02 November 2023

Airtel Rwanda has launched a new range of 4G-enabled smartphones to accelerate the adoption of digital services in the country in partnership with the Rwandan government and American philanthropist Reed Hastings, co-founder and director from Netflix. The devices are sold at a unit price of 20,000 Rwandan francs ($16.42).

The project is part of the Rwandan government’s ConnectRwanda 2.0 program which aims to provide a smartphone to more than one million Rwandans by the end of 2024. According to Paula Ingabire, minister of ICT and innovation, only 23% of Rwandan households own smartphones.

“This initiative addresses the affordability barrier and we believe it will help bridge the digital divide and enable more Rwandans to conveniently access essential e-government services,” said Ingabire.