THE AGA KHAN LAUNCHES SMART TELECOM IN TANZANIA

The telecom industry in Tanzania could witness a new wave of price wars fuelled by the entry of a new player, Smart Telecom, in the market offering the cheapest call rates.

Justifying the low call rate, Mr. Abdellatif Bouziani, Group Chief Executive Officer of Smart Telecom East Africa, said, “Like we asked East Africans to give us a name, we also asked them what they wanted from us and they said they wanted to make calls without being under pressure of time. That is why we are offering subscribers an opportunity to make a call without minding at a clock ticking.”
“When you get people who are making successful calls, the business will be successful. So our business model is based on numbers and how many subscribers we can attract,” he added.
Mr. Bouziani said the telecom intends to invest $ 300 million in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.
The Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) Kenya, a subsidiary of the Aga Khan fund for Economic Development (AKFED), owns Smart telecom.
This will enable AKFED to expand its unique and proven social enterprise and proven social enterprise business model into Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda.
The company will be headquartered in Uganda, with branches in Burundi and Tanzania. Subscribers will be in a position to be charged per call not per minute like other telecoms, the company is planning to focus on both voice and data products.
"We have entered the market with all you want - 2G, 3G, 4G and all other products. We are living in a technologically-sensitive era and we must innovate. That's our focus," Mr. Bouziani said.