80,000 Rwandans sign up to mobile banking as demand for internet rises

3 August 2011

There is growing pressure for African nations to improve their ICT infrastructure, after 80,000 people in Rwanda signed up to mobile banking in one week.

BPR Mobile Banking registered this number of new customers after a campaign to promote the service.

Mobile banking product manager of the financial services provider Salma Ingabire told Business Times that many of these people are from rural communities in the East Africa nation, showing that demand for internet services is continually increasing.

BPR's chief commercial officer Paul Van Apeldoorn also told the news provider that services such as these could help the agricultural infrastructure as well, because farmers will be able to pick up information about markets and price data from their mobile phones.

The importance of improved communication networks and connections is also being highlighted in other nearby countries.

South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria were recently found by the Africa Business Panel to have the top ICT markets in the continent, with their technology infrastructures growing at fast rates. 

Category: ICT