Telecoms Competition spills over to showbiz

Part 2

The well staged re-launch of the RwandaTel’s third rebirth has brought with it very refreshing inputs some say very healthy doses of trickle down effect to the country’s infant showbiz industry.

We saw for the first time that it is possible for the country’s marketing fraternity to use the power of music to pull crowds. And those who are keenly watching the unfolding battle between the two operators are upbeat that for the very first time in Rwanda’s telecoms history true competition is surely unfolding.

The direct beneficiaries subscribers aside , are bound to be the ones on the operator’s supply chain. Like the players who during this festive season  lined up to get the Amarafanga which was up for grabs for staging these mega shows. One thing is clear. That Rwandan showbiz will never be the same again.

The ‘Turi Kumwe’ Trickle Down

The Rwandatel’s re-launch was indeed very elaborate. A key pointer of this was nature of the supply chain which was instituted. Various players within the showbiz industry had lined up to be counted.

From the music promoters, airline and travel agents, Hotels, Event managers, advertising agencies and even the artist themselves who had been sourced from local, regional and international levels all partook in sharing the ‘piece of the cake’ which RwandaTel had laid out.

But it went beyond just staging a concert. It was a battle cry too. Subscribers had to be roped into the new GSM network which RwandaTel had just built. So every one who wanted to attend the concert had to be lured into joining it.

So for only Rwf.1,000 one needed to attend the concert and by extension would be logged onto the network. Another bait for those who had deep pockets was the lure of a phone packed with ‘extra’ features which went for Rwf.20,000.

The response was terrific. Thousands undertook the migration from MTN to RwandaTel. The  Sunday Mag is yet to precisely establish the exact number of subscribers who switched over to RwandaTel as a direct response to the re-launch campaign.

However what was clear is that over 30,000 fans managed to enter Amahoro Stadium. Another army of fans approximated at 20,000 were locked outside the venue and were barred from entering as Amahoro was packed to capacity.

Not even the rain which showered the revellers or even the black out witnessed at the concert could dampen their spirits. MTN must have lost a sizable chunk of their clientele. Their stranglehold over the Rwandan telecoms market was shattered on that fateful day.

Subscribers for the very first time had an option of making informed choices based on a host of various  factors. One which was value addition over and above the ordinary sectoral offerings. The concert was considered to be one of those extraordinary offerings.

The essence of the RwandaTel concert was captured by Sean Paul who remarked that ‘the history of this country gives hope to the rest of the world. Because there is peace here, I give praise to the Jah’, the dancehall master said amidst applause.

He added, ‘The events of 1994 bring sad memories because from experience many people kill each other in Jamaica and it must be hard to cope but we are here to spread the message of peace and love through music’.

The Sunday Mag camera was present to capture this momentous occasion within the telecoms and by extension the showbiz industry.

Contact: ojiwah@gmail.com