Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Winter 2004 : MTN villagePhone launched in Uganda
MTN villagePhone launched in Uganda
Borrower-owned phones will provide access to telecommunications services to 10 million within 5 years
MTN villagePhone, the first replication outside of Bangladesh of Grameen Telecom’s successful Village Phone Program, was officially launched in a ceremony on November 17, 2003, in Kayunga, Uganda. In attendance were representatives of MTN Uganda, the country’s largest telecommunications service provider (with 350,000 subscribers), local government and civic leaders, and the Grameen Technology Center staff and volunteers who have been working since October 2002 to roll-out this exciting project. MTN villagePhone is the product of a unique collaboration between Grameen Foundation USA (through its Grameen Technology Center), MTN Uganda and five local microfinance institutions (MFIs)—FINCA, FOCCAS, SOMED, UMU and UWFT. In order to bring reliable, convenient and affordable telecommunications services to the poorest rural areas of Uganda, GFUSA has engineered this unprecedented cross-sector partnership and adapted one of the most successful blends of technology and microfinance in the world.
August 2003 | September 2003 | |
| Number of Phone Deployed | 61 | 114 |
Average Number of Minutes Sold per Day, per Operator (break even is 6 min.) | 9 | 18 |
MTN VILLAGEPHONE DOUBLES MINUTES IN THREE MONTHS
As of October 2003, 114 Village Phones had been deployed to micro-entrepreneurs who operate them as public pay phone businesses. Over the next five years, MTN villagePhone will deploy 5,000 phones throughout Uganda. Each phone will serve as many as 2,000 people, which means that this initiative has the potential to provide 10 million rural Ugandans with access to affordable telecommunications services.
Not only do these phones provide an income-generating opportunity for the entrepreneurs who operate them, they can also be used by farmers, shopkeepers and others to save both time and money. Whether arranging for newly harvested produce to be picked up and taken to the city or ordering supplies for a rural general store, it is estimated that a phone call costing ten cents can save the caller an average of one dollar in wages or business that would be forfeited to make a day’s journey into the nearest city. Even more importantly, the ability to phone a distant doctor or clinic in an emergency can even save lives.
Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Winter 2004 : MTN villagePhone launched in Uganda
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
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