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Tigo Tanzania are expanding their network to bring a wider range of services
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Over the last 18 months, Tigo Tanzania has expanded their network coverage to bring a full range of digital services to a wider audience Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Donovan Smith
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ince 1994, Tigo Tanzania has been bringing a digital lifestyle that is second to none in the region. With highly competitive and affordable services including voice, data services and mobile financial services, Tigo has registered over 7 million subscribers to their network. Tigo is one of the largest companies in the country, employing around 650 people directly and indirectly employing approximately 15,000 people, through distribution networks offering products and airtime and direct sales centres.
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Diego Gutierrez, General Manager of Tigo Tanzania, has set his sights on helping make Tigo the number one provider of new and traditional mobile services to the region, through a combination of innovative new technologies in all handsets and a constantly expanding data network: “Every one of our subscribers has opted to use our products, whether it be for calls and texts, data services, financial services or for social interaction because we offer a stable and wide reaching network that is the most affordable on the market.”
broadcom ltd
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e have a head office in Kenya and entities in the name of Broadcom (TZ) Limited, Broadcom Networks and Broadgreen Networks in different countries. Our organization has three main business units. These are Implementation, Managed Services and Solutions Divisions. The divisions provide telecommunication network installations and commissioning services, Network Managed Services (Maintenance) and Network Solutions to cater for telecommunication end to end requirements.
Tigo’s Data Services Officer Augustino Garani from Kigamboni Tigo shop assists a customer to access internet on his mobile phone right after the official opening of the new branch.
Tigo Tanzania General Manager Diego Gutierrez.
Expanding Horizons
Over the last 18 months, Tigo Tanzania has further expanded their already national network into further towns in the Lake, Northern and Southern regions of the country to bring their range of services to a wider audience. With a third of Tanzania’s population living in isolated and rural areas, having a telecommunications provider in that area can really make a difference. The company has been investing an average of US $2 million per week in all aspects of network expansion including infrastructure, service facilities for the network and technicians to ensure the diverse landscape in the rural locations is traversable. Tigo Tanzania has been working hard to ensure that with the new network expansion plans,
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Our service offering includes; design, implementation and commissioning of various types of both wireless and wire-line telecommunication products. We are particularly experienced with mobile networks, covering all network elements including infrastructure, fibre optics systems, radio access and transmission network. We work in a multi-vendor environment and are able to provide complete planning, installation and commissioning of virtually all dominant mobile technology products in the industry. Our Managed Services (Maintenance) division provides complete maintenance solution for the mobile industry and covers all managed services for both active and passive telecommunication networks. In the same token, our Network Solution division strives to give a piece of mind to network operators by providing complete mobile broadband solutions covering the whole telecom ecosystem. Our engineers have implemented wireless projects in Zimbabwe, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi besides many in Kenya. Similarly, we have provided telecommunication network solutions across Africa.
Tel +254-20-3746669 Email info@broadcom.co.ke
www.broadcom.co.ke
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elepin Software is an innovative, global pioneer enabling electronic payment solutions for the wireless industry. Founded in Canada in 2006, Telepin Software has emerged as a global leading software provider for mobile network operators, financial institutions (MSP/ISO), banks, and payment service providers.
Customer Engagement Specialist Jackson Jerry introduces the Experience Zone to the District Commissioner of Babati Hon. Khalid Mandia where customers can test and buy the available smartphones at the new Tigo Shop launched in Babati, Manyara.
comes the new data services in the country. With the basic EDGE data service already widely accessible in the region through current towers, Tigo has now brought 3G+ to the network and has upgraded most of their towers to accommodate the increased demand in data speeds. “In past years, we lagged a little in terms of coverage across the country, but with strategic investment and careful planning, we have already caught up with and overtaken some of our competitors within our coverage area. Our goal is to have over 90% coverage for Tanzania over the next five years,” remarks Gutierrez.
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Tigo has now brought 3G+ to the network and has upgraded most of their towers to accommodate the increased demand in data speeds”
Telepin has built the most advanced and sophisticated mobile financial service platform. The system has been deployed in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Middle East, and the Americas. Telepin powers the world’s largest systems for mobile money, mobile payments, and remittance in some of the harshest environments requiring a highly adaptable, malleable, and available end-to-end system. We have developed and deployed many client types for our customer to enable a complete integrated solution including mobile point-of-sale, NFC, kiosk, cardless ATM, and white-labelled consumer and merchant mobile applications. Telepin’s product solutions provide flexible, innovative ways to complete financial transactions, as well as providing our customers’ unprecedented management and control of their intricate merchant/ payment networks. While providing exceptional support to our world-wide customer base, Telepin’s delivers scalable, reliable, high performance and costeffective electronic payment solutions by using a modular, component-based architecture. Telepin’s platform provides a common centralized architecture incorporating business management, distribution/merchant management, and personalization and promotion for all of the Telepin products. Our solutions have been designed and certified to work with infrastructure from both telecommunication and financial service providers. Our systems are secure, scalable and flexible and can be readily modified to offer new premium products and services, such as customized reporting, mobile payment, gift cards, mobile ticketing, and loyalty programs telepin Software #100-411 legget drive ottawa, ontario | canada www.telepin.com
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Company hALF Technology Associates PAGE EDT Thumbs up! Tigo Tanzania General Manager Diego Gutierrez (L) and Facebook Director for International Growth and Partnerships Nicola D’ Elia during the launch of partnership between Tigo & Facebook in which all Tigo customers in the country will get free access to Facebook services in Kiswahili.
Innovations and Mobile Financial Services
By partnering with Facebook and cooperating to launch the Swahili interface, we brought the internet to millions of people for the first time”
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In February of this year, Tigo Tanzania launched the first cross-border mobile money transfer service, offering its customers the opportunity to send money to neighbouring countries such as Rwanda. The service features an automatic currency converter with up to date exchange rates. Additionally, in April, Tigo partnered with Facebook to give all their subscribers free access to the social media site with a new interface written specifically in Swahili, the official language of Tanzania. The partnership with Facebook allowed many subscribers the chance to use the internet for the first time. This new found freedom has been widely regarded as a trailblazing partnership in the region and won many plaudits from companies and residents alike. “By partnering with Facebook and cooperating to launch the Swahili interface, we brought the internet to millions of people for the first time. It gave many the chance to see the global social impact that the website has and from that they have had a
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quamDar eaqui es Salaam sum ium based fugitis ICTciunto teniacompany, vendaeperro Technology il molorib Associates uscipsam Limited queTanzania con niendesed (TA) hasexpel been providing molumworld-class nobit, officimaxime ICT & financial velit services atquissolutions eturios to the Tanzanian market for many years. Mr. Mesam sitatibuLuptatint, comnit mo odiatus Rizvi, the company’s Managing Director, autem fuga. sit viducium spoke about TA’sNequiae service offerings and vollestibus ad with quiatquo tectates an their relationship Tigo Tanzania, aperumlocal quatem. Num et explian important partner. derit, consedit optam qui cus necea dolorepe lab inctus.ASSOCIATES ABOUT TECHNOLOGY Ecum eni velicimo totaectatus Technology (TA), part of the coritatur,Associates ut et aut eveleni modios Technology Associates Group, is a leading mos modio beatatum consequi IT services and systems integration blaceaqui company established across Sub Sahara Africa and theniet Middle East. Offering a e con niBore et resed magnisqui wide range of ICT solutions, Technology berion remquam volum fugitas Associates differseatibus from other provide lluptam queservice non et providers by implementing our vision: magnatibusam aspelitam ipsant, que
nonemquam, sed ut qui dolutem “To partner our customers by providing poriam intiam voluptatemos ant, omnis cutting edge technology and business autemque dolessim quo ipsapid ucietum impacting solutions to help them improve fuga. Et eatem volupta ssimaximus their service delivery, increase revenue, audae venis ut quam sam, in earum et ut lower costs and broaden their market qui volorepta dolor maxim illupta pliscip reach. We do this throughout the region saeprae mollore magnimust aut adi by delivering exceptional levels of service seque voluptur alit, ius, vera pro omnis quality through our team of highly skilled est rem nimus, tem fugiant que occum and motivated professionals.” asit et, cus ex et facerum re rem ium et dolum volentem es que omnimet aut e With us as your IT partner, your technological challenges and milestones Alibust oremolum nosandam into are completely taken care of, leaving te cum lab illuptaspis soluptatur aut enough room for you to focus on the elique odiandanim ex eos earum est, bigger picture. tempernam enempere repre consed quatat harcius tionsequiat magnis Our biggest motivator is a satisfied aspicaectis dereria spicia plitatem and smiling customer. This is the very quaese volupta tetur, voluptas quiam purpose of Technology Associates quate nobis se pro duntur? existence and the biggest driving force behind our success. Feris dolo vero verspersped que culpa velit peratis et verumendelic te RELATIONSHIP WITH TIGO TANZANIA ipient eos ut quat alia conem hilleca tionsequiam re eiciisc iumquos ex This has been an extremely long journey, eatias voluptatibus adipsan tionsectem which started almost 10 years back, as with que reperovid quae core nusam MOBITEL. Since then we have grown this que vendebis ipsam rem aut quodici relationship and feel extremely delighted doluptae dolorporpor aut expedic and satisfied to have achieved a status temporporis dem eum eatGent pra as one of their key partners for having preped quatem elessuntur, sus modi contributed to their ongoing success. quamenisqui non eum simolup tatque et estest, occus aut et mo eos aut Tel (255) 22 2121594/5 Tel +??mrizvi@techno-associates.co.tz ? ??? ??? Email Email +?? ? ??? ???
www.techno-associates.com www.yourwebsiteurlgoeshere.com
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whole new world opened up to them that they never knew existed. Now these subscribers are evolving to use email, other social media sites and downloading content and media,” proclaims Gutierrez. By far the biggest impacting innovation from Tigo Tanzania has been its mobile financial app, one of the first mobile money apps in the world, which has revolutionised the way Tanzanians access and transact with their money in a simple and easy to use format using their Smartphones. Out of the 7 million customers currently subscribed to Tigo Tanzania, over 3.5 million have already signed up and are active users of the mobile financial service and are actively using it on their phones. Tigo Pesa has become a vital source of financial inclusion for many Tanzanians. To put this into figures, a government survey in 2013 showed that only 14% of Tanzanians have a formal banking
ErIcSSon rEal pErFormancE IS all tHat coUntS
W Members of the Tigo sales force attend a training to empower them with product knowledge and customer engagement skills.
account with a financial institution, but 44% use a mobile banking service. “Mobile money has transformed the way people interact with money and financial services. For example, we have partnered with 15 major banking institutions in the country to help them utilise our mobile money platform for their own customers, which widens the ecosystem,” cites Gutierrez.
hen talking about network performance in the past, the focus was on meeting the huge increase in mobile voice and data traffic. But now Ericsson sees an even more important challenge to address – the diversity of user needs. Each new device, application and user has unique requirements, and operators are being challenged to meet them all. The key challenge is therefore to build superior performing networks that can handle different types of usage and beat expectations in every situation. We call this Real Performance. Real Performance is the starting point for every product, system and network we design. We want to enable users around the world to have unique experiences in the right context – because Real Performance is all that counts. Achieving this requires a unified approach. Ericsson works with operators to bring multiple disciplines together and create sustainable, holistic solutions that meet users’ expectations every time, in every situation.
Tigo Sales agent (R) registers a new customer during an exhibition this year.
Present in Africa since 1896, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa supports over 100 customers in 43 countries and employs more than 3,000 people. Ericsson and Tigo Tanzania have been working in partnership focussing on the mobile broadband market and end user behaviour in Tanzania. Close engagement between both parties has led to significant network improvements.
www.ericsson.com
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real
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is all that
counts Users want their apps to work – anywhere, anytime. Ericsson’s app coverage concept helps operators ensure that they deliver real performance to their subscribers. The customers’ experience of performance is all that counts.
www.ericsson.com/real-performance/
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distributing Services
Tigo Tanzania identified early on that having conventional service centres and hubs was not going to work in the country. The majority of Tanzanian shops are on the street and not in shopping centres or huddled locations. With this in mind, Tigo set up a distribution network and proceeded to send an ‘army’ of sales people to go to the small towns and market the products and airtime on a street level. The workers were not alone, they were backed up by comprehensive training and knowledge based workshops, so that they could facilitate any customer enquiry about the products. This person to person approach has paid dividends, as subscribers have doubled in the small townships and villages. There are a few centralised hubs in the major cities and towns, who offer full product and service capabilities including handsets and a repair facility, but the majority of the sales and distribution is done on a face to face basis. “What we have found is that the sales people who go out to the townships and smaller street markets to showcase Tigo’s services have been greeted very positively. A lot of these smaller rural locations would not have had access to our products if we had stuck to traditional central locations. This is what makes Tigo different. We understand the need for street level marketing,” remarks Gutierrez.
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Tigo Corporate Responsibility Manager Woinde Shisael (C) in a group photo with mothers and their newborns during the launch of the Mobile Birth Registration project supported by Tigo.
elcom is the owner and operator of the largest independent network of pointof-sale terminals in Tanzania. The Bank of Tanzania recognizes us as the leading enabler of mobile banking and bill payment services, having developed middleware, wallets, mobile financial solutions (MFS) for cash-in, cash-out and payment of goods and services as well as, MFSto-bank and bank-to-MFS switching. To date, Selcom has connected over 25 banks to mobile banking for core services including Barclays, Stanbic Bank and Standard Chartered. Having established a strong foothold in the Tanzanian market, Selcom is now beginning to expand into other African countries. At Selcom, we turn challenges into opportunities. tel +255 78 467 0075 Email info@selcomwireless.com
www.selcom.net
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ounded in 2005, NFT Consult has its headquarters in Kampala, Uganda with country offices in Rwanda, Burundi & Tanzania. Human resource outsourcing is our business with specific interest across different sectors. We also offer staff recruitment for permanent positions across all management levels, staff and call centre outsourcing, training and personnel developments. NFT Human Resource Solutions are customer tailored per industry requirements and are geared towards increased cost savings, process improvement leading to improved efficiency and effectiveness yet simultaneously strengthening quality and control of resources. We are committed to flexibility, dedication and creativity in meeting our customers’ needs with the aim of developing win-win partnerships.
tel +255 22 2773 588 Email inquiries@nftconsult.com
www.nftconsult.com
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INNOVATION RELIABILITY SERVICE
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New Ideas for New Lives
Flametree East Africa
Tigo Tanzania has taken CSR to a new level in recent months. The company has utilised their expansive network to create a pioneering platform that allows the mother’s of new born children to register their child’s birth using only a basic handset. The new system enables trained staff to visit rural locations with handsets to help the mothers to register their newborns. This project has been done in coordination with the government,
We believe that our customers know what they want from their operator and by listening carefully to this, we can tailor our products and a service to exactly what is wanted”
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lametree East Africa is a communications agency with a passion for pushing boundaries and finding unexpected, effective communication solutions. Our creative approach has an emphasis on strategic collaboration, drawing from both our international experience and local expertise to produce campaigns with maximum market impact.
Babati District Commissioner Hon. Khalid Mandia (C) cuts a ribbon to inaugurate Tigo’s new Tigo shop launched in Babati, Manyara. Looking on is Tigo’s Contact Centre Operations Manager Ms. Halima Nassoro (R) and Tigo’s Customer Service Centre Supervisor for the Northern Zone Ms. Lydia Sakaya (L). A section of Tigo pavilions with members of Tigo Sales force (in yellow) attend to customers while others remain alert for more walk-ins during a business expo in Lindi.
Unicef and other entities. “This has been a massive project for Tigo and one we are very proud of. By being able to give mothers in isolated locations the ability to register their child with the proper authorities, we have helped make them feel less secluded and a closer to the rest of the population,” explains Gutierrez.
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Through our wonderful partnership with Tigo we have taken our approach to scale, managing national campaigns end to end that utilize smart media in addition to traditional ATL/BTL pathways to produce impressive point of sales results. We thrive on working with partners from a diversity of sectors. Let’s have a chat to see what we can do for your brand. Zainab Rashidi, Business Development and Strategy Email
zainab.rashidi@flametreeltd.com
For a company to succeed they must have a certain factor that differentiates them from their competitors, for Tigo Tanzania, that factor is customer understanding. By listening to customer feedback and quickly identifying areas for improvement or new innovation that could facilitate a need, Tigo has quickly become one of the top operators in the region. “We believe that our customers know what they want from their operator and by listening carefully to this, we can tailor our products and a service to exactly what is wanted. This has kept us at the forefront of innovation. Of course that is not our only reason for success; we also have a great team of highly motivated people who are very committed to the company,” concludes Gutierrez.
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Africa Outlook is a fantastic platform to share success stories and find ways of growing your business in Africa and through our sister publications, across the world. To discuss your options contact Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com
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