Mobile – KigaliTech

[Column] James Bayhack: How mobile service cloud can transform customer experience

Service, service, service. That’s been the call for businesses that want to keep their clients happy and turn one-time customers into lifelong fans. Now, however, the focus has moved to brilliant customer experience. But what does this mean? And why are we seeing the shift?

Think about how you do business today compared to just a few years ago. Customer service was measured by metrics like how many rings there were before your service department answered. In addition, were your retail staff smiling and pleasant, and did your team respond to a customer email timeously? While customer service is still crucial, there’s a lot more to it in today’s multilayered, omnichannel world of business.

What is Customer Experience (CX)?

Customer experience is how your customers perceive their interactions with your company or brand.

From navigating the website to contacting customer service and receiving the product that they ordered, customer experience is the sum of every interaction the customer has with your company. It impacts their feelings and emotions, encompassing their entire customer journey. It also determines whether or not they come back.

A recent report by integrated customer experience company Ajua found that 81% of Kenyan companies with strong capabilities for delivering customer experience are outperforming their competition. By contrast, 91% of customers will not do business with a company a second time if their first experience is negative.

Findings also suggested that certain industries have upped their CX game and are experiencing growth even in a pandemic. These include banking, insurance, retail, and food and beverage. In the Telco space, Safaricom ranked top in terms of customer experience.

So, some companies are getting it right. Now, the question is, how can you do the same? With such a broad range of expectations, how can you narrow down the most critical factors and eliminate friction where it matters most? You’ll be thrilled to know we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and the easiest solution lies in mobile service cloud.

Here’s how this smart technology helps to solve the most common customer issues.

Creating bulletproof CX in 6 key steps

Omnichannel Inbox

In a single, convenient inbox, you can manage conversations from all channels. This solves the issue of long wait times when customers have a problem or question as it places all communication in one place for easy reference and super-fast response.

It’s common for many customers to conduct research before purchasing something from your company, and checking different platforms is one way of doing this. Whether they trust you or not depends on the quality of information they find and your responses along the way.

An omnichannel inbox allows you to deliver a brilliant customer experience on all channels. Don’t you agree that it looks unprofessional if you respond quickly via live chat but not at all via Facebook? When customers receive excellent service, they will tell their colleagues and friends about it.

Communication Stream

It’s important to communicate with customers wherever they feel comfortable and wherever they are likely to be.

Remember, CX is built on the somewhat fickle foundation of customer perception. What makes one person irate may not bother another, so it makes sense to cover all bases. Communication can make or break your CX. Lengthy delays, inefficient processes, or insufficient access to information will have your customers rolling their eyes in frustration.

Customer experience is about strengthening relationships with customers and building bonds through the use of technology.

Chatbots

It used to be considered bad form to chat with a customer via text or any automated platform, but today it’s the norm. In fact, it’s expected.

Streamline repetitive tasks by automating them. Our system allows you to create your own chatbot to automate conversations and implement quick replies. Your team can serve customers better and more efficiently if you make service easier and faster for them, without weighing them down with unnecessary and unproductive conversations.

Chatbots can reflect the personality of your brand, answer FAQs, and direct customers to where they need to be. Fast. A super-efficient addition to your customer service team, they don’t require sleep so they’re even more perfect for those after-hours shoppers. Your customers will benefit from swift response times for quick questions or enjoy assistance from stress-free and focused staff.

Team Collaboration

The problem of disjointed communication between internal and external teams ends here, as do many customer frustrations.

Remote employees, global time differences, and communication with external parties can get messy and negatively impact your SLAs. And really, your internal communication choices shouldn’t impact your customer’s experience, should they?

Mobile service cloud alleviates this problem by bringing all players together in one place, allowing conversations to be automatically assigned based on skills, or snoozing conversations as needed. It’s like putting everyone in the same room at the same time, relegating forgotten messages or misplaced communication to a thing of the past.

Customer Profile

Develop customer profiles based on data from your CRM or Customer Data Platform. The integration of systems enables you to provide customers with a quicker, more personal service experience.

Data can be displayed right next to the customer’s questions, so there’s no need to search across multiple systems. Improve customer profiles by including all available data and getting more insights about customer impact.

This key area grants your team the information they need to assist a customer, no matter what platform they come from. All data is immediately available to all employees no matter where they are, which, let’s face it, makes you look good!

Statistics

Customers are the lifeblood of a business. This is why corporations are concentrating on how to develop new business and, importantly, retain existing customers. However, if you don’t know where a problem lies, you won’t know how to fix it.

Identifying and addressing customer issues can be prevented by using reporting tools that uncover metrics that directly impact your business. Other vital statistics such as ‘response time’ or ‘availability’ highlight how your team is coping with their responsibilities and where improvements can be made. The data in these reports is invaluable to improving customer experience and deep-diving into customer experience metrics.

As effective as your management team may be, they can’t be omnipresent. But having real-time access to your channels, your team, business partners, and any other stakeholders you care to track gives you information worth its weight in gold.

Boost customer service today!

Businesses that adopt a customer experience strategy enjoy success in key areas: their churn rates are reduced, they increase brand loyalty, and revenues are increased. Surely those advantages are worth exploring?

Ultimately, good customer experiences are the most effective form of marketing with the highest ROI. Successful businesses are simply those with happy customers.

ames Bayhack is the Director of sub-Saharan Africa at CM.com

ICASA to hold virtual public hearings on draft mobile broadband rules

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will hold public hearings in respect of the draft Mobile Broadband Services Regulations published on 26 March 2021 for public comments. The virtual public hearings will be held on 12 and 13 August 2021.

The draft Regulations, amongst other things, define relevant wholesale and retail markets or market segments for mobile broadband services, and determine whether there is effective competition in those relevant markets and market segments. Most importantly, the draft Regulations impose appropriate pro-competitive licence conditions on those licensees with significant market power, to remedy the market failure.

The Authority is of the view that the current Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector remains highly concentrated, with market dominance enjoyed by a small number of major providers in various market segments, as identified in the Findings Document on Mobile Broadband Services Inquiry published on 26 March 2021. This dominance and ineffective competition in some of the markets, if not addressed, together have the potential to constraint the sector, and continue to contribute towards the high cost of data services, while stifling dynamism and innovation in products and services.

The Authority’s mandate is centred around the public interest, and it is committed to protecting consumers, while ensuring the sustainability of those conducting business within the ICT sector. “This is spirit within which we should all be looking at this regulatory intervention i.e. to meet the broadband needs of all South Africans, especially during the time where the paradigm has shifted and the public relies more on broadband, or data services and bandwidth, to go about their communication lives,” says ICASA Councillor, Ms Thembeka Semane.

The Authority has identified and published several pro-competitive terms and conditions, in relation to which stakeholders made submissions. The public hearings provide ICASA with an opportunity to interrogate these representations further in order to make informed decisions in the final Mobile Broadband Services Regulations.

All interested stakeholders are invited to take part in the public hearings by clicking on the link below.

Click here to join the meeting

www.icasa.org.za

Google joins Smart Africa Alliance to drive digital transformation in Africa

Google has joined Smart Africa as a platinum member of the Alliance, advancing its commitment to the digital transformation of Africa.

The Alliance is tasked with defining Africa’s digital strategy to ensure socio-economic transformation and this is in sync with Google’s vision for Africa. Therefore, Google will contribute towards closing the digital gap through advancing digital skills development. Africa has a growing youth population which offers an unparalleled opportunity for development and economic growth. Therefore digital skills development is essential for Africa to develop.

In addition to skills development, Google will use its vast experience, competencies and networks to contribute towards Africa’s development of broadband connectivity, data governance and the ICT startups and innovation ecosystem which are all key initiatives that Smart Africa is undertaking. Google and Smart Africa will also work together towards promoting the adoption of Artificial Intelligence, promoting the innovative use of data, encouraging cloud technologies, promoting digital government and enabling an inclusive payments system.

With 32 countries under the Smart Africa Alliance, representing 815 million people across the continent, the partnership between Smart Africa and Google is well poised to make a significant impact on the vision of Smart Africa.

Google joins other international and African technology firms as members of Smart Africa including Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Microsoft, Facebook, Inmarsat, Liquid Telecom, Orange, Intel, Ericsson, Huawei and Tata Communications & Transformation Services. Smart Africa also partners international organisations such as the International telecommunications Union (ITU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), GSMA and the World Bank among others.

Google is focused on leveraging its expertise to help make advanced technologies available to more of the world’s citizens, regardless of geographic location. By creating innovative and accessible digital infrastructures and skills, Google and other organizations within the Smart Africa Alliance can lead the world into an era of advancement and sustainable development.

Together with other members of the Alliance, Google is committed to transform Africa into a single digital market.

www.smartafrica.org

Orange Mali and German Cooperation inaugurate 4th Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East

Orange and the German Cooperation are inaugurating, an Orange Digital Center in Bamako, an ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation.

Following on from Tunisia, Senegal and Ethiopia, Mali will inaugurate the fourth Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East. Spread over 1,557 sq.m, the Orange Digital Center brings together the four strategic programs of the Orange group, namely: a coding school (Orange Digital Kalanso), a FabLab Solidaire -one of the Orange Foundation’s digital manufacturing workshops -, an Orange Fab startup accelerator and Orange Ventures Africa, the Orange Group investment fund. All of the programmes provided are free-of charge, open to all. They range from digital training for young people, 90% of which are practical, start-up acceleration, guidance for project bearers and investment.

Alioune Ndiaye, Chairman and CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East, says: “I am very proud to inaugurate the fourth Orange Digital Center in Africa today in Mali, which is part of the network of 32 Orange Digital Centers deployed in all the countries where Orange operates to support the startups. The main objective is to democratize access to digital technology for young people – with or without qualifications – giving them access to the latest technological trends to improve their employability and give young Africans the ability to write their digital future.”

Working as a network, the Orange Digital Centers allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to improve young people’s employability, encourage innovative entrepreneurship and promote the local digital ecosystem. Moreover, discussions are underway between Orange Mali and the Ministry of Higher Education for the digital transformation of universities in Mali. An Orange Digital Center Club will be installed in each university in the region, thus completing the system to give as many people possible access to new technologies and support in using them to their full extent.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility approach, Orange Mali wishes to support new ideas, which bring progress for all and in particular those that create economic value and jobs at the local level. This is why Orange Mali wanted to set up and support, in a partnership-based approach, initiatives that help accelerate this positive change. As the leading contributor to digital development in the country, Orange Mali supports the emergence of a creative, prosperous ecosystem that gives digital players the opportunity to create and develop.

Orange and the German Cooperation by GIZ are working together as part of a development partnership within the develoPPP program, which GIZ is implementing on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The goal is to fulfil their shared vision: fostering youth employability – and access to ICT jobs for women and girls – while supporting sustainable growth and the country’s digital transformation. This joint project by Orange and GIZ is an example of successful cooperation between German Cooperation and the private sector.

Because digital technology must provide opportunities for everyone, this initiative fully embodies our commitment as a responsible operator and meets the following six sustainable development objectives: (4) quality education, (5) gender equality, (8) decent work and economic growth, (9) industry, innovation and infrastructure, (10) reduced inequalities and (17) partnerships for goals.

So far, eight Orange Digital Centers have already been opened in the region: Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Morocco, and Mali. This means other inaugurations are still to come in 2021.

Brelotte BA, CEO, Orange Mali: “Orange Mali is truly committed to the digital transformation. Being the partner of the digital transformation makes us a leading player in the socio-economic development of the country thanks to innovative ecosystems and specific actions intended to develop entrepreneurship. The Orange Digital Center brings together all the necessary skills in a single place to illustrate Orange’s commitment to digital inclusion.”

Orange is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has more than 130 million customers at of 31 March 2020. With 5.8 billion euros of revenues in 2020, Orange MEA is the first growth area in the Orange group. Orange Money, its flagship mobile-based money transfer and financial services offer is available in 17 countries and has more than 50 million customers. Orange, multi-services operator, key partner of the digital transformation provides its expertise to support the development of new digital services in Africa and the Middle East.

www.orange.com

Nokia unlocks unlicensed private wireless networks with the world’s first MulteFire solution

Recently Nokia mentioned that CBRS in the US leads the world on vertical spectrum and that Nokia is addressing this opportunity with some key partnerships and innovations. Nokia is now unlocking the global unlicensed spectrum with the industry first MulteFire 4.9G/LTE private wireless network solution. This solution features the industry’s first certified MulteFire device: the Nokia Industrial MulteFire router 700.

The availability of licensed spectrum is often seen as a barrier to the deployment of new private wireless networks. While the situation has improved in quite a few countries, it is not yet ideal for all markets. When it comes to unlicensed spectrum, some countries allow the use of LTE-U on the unlicensed 5.8 GHz bands, which are traditionally used by Wi-Fi or wireless backhaul. But these bands are mainly used for static point-to-point applications and mobility is not allowed.

MulteFire now makes it possible to quickly set up and tear down a private LTE/4G network anywhere that Wi-Fi is allowed in 5.x GHz spectrum without worrying about spectrum availability, site footprint and boundaries, regulatory consent or licensing costs. It is a new very important option for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), and we hope it will help take private wireless to the mass market.

Communication service providers (CSPs) should also rejoice because MulteFire gives them a tool to tap into the SME market and offers private wireless more easily in countries where they don’t own any spectrum. Value-added resellers and distributors will also find MulteFire private wireless networks to be an ideal fit for their high-volume models.

One of the cherries on the cake with MulteFire is the potential to add capacity to existing licensed networks by deploying a few extra MulteFire access points. These access points can use the existing core network and operations and maintenance (O&M) functions.

Finally, MulteFire opens-up many new segments that lack access to licensed spectrum for some of their use cases. For example, MulteFire could be used to build temporary networks for events, construction sites, broadcasting, public safety operations, defense sites or field operations.

The Nokia Industrial MulteFire router 700 can break free from deployment and regulatory constraints to reliably connect a broad and growing range of IoT and digital assets in areas such as:

Communications, including LAN, business- and mission-critical communications, Industrial Ethernet and Machine Type Communication (MTC)
Visual intelligence, including video surveillance, image recognition and video analytics
Asset insights, including tracking, predictive diagnostics and supply chain management
Cloud automation, including automated guided robots (AGRs) and vehicles (AGVs) and remote machine control

By opening the world, new uses and making private wireless easier for SME, MulteFire further enhances Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) plug & play and easy-of-use capabilities. The solution can be delivered using an as-a-service package approach with a quick set-up service and includes a catalog of applications.

With such announcement, Nokia opens-up the field of the unlicensed spectrum to drive growing MulteFire ecosytem and pave the way for the future 5G NR-U market and use cases.

SoftBank, Smart Africa collaborate to provide affordable broadband solutions, enhance digital transformation in Africa

Japan’s SoftBank and Smart Africa entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to collaborate on innovative solutions towards achieving the vision of providing affordable broadband. Through this partnership, SoftBank and Smart Africa will work to bridge the digital divide by providing accessible and affordable internet connectivity to Africa’s underserved regions.

Through various projects and activities, Smart Africa has an ambitious strategy to double broadband penetration to 51% in Africa by 2025. As part of achieving this vision, Smart Africa is working to implement the Bulk Capacity Purchase Project, an initiative that aims to deliver affordable internet connectivity for African citizens through the large-scale joint procurement efforts of Smart Africa member countries. To contribute to the Project, SoftBank will deploy its Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) Solutions to reduce internet costs and build affordable internet infrastructure. SoftBank also became a Smart Africa Gold Member in October 2020.

SoftBank’s NTN Solutions will utilize the connectivity services of OneWeb, Skylo, and HAPSMobile, among other solutions, that provide connectivity from space and the stratosphere. SoftBank aims to deploy NTN Solutions in African markets by collaborating with Smart Africa and working closely with its member countries.

SoftBank and Smart Africa will begin their collaboration by identifying demand for NTN solutions and conducting further feasibility studies in the five African countries that have already expressed interest in the Bulk Capacity Purchase Project (the Republic of Djibouti, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Kenya, the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Republic of Rwanda). SoftBank and Smart Africa will also draw up implementation plans and consider potential market entries in the future.

The partnership, with a vision to expand the area of work from internet infrastructure into digital transformation (DX), will boost the transition and development of a knowledge-based social economy in Africa. The collaboration will also align with the fundamentals of Smart Africa’s goal, which is the realization of a single digital market on the continent through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). To bridge the digital divide, SoftBank and Smart Africa will also study ways to collaborate and engage with organizations such as the HAPS Alliance, which seeks to promote the commercial adoption of HAPS, among others. Further, through a series of engagements in the coming future, this partnership will also consequently work to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing digital solutions that address societal challenges.

“The vision of transforming Africa into a single digital market requires us to embrace partnerships. Therefore we are honoured to welcome SoftBank Corp. into the Smart Africa Alliance. Together, we will be able to inject further innovation into Africa’s digital innovation as we move towards creating a Single Digital Market by 2030,” said Lacina Koné, Smart Africa’s CEO.

Contributing to the SDGs is a top managerial priority for SoftBank, and the company has identified six key initiatives (materiality) to achieve them. “Building high-quality social communication networks” is one such initiative, and SoftBank is working to build sustainable communication infrastructure so people anywhere can connect to stable and trustworthy networks.

“We believe our NTN solutions will be extremely effective technologies to provide connectivity to African countries and regions that lack sufficient Internet access. With our NTN solutions powered by OneWeb, Skylo and HAPSMobile, we’ll work closely with Smart Africa to provide telecommunication networks,” said Hidebumi Kitahara, SoftBank Corp. Vice President and Head of the Technology Unit’s Global Business Strategy Division.

www.smartafrica.org

www.softbank.jp

Lenovo introduces new Android tablets and Smart clock at MWC

While at home the past year, many have turned to their tablets for streaming, gaming, learning and more screen time. As the lines separating our relaxation time from hours spent working or learning start to blur, Lenovo is helping consumers rediscover their happy place with mobile experiences that make adapting to today’s new hybrid lifestyle much easier.

Introducing smarter devices capable of restoring the balance with strong multi-purpose performance: the new expertly-crafted Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 and its family-friendly sibling, the new Lenovo Yoga Tab 11, the powerful Lenovo Tab P11 Plus Android™ tablet, and the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 that’s optimized to transform your day by simplifying your nightstand.

Treat yourself to the next level of digital me-time with the new premium tablet from Lenovo that’s practically a portable home-cinema, the new Yoga Tab 13. Use its large mobile display to jumpstart new hobbies, perhaps you’ve been wanting to learn to bake: all you need are the right ingredients, and time to watch a couple of how-to videos on a tablet that’s designed to work virtually anywhere – on the kitchen counter, gripped in your hands, or hanging from a pot rack thanks to its new stainless steel kickstand.

Coated in an anti-fingerprint coating, the kickstand doubles as a sturdy hanger and its innovative rolled edge design enables multiple modes and angled positions for truly hands-free viewing, from any room. Prop it on its base in landscape mode and watch shows in the bedroom, hang from a door hook to glance, or just tilt to type, write, and draw with the optional Lenovo Precision Pen 2.2 The tablet’s hands-free offerings extend to smarter log-in via its front 8MP camera for superb video calling with background noise reduction.

The Yoga Tab 13 offers great entertainment features for all-day streaming of up to 12 hours3 in remarkable clarity (1080p). More power-efficient and less reflective than other LCDs, its large 13-inch 2K LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) display offers 400 nits of brightness and 100 percent sRGB color gamut. The panel is also powered by Dolby Vision® HDR, which delivers incredible detail along with ultravivid picture quality. Enjoy spectacular audio with quad JBL® speakers including the two built into its innovative soundbar; Lenovo Premium Audio tuning and Dolby Atmos® combine for a more immersive audio experience. Plus, a bottom audio chamber helps achieve up to 450Hz bass performance for a strong audio effect you can feel. Streaming Netflix shows4 never sounded so good!

This tablet doesn’t just run entertainment apps, it can also augment work. Say you want to see more content at once using double screens – you can use it as a super portable secondary display while connected to your laptop via its included micro-HDMI to USB cable.

This tablet comes certified for fast Wi-Fi 6,5 and is supported by the performance efficiency of an octa-core processor, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 870 Mobile Platform which delivers powerful graphics and 8GB LPDDR5 of memory – making it more than capable of downloading and running high performance gaming titles in high-resolution, high speed, and low-latency for commanding gameplay that rocks, even from the backyard.

Time certainly flies when kicking back with the family, that’s why we also created the new, more accessible Yoga Tab 11 that can be shared by the whole family. Go with the flow as you move room to room enjoying everyone’s favorite content on a family-friendly tablet that’s certified by TÜV Rheinland® for greater eye protection to help reduce harmful blue light. Simply select the tablet’s Eye Care Mode to automatically adjust white balance and color tone for optimal vision comfort.

Ideal for home entertainment and learning from home with pen support, the Yoga Tab 11 has an optional LTE variant and comes loaded with many of the same entertainment and light productivity features as its sibling above. It’s built on the fast and powerful MediaTek Helio™ G90T octa-core processor with UFS-based memory chip for superior video watching, plus lightning-fast for games, apps and browsing so you accomplish more in less time online. Check out Google Kids Space7, a kids mode that helps children discover, create and grow with a library of quality content (and Family Link parental controls). Channel your inner artist when doodling with the optional Lenovo Precision Pen 2 in tilt mode.2 With an 11-inch 2K IPS TDDI (Touch Display Driver Integration) display and Dolby Vision ultravivid picture quality, this sleek tablet is offered in a soft-touch, high tenacity Storm Grey fabric for extra durability and heat resistance. Its stainless steel kickstand can be adjusted to enable hang mode.

www.lenovo.com

Access Bank partners with Exuus to financially empower collective saving schemes through SAVE

Access Bank (Rwanda) Plc in partnership with EXUUS LTD have introduced “SAVE 2.0” a digital solution that aims at encouraging people to save collectively as a group or even friends.

SAVE is a digital wallet for collective saving schemes that can be downloaded from Google play or Apple store as well as be accessed by dialing *777#. The users will be able to save collectively and get interest of 6% per year on their funds deposited into Access Bank Rwanda. Beyond savings, SAVE enables the users to lend each other at affordable rates and conveniently manage their loan repayments.

“Access Bank Rwanda is committed to delivering steady economic growth by
leveraging digital solutions to drive financial inclusion and improve access to finance through innovative offerings.” said Oluseun Onasoga, the Executive director of Business Development. He added that the partnership with EXUUS aims to foster the development of digital solutions that will cater to the financial needs of the underserved and unserved in the Rwandan Community.

“Looking back in 2016 when the first countrywide map for informal saving groups was published by BNR & Access to Finance Rwanda, little was known about their reach and impact.

It is gratifying that not only the same groups that were almost financially excluded are now linked with Telcos (MTN Mobile Money & Airtel Money) but even better linked with a world-class commercial bank like Access Bank.
We are forward-looking, as millions of Rwandans access a wide variety of formal financial services that were previously inaccessible and become more financially resilient as a result of this partnership” said Shema Steve, the CEO of EXUUS.

Saving within the SAVE app will enable the users to sustain themselves and their families. The minimum contribution of savings and social fund is Rwf 500.

rwanda.accessbankplc.com

KTRN partners with Babyl to power digital healthcare during the pandemic

KTRN, Rwanda’s only 4G LTE wholesaler company, has joined Babyl Rwanda in its efforts to expand digital healthcare across the country through the #ConnectRwanda Initiative.

Mark Karomba, Chief Corporate Relations & HR Officer at KTRN and the Medical Director at Babyl, Dr. Patrick Singa at the launch of KTRN& Babyl Partnership & handover of smartphones.

KTRN has donated 500 smartphones to Babyl; 350 Smartphones to Health Centers that partner with Babyl, and 150 smartphones to Babyl Health Center Agents.

“KTRN, being a pioneer in the latest LTE technologies in Rwanda, is always looking for ways of championing technology-based solutions to Rwandan challenges. It is a priority & an opportunity to participate in empowering the Rwandan health sector, especially in telemedicine.

With the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, we felt responsible for facilitating Rwandans in accessing the health care services using digital technologies, benefiting from the Nation-wide 4G LTE network coverage.” said DAEHEAK Aaron AN, Chief Executive Officer at Korea Telecom Rwanda Networks (KTRN).

Donating 4G-enabled smartphones is also in line with the Government’s #ConnectRwanda initiative aimed at increasing smartphone penetration in Rwanda. In partnership with Babyl Rwanda, KTRN is embarking on promoting digital health care as a way to deliver primary and safe care to Rwandans. Embracing digital health care will enable many of the medical services to continue operating regularly and without interruption in the course of this pandemic while minimizing the spread of COVID-19.

Babyl enables health centers across Rwanda to triage patients and connects them to clinicians via digital consultations.

The donated smartphones will support Babyl’s project allowing health care workers and Babyl agents from various Health centers across the country to better serve the population.

“KTRN donation is contributing to the Government vision of digitization of health centers by providing suitable devices enabling patients to connect with a Babyl doctor or nurse over the phone. This solution is aiming at reducing the demand for health center staff. We remain committed to accelerating Rwanda’s digital health agenda in partnership with the Government of Rwanda and KTRN in playing a key role in helping us achieve our mission.” said Shivon Byamukama, Managing Director at Babyl Rwanda

By accessing doctors over the phones for primary medical care reduces the burden of the physical health facilities and the medical staff will have time freed-up for patients with the most urgent and complex issue.

www.ktrn.rw

AgriGO Apps, empower the local smallholder farmer to grow financially!

AgriGO apps, developed by GO (www.go.rw) is primarily assisting a farmer to improve the current yield, by availing the right, modern and personalized best practices in farming through personalized SMS in local languages.

What is a personalized SMS for farmer?

The personalized SMS is the one customized and sent individually to the farmer who use AgriGO to help him applying the modern farming and follow the proven crops growing schedule, depending on planted seed. Like other mobile phone users, a farmer has both right and ability to send and receive SMS when communicating, regardless the expected interest of sending or receiving SMS. The farmer who uses AgriGO, is able to record his farming activities from day one of preparing land to the day of harvest. His recording includes quantity and cost per unit for all inputs, to mean seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and the human resources involved, then from there based on his record, AgriGO is able to assist him to maintain his plantation schedule through SMS, and provide him with proven scientific best practices to apply and result in tremendous increasing of yield.

a. Best practices content to increase yield, growth of revenue!

The research has indicated that the application of right best practices increase the yield up to five times even more vis a vis to traditional way of farming applied by our parents. AgriGO avail right and best practices to the farmer considering the quantity of seed sowed, plus his location. The advisory services provided to the farmer are customized from the available researches and best practices recommended by Rwanda Agriculture Board, plus the results of Farmer Field Schools program at district level, as well other content collected from different stakeholders.

b. Negotiate the profitable price!

Not all the time market is fair or at least be transparent from the point of view of a farmer. Most of the farmer sell their harvest in a non-regulated market, to mean it is all about who can negotiate well, price transparency is not there simply because there’s no existing tool to prove the cost of production. A farmer who uses AgriGO, has ability to check the fair price based on the cost of production so that all his negotiation will be supported by recorded activities.

In Rwanda, the agriculture sector occupies approximately 72% of the active population, most of them women, and contributes around 33% of the national GDP, 70% of the country’s export revenue and about 90% of national food needed. The review of the PSTA II and the first Rwanda Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Compact (CAADP) shows that the agriculture sector has been responsible for almost 50% of the total poverty reduction of 12% points from 2008 to 2012. This resulted from increased production (productivity gains), increased sales of production and increased interventions which drove productivity gains (yield increases up to 7 times and an average of 4 times across many crops (Austin, 2015)).

AgriGO’s comprehensive approach

The idea behind AgriGO is not only to empower local smallholder farmers but also to create a digital agriculture ecosystem bringing together different stakeholders in agriculture. On the one hand farmers can create an AgriGO account to get information about basically all topics directly concerning their daily business, like explained above. On the other hand AgriGO provides accounts for different stakeholders in agriculture. For instance, AgriGO can provide a management platform for agricultural cooperatives that have to manage thousands of farmers or can provide an account for financial institutions that want to inform farmers about credit possibilities. So AgriGO supports farmers directly in their daily business but also acts as a communication interface between farmers and their stakeholders.

Data transmission

In general, the information for the farmers is provided through USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology that means farmers do not need a smartphone or an internet connection to receive data. They only need access to GSM network (same network as for voice calls or SMS) to create an account with their mobile phone number and receive requested data. Push content provided for example by a bank advertising financial opportunities or reminders of best farming practices will be sent per SMS to the farmers.