MTN Uganda has today reinforced its partnership with M-KOPA in a bid to avail 4G smartphones at installment payment terms, “Pay MpolaMpola” as a way of making them accessible to the people who may not be able to pay for smartphones, upfront. This follows a successful partnership between MTN and M-KOPA last year that enabled the sale of over 70,000 smartphones on M-KOPA’s fintech platform, which has financed over 2 million customers across Africa.
Ian Mugambe, MTN Uganda High-Value Segment Marketing Manager said that the partnership is aimed at enabling the public to acquire smartphones in the most financially convenient way that doesn’t affect their cash flow.
“With the current digital evolution, a smartphone is more than just a phone. It is an enabler for work, business, education, and access to a wealth of information that can help people get ahead in life,” Mugambe said. He further added that “Many people fail to own smartphones due to their high cost of purchase. Therefore, by availing of such a flexible payment solution ‘Pay Mpolampola’ coupled with free 50MB daily data, we believe many more people will now find owning a smartphone much easier.”
Under the partnership, customers can choose from a wide range of up to 11 assorted Samsung and Nokia devices from M-KOPA and finance them for up to one year while enjoying free 50MBs data from MTN every day for a year until they have settled their installment. Customers can opt for a daily, weekly, or monthly payment plan for any of the devices they choose to purchase.
M-KOPA Uganda’s Spokeswoman, Brendah Nambalirwa, said, “Affordable payment solutions for our customers, who would ordinarily find it difficult to access credit or save large deposits, can now instantly have a 4G smartphone in their hands and connect to the internet for a myriad of services. Many of our customers are doing so for the very first time.”
Nambalirwa noted that the partnership has already proven to be a successful way to accelerate smartphone penetration and digital inclusion in Uganda.
M-KOPA has provided more than USD$600 million in credit across multiple products and financial services to its customers. They source their devices straight from the manufacturer, so users are guaranteed a high level of quality for the purchased devices. The Fintech Platform also operates a robust repair center and offers world-class after-sales services for customers whose gadgets may require after-sales care.
Just like M-KOPA, MTN is also keen on availing avenues to her customers to access the best possible device deals in the market today. Therefore, by partnering with M-KOPA, MTN is demonstrating its commitment towards continuing to break the barriers to smartphone penetration in the country, as well as helping customers access the best internet experiences in the land with the world-class devices provided by M-KOPA.
This partnership is one of the various customer-centric partnerships that MTN has undertaken with a vision of driving digital inclusion through accelerating smartphone penetration. It also closely follows MTN’s repackaging its daily data bundles to offer customers up to 80% more data at the same existing prices, thus making the internet more affordable by giving customers more value for their money.
Pay Mpolampola is not a new scheme —the financing scheme was introduced in 2020 making the financing scheme the first of its kind from the telco, placing MTN at the forefront of innovation in the telecom industry in Uganda. At the time of the launch, MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer Mr. Sen Somdev said the idea behind the scheme is to give Ugandans access to the internet by easing the affordability of smartphones.
The MTN Kabode was the first smartphone for the scheme but now customers can choose from a wide range of up to 11 assorted Samsung and Nokia devices.
