubai. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner Sustainable Growers, home of Question Coffee and the Coffee Academy, has been recognized as one of 50 development projects spotlighted by Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Programme.  

www.bloomberg.org

Oracle announces $1M investement to support African tech startups

Oracle has announced support of $1 million for tech startups in Africa that will help accelerate their digital initiatives with the latest cloud technologies and business resources. Led by Oracle for Startups, Oracle will provide extra resources and support to technology startups across Africa over the next two years.

Cloud credits of up to $10,000 for 100 startups will be made available as part of this program. Hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources, and customer engagements will also be offered to startups. 

“At Oracle for Startups, we help startups grow from grassroots through scaling. Africa is a hotbed for tech entrepreneurs, and we have witnessed a 91 percent growth in enrolments from South African startups, and 39 percent growth from over 13 other African countries within the last year. The USD one million investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their startups,” said Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups.

A recent report from IDC notes the importance of corporations supporting startups to help further spur innovation, and had this to say about Oracle for Startups: “Highly valuable to the startup community. Not only do they provide technology support, but they also provide benefits aligned in business areas such as marketing, market access, business knowledge, and expertise.”

This program follows Oracle’s recent announcement of the opening of its first cloud region in Africa to meet the rapidly growing demand for enterprise cloud services on the continent. The Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region will boost cloud adoption across Africa while also helping businesses achieve better performance and drive continuous innovation. The opening marks Oracle’s 37th cloud region worldwide with plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.

Eligible African tech startups can find out more information and apply to this program by visiting the program website.

www.oracle.com