Tigo Rwanda commissions Internet Transit for KT Rwanda Networks

Tigo Rwanda is proud to announce the commissioning of a wholesale IP Transit service for KT Rwanda Networks. The wholesale IP Transit deal will allow internet international traffic from KT Rwanda Networks to transit via the Tigo Rwanda/Millicom fibre optic network into the Millicom POP (Point of Presence) in London, United Kingdom.  

Under this 10-year partnership with KT Rwanda Networks, Tigo Rwanda will provide STM-4 Bandwidth over a secured network with a bit rate of 622Mbit/s.  Previously, international Internet traffic from Rwanda relied on regional and international carriers such as BCS-Kenya, WIOCC, and SeaComm.

This is the first time in Rwanda that the transit of international internet traffic is commissioned by a local operator at such a large scale.

Philip Amoateng, Chief Executive Officer, Tigo Rwanda commented: “We are proud to be the first Rwandan telecom operator to provide IP transfer at such a large scale. Over the last year our parent company Millicom has made investments such as the acquisition of operator Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel) that positions us with the infrastructure and the needed access to sea-cable to provide such services. “

Han-Sung Yoon, Chief Executive Officer, KT Rwanda Networks said: “Tigo Rwanda and KT Rwanda Networks have enjoyed a strong partnership that resulted into an increased number of 4G users in Rwanda;  and the purchase of this capacity comes to elevate the 4G user experience. We thank Tigo Management and look forward to doing more together”.  

Philip Amoateng, Chief Executive Officer, Tigo Rwanda added: “What this means for our clients is that in addition to providing a competitive price, both technical and commercial support will be done locally by our experts.”

The IP Transit service for KT Rwanda Networks was made possible through Tigo Rwanda’s partnership with Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel). Zantel is a shareholder in three main sea-cable providers, namely TEAMS, WACCS, and EASSY.  Zantel interconnect also with SEACOM at their landing POP in Dar-Es-Salam.

The cables provide low latency connectivity to the internet. The large capacity provides the best environment for triple play applications namely voice, data and video streaming.

The protected IP transit capacity will be taken from Dar-es-Salaam; hence most of the contents will also be available at that point due to caching mechanism put in place at our POP in Dar-es-Salam.

This will reduce the latency drastically.

Submarine Cable routes available

South Route 1: Dar es Salaam- EASSy-Mtunzini-SA Terrestrial- WACS- London Telehouse West

South Route 2: Dar es Salaam- -EASSy-Djibouti-Egypt-Marseille - London Telehouse West

Tigo Business - A Solution for every Business

Through its B2B (Business to Business) unit, Tigo Rwanda has been providing business solutions to corporate, government, SMEs and NGOs clients for over 5 years. The large portfolio of corporate and enterprise solutions offered by Tigo Business comprises of the following:

•           Mobile telecommunications: [Postpaid data and voice, Prepaid voice (EASYBIZ), CUG (Closed user group) that allows employees to call within the company’s group free of charge.]

•           Fixed Voice solutions: ISDN/PRI/E1

•           Corporate Broadband data services (MPLS, IP-sec , VPN and Internet) 

•           Fibre to the building data connectivity.

•           Corporate mobile APN for interconnection with remote devices (such Banks’ POS)

•           Payment solutions: (ex: Bulk SMS)

•           Fleet Management system

About Tigo Rwanda

Currently, Tigo Rwanda has over three million customers and has invested over US $310 million from 2009 to date.   Tigo Rwanda provides 4G LTE on mobile for both prepaid and post-paid customers.  Tigo Rwanda was awarded as the ‘Most Innovative Service’ at Africa Com 2014, for international mobile money transfers with integrated currency conversion between Tigo Rwanda and Tigo Tanzania as well as awarded for “Best ICT Exhibitor” at the Kigali Expo 2015. This year Tigo Rwanda became the first telecom operator in Africa to sign the Connected Women Commitment Initiative.

Tigo Rwanda is owned by Millicom, a leading telecommunications and media company uniquely dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. It provides mobile, mobile financial, cable and satellite services to over 60 million customers in fourteen countries, primarily under the Tigo brand. Tigo has been operating in Africa since 1993, in Rwanda since 2009, and serves over 26 million customers in Africa.

About KT Rwanda Networks

KT Rwanda Networks is the only 4G LTE infrastructure company in Rwanda, jointly invested by the Government of Rwanda and KT exclusively for wholesale provision of universal mobile broadband network in Rwanda using 4G LTE technology. The wholesale network service for mobile broadband will help to promote healthy competition for advanced retail services and solutions, and will benefit consumers, enterprises and the nation in transforming Rwanda into the ICT hub of East Africa.

POSITION: Head of Customer Value Management & Voice

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is part of a global telecommunications company- Millicom with a presence in Africa and Latin America. Launched in 2009, we are the second largest telecommunications company in Rwanda, offering GSM, 2G, 3G and 4G as well as mobile financial services under the Tigo brand; 

Join our team as a:

POSITION: HEAD OF CUSTOMER VALUE MANAGEMENT & VOICE

JOB PURPOSE:

Responsible for shaping the strategic direction of Tigo’s CVM and Voice & SMS portfolio and for developing and implementing business plans that achieve business objectives.

Also responsible for shaping the future direction of Voice and CVM offerings using thorough market insights to advice on ways to improve Tigo’s products and services and ensure that our offerings are shaped around the customer.

Reviews Voice and CVM product portfolio performance to reach revenue/margins P&L targets & decides on product lifecycle.

Responsible for retaining the existing base of customers and maximizing opportunities for value creation amongst the base across Low Value Customers to High Value Customers. Creates and evaluates opportunities to drive increased loyalty amongst the base.

As part of retention responsibilities, defines the end-to-end customer experience across products, channels and customer segments, and monitors the implementation of the defined experience.

Ultimate responsibility to ensure Tigo Rwanda becomes the operator of choice, particularly in the HVC segment, and attains a market leading position.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

VOICE AND SMS

Grow Voice & SMS business

• Maximize product penetration, revenue and P&L of the Voice & SMS business
• Leverage market and customer base insights to develop and implement new products and services to acquire and retain target customers
• Identify market trends, opportunities and risks to define future propositions and promotions that drive customer acquisition for Voice & SMS customers

CUSTOMER VALUE MANAGEMENT

Identify Opportunities to Drive Incremental Value Creation from the Base

• Build an understanding of the drivers of value across Voice, Data, VAS and MFS products and across value bands
• Develop targeted propositions to identified segments to deliver more value and increase revenue within the segment
• Identify and maximize opportunities to upsell customers from lower ARPU bands into higher value bands
• Maximize total value per customer by identifying cross-selling opportunities of Voice customers into Data, VAS, MFS and vice versa
• Deliver revenue targets across products and within specified value segments of the existing base

Drive Retention Strategies including Churn and Loyalty Management to Protect the Base and Increase Brand Affinity

• Build and maintain an industry-leading Loyalty Program as a sustainable differentiator versus our competitors and a means to drive greater brand affinity especially within the HVC base
• Develop churn strategies centred around early churn detection and a framework of proven propositions to arrest churn within the customer base
• Identify opportunities to encourage consistent usage of products and services by offering short-term loyalty incentives across all products
• Build an understanding of the drivers of churn among the base to drive proposition development to proactively stem churn

Define the Customer Experience across Products, Channels and Customer Segments and Monitor the Implementation

• Be the custodian of the customer experience that Tigo aims to deliver across our products and touch points by engaging all relevant stakeholders in defining the base experience for our customers including new customers, HVCs, etc
• Develop and maintain a measurement framework to monitor the delivered experience against the defined experience. Feedback performance shortfalls to the business and agree on actions with relevant stakeholders to close the gap

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with Other Teams to Deliver Projects on Time

• Define and validate creative briefs; and work with the Marketing team to develop internal and external communication strategies (including communication bulletin and launch event) for new products
• Work with internal teams to develop agency briefs and research strategies (including discussion guides, questionnaires, marketing briefs and product descriptions)
• Coordinate with Sales and Distribution on all promotional activities
• Lead the creation of the blue print of a product/offer and work with the Tech/IT teams to prepare products for roll out
• Develop offer/product roll out checklist

Leadership and Teamwork

• Be responsible for the Voice and CVM team and lead and manage the team to deliver exceptional standards of delivery

• Cascade goals, motivate and manage team performance (set objectives and KPIs, maintain frequent updates and review meetings,  assess and address performance issues)
• Stimulate a creative, customer-obsessed and value-driven team to maximize opportunities for value creation

QUALIFICATION & SKILLS:

• University degree, preferable in marketing, communication, arts or engineering. Master’s degree would be a plus
• 4-5 years’ experience in a related role
• Senior marketing and managerial experience in consumer marketing, product or brand management or strategic planning required
• Experience in delivering marketing insights and leading strategy within a large, complex organization
• Experience in developing and/or managing Voice & SMS products and services and CVM
  • Product Managers with a high level of execution focus
  • Project Managers with a high level of ownership / business understanding
• Strong understanding of the telecoms industry
• Ability to think strategically in order to align short-term moves with long-term objectives
• Excellent commercial acumen and ability to identify and solve varied business problems
• Demonstrated creativity in developing innovative propositions
• Strong quantitative ability
• Effective communicator at all levels of the organization
• Strong prioritization, organizational and people management skills
• Has the courage to share opinion on challenging matters and debate them
• Is a great leader, achieving results and inspiring people to think creatively
• Is one step ahead of the numbers, great forecasting ability enabling proactive prompts to stakeholders

How to Apply:

If you believe that you are the right candidate for the above position, Please submit your application to the link below:

http://careers.peopleclick.eu.com/careerscp/client_millicom/external/gateway.do?functionName=viewFromLink&jobPostId=7542&localeCode=en-us

Deadline for Submission: Monday 15th August2016.

Tigo Rwanda slashes the price of calls to Europe

Today, Tigo Rwanda is happy to announce new tariffs for international calls to Europe for both prepaid and post-paid customers. 

New Tariffs for international calls to Europe

Frw 45 per minute: Belgium, France, Netherlands, and United Kingdom

Frw 95 per minute: Rest of Europe

Previously the tariff to Belgium, France, Netherlands, and United Kingdom was Frw 48 per minute and Frw199  per minute for the rest of Europe. A text message (SMS) to any country in Europe is charged Frw 90 only.

Commenting on the new tariffs, Philip Amoateng, Chief Executive Officer, Tigo Rwanda said:

“Tigo Rwanda is committed to constantly satisfying its customers by meeting and exceeding their expectations. We set out to provide affordable and accessible mobile services everywhere so that our subscribers can stay in touch with their loved ones and facilitate business by reducing the costs of communication”.

Tigo Rwanda has the most competitive international calling and SMS rates on the market. For instance, the cost of a text message (SMS) from Rwanda to Uganda, Kenya or South Sudan is charged at Frw45 only. If you want to call Kenya, Uganda or South Sudan, the rates are Frw68, Frw60 and Frw60 respectively.

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is owned by Millicom, a leading telecommunications and media company uniquely dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. It provides mobile, mobile financial, cable and satellite services to over 60 million customers in fourteen countries, primarily under the Tigo brand. Tigo has been operating in Africa since 1993, in Rwanda since 2009, and serves over 26 million customers in Africa. 

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POSITION: IT Products Manager

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is part of a global telecommunications company- Millicom with a presence in Africa and Latin America. Launched in 2009, we are the second largest telecommunications company in Rwanda, offering GSM, 2G, 3G and 4G as well as mobile financial services under the Tigo brand; Join our team as an;
POSITION: IT Products Manager
JOB PURPOSE
The IT Products Manager (ITP Manager) has complete ownership of the relationship between Technology/IT Services and their dedicated portfolio of customers in the local operation.  Will be directly accountable individually for the entire life cycle of the multiple solutions under his/her responsibility, guaranteeing accuracy, quality and time line accomplishment.  His/her goal is to gain a complete understanding of his/her clients' needs and effectively communicate them to the software factories.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• The ITP Manager will be required to deliver End-to-End Solutions for the local operation organization.  Will work closely with marketing (Consumer), Sales (Go to Market), Customer Operation (Include Billing Operation) and others business areas, creating winning proposals and successfully delivering within budget.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible for planning, design and implementation of IT solutions  and others IT platforms meeting standards and protocols for data exchange, communications, software and interconnection for information systems in consultation with the regional team and Head of IT Services
• The ITP Manager will define time, costs and quality constraints and then guide software factories and/or supplier to ensure integrity of the solution within these constraints. The ITP Manager will be accountable for consistency and delivery of the entire solution.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible for complying with SOA architecture standards, continuously identifying areas of improvement in our Solutions Framework and taking initiatives to new approaches to optimize our existing processes.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible to ensures that all development practices are in compliance with his employer's best practices policies and procedures in the respective operation.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible for the tracking and maintaining all records and metric, he reports the project's progress to the Head of IT Services.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible for identify the appropriate software architecture based on the requirements and design elements contained in a system specification.
• The ITP Manager will be responsible for record software architecture specific to the local operation in a software architecture document using use cases and the Unified Modeling Language (UML).

QUALIFICATION & SKILLS:

• Bachelors and Master’s Degree in Computer Science or related field (System Engineer, IS Engineer, Information Systems Engineer, IT Engineer, Network Systems Engineer)
• Postgraduate and/or courses in Software Architecture will be an advantage
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience working in the IT and Telco industry
• Understanding of project management principles.
• At least 3 years of UML experience
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in Software development using software factory methodology and SOA Architecture (Telco’s preferably)
• Experience in Business Processes for Telco’s (eTOM Model preferably)
• Strong technical understanding of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture
• Expert Level in UML.
• Strong knowledge and solid experience in Business Processes for Telco’s (eTOM Model preferably)
• Expert Level experience in Billing and VAS System processes and applications (For Telco’s preferably)
• Knowledge in developing and maintaining ITIL policies and procedures
• Excellent Communication skills.
• Management and leadership
• Exceptional service and results orientation.
• Superior analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work under pressure and time constraints
• Excellent self-organization and self-direction in performance of tasks, including time management skills
• Ability to set and manage priorities
• Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of all technological advances is crucial

How to Apply:
If you believe that you are the right candidate for the above position, Please submit your application to the link below:
http://careers.peopleclick.eu.com/careerscp/client_millicom/external/gateway.do?functionName=viewFromLink&jobPostId=7415&localeCode=en-us
Deadline for Submission: Monday 25thJuly2016.

POSITION: Head, Project Management

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is part of a global telecommunications company- Millicom with a presence in Africa and Latin America. Launched in 2009, we are the second largest telecommunications company in Rwanda, offering GSM, 2G, 3G and 4G as well as mobile financial services under the Tigo brand; Join our team as a;
POSITION: Head, Project Management
JOB PURPOSE
Growing company profit by implementing Tigo corporate strategies and achieving designed goals;
These include:

• Drive CAPEX execution and efficient reporting
• Optimize overall Operational expenditure Vs Budget
• Defining scope, schedules and costs for new projects
• Accomplishing the projects delivery with quality on a fixed time and budget
• Tracking projects deliverables

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Drive and report CAPEX efficiently
• To manage all network operating costs (electricity, lease, field operations cost, service support agreement cost, preventive maintenance cost, staff training cost, vehicles fleet cost, tools etc...)
• To ensure efficient process and policies enforcement for Technology department in line with MIC processes and policies.
• Deliver yearly and 5YRS CAPEX and OPEX plan in line with other cross functional units
• Define project objectives, scopes and schedules
• Developing and maintaining detailed project plans and controls
• Co-ordinate stakeholders, including external suppliers, and working groups engaged in project work.
• Identify cross-functional blocking points and identify solutions to meet productivity, quality and service delivery goals.
• Monitor and report projects progress, risks and performances.
• Responsible for vendor management i.e. ensuring that vendors are performing and delivering services in accordance with the service support agreement.

QUALIFICATION & SKILLS:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in electronics and telecommunication Engineering
• At least 8 years’ experience in Telecommunication Industry
• Strong technical understanding of the end to end GSM/WCDMA/4G networks with cross functional services offered.
• Solid experience in project management.
• Strong organizational and management skills on large projects / programs with the ability to make and drive through key operational and strategic decisions
• Experience in budget preparation and monitoring
• Proven managerial experience

How to Apply:
If you believe that you are the right candidate for the above position, Please submit your application to the link below:
http://careers.peopleclick.eu.com/careerscp/client_millicom/external/gateway.do?functionName=viewFromLink&jobPostId=7417&localeCode=en-us
Deadline for Submission: Monday25th July 2016.

Tigo Rwanda launches the ‘Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture’ to improve farmers’ lives

Tigo Rwanda has officially launched the ‘Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture’ platform that has increased the financial and digital inclusion of over 10,000 tea farmers in two tea plantations located in Mulindi and Rusizi District.

The Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture was created to provide mobile solutions for the agricultural sector in order to improve the communication and payment streams for local farmers. The platform, created in partnership with Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), the Wood Foundation, TRAC Fund and local area Saccos, has improved the lives of the farmers working at the Mulindi and Shagasha tea factories in Gicumbi and Rusizi District respectively. 

How the Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture works

When the Mulindi and Shagasha tea factories pay the farmers’ salaries in their Sacco accounts, due to the technical integration between Sacco banking platform and Tigo Cash platform, the farmers are able to receive their monies on their TigoCash wallets on their handsets. After an SMS notification is sent to a farmer’s handsets informing them that money has reached their Sacco account, they can then go to their local Tigo Cash agent and receive their payment.  

With this platform, farmers no longer need to travel to their local Saccos and queue in line to receive their payment.

Explaining how the platform has changed her life, Evangeline Bikorimana, a tea farmer from Gicumbi District, said;

“Before Tigo launched this platform, we would wake up extremely early to head to our local Sacco. In fact, we would sometimes sleep in our clothes so that we could leave our homes before daybreak so that we could arrive at the Sacco before others. However, despite our best efforts, we would usually find a huge number of farmers waiting to receive their salaries. We would often have to go home and return the next day. Today that is no longer the case and it’s because of Tigo.”

In order for the project to be successful, Tigo facilitated the bulk purchase of affordable handsets for over 7,000 farmers who could not afford handsets.

Commenting on the success of the project and the lessons learnt, Judith Aguga Acon, Technical Director of AFR said;

“This project has enabled AFR to understand and appreciate SACCOs operations as well as the need for more innovations in the mobile financial services sector in order to enhance  access to financial services by smallholder farmers and therefore improve their incomes and livelihoods. The lessons from this project should result in increased AFR investment in supporting agricultural finance. Most importantly, this project has shown that success can only be achieved in partnership with strategic partners like Tigo Rwanda as well as value-chain actors like Wood Foundation among others”

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Tigo Rwanda, Philip Amoateng, this platform is the latest in the line of innovations that Tigo has brought to the market.

 “We are proud to have provided a medium for farmers to access their money in a seamless way using Tigo Cash. The platform that we are launching today is only the latest innovation that we have introduced in order to ease the lives of Rwandans while increasing digital and financial inclusion countrywide.

With the rapid growth in mobile phone penetration, mobile solutions can reach remote farmers in a way that no other form of communication can, helping them to improve productivity and increase efficiency throughout the agricultural chain.

Tigo believes that the agricultural sector is key to unlocking the economic power of mobile finance in rural communities. The success of this project can be replicated into a sustainable business model that will allow penetration of other value chains besides agriculture”.

Speaking at the launch as the Guest of Honor, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Minister of Youth and ICT, reiterated the fact that ICT innovations and platforms such as the Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture have the power to provide solutions to Rwanda’s challenges.

“Tigo Payment Solution for Agriculture platform is one of the best examples of how ICT can change lives. Currently, about 80% of Rwandans live in rural areas; so while we can talk of ‘Smart Cities’, we also cannot forget to talk about ‘Smart Villages’ as well. This platform is an example of what the Smart Village concept is all about. In fact, we need to deliver this platform much faster and to a wider user base.

This platform is a win-win. It is economically feasible as well as effective. Such initiatives need partnerships. We thank Tigo, AFR as well as the Wood Foundation for partnering. Let us keep innovating because the needs of the country are pressing“, Minister Nsengimana said in conclusion.

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is owned by Millicom, a leading telecommunications and media company uniquely dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. It provides mobile, mobile financial, cable and satellite services to over 60 million customers in fourteen countries, primarily under the Tigo brand. Tigo has been operating in Africa since 1993, in Rwanda since 2009, and serves over 26 million customers in Africa.

Currently, Tigo Rwanda has over three million customers and has invested over US $310 million from 2009 to date.   Tigo Rwanda provides 4G LTE on mobile for both prepaid and post-paid customers.  Tigo Rwanda was awarded as the ‘Most Innovative Service’ at Africa Com 2014, for international mobile money transfers with integrated currency conversion between Tigo Rwanda and Tigo Tanzania as well as awarded for “Best ICT Exhibitor” at the Kigali Expo 2015.

POSITION: BILLING SPECIALIST

About Tigo Rwanda

Tigo Rwanda is part of a global telecommunications company- Millicom with a presence in Africa and Latin America. Launched in 2009, we are the second largest telecommunications company in Rwanda, offering GSM, 2G, 3G and 4G as well as mobile financial services under the Tigo brand; Join our team as an;

POSITION: BILLING SPECIALIST

JOB PURPOSE:

To take care of billing matters related to Prepaid, interconnect, Postpaid, roaming in the billing system.

To reconcile all the billing platforms within the company (IN, HLR, SGSN, NMS, RBT, etc…)

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Reconcile all systems  (Core, Billing and VAS nodes) and follow up on exceptions occurred for resolution to responsible stakeholders
• Ensure Internal control execution related to billing area
• To lead a Billing Project implementation in assigned  area
• Work closely with commercial for new product rollout and ensure proper reconciliation and necessary controls are implemented priori to final launch
• Assess /Resolve Customer issues arising in billing processes
• Operate and execute tasks related billing operations
• Support Managed Services and Corporate team for Subscribers provisioning/ activation/deactivation
• Any ad hoc reports/ task requested by the Billing Manager

QUALIFICATION & SKILLS:

• Bachelors or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer IT Engineering, Communication Systems Engineering or related Information Communication Technology field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience working in the IT &Telecom Industry.
• Experience  in System reconciliation (Telecom preferably)

How to Apply:

If you believe that you are the right candidate for the above position, Please submit your application to the link below:

http://careers.peopleclick.eu.com/careerscp/client_millicom/external/gateway.do?functionName=viewFromLink&jobPostId=7383&localeCode=en-us

Deadline for Submission: Wednesday13th July 2016.