KIGALI - Tigo, the new national telecom operator with its parent company based in Luxembourg, has made a re-commitment to commercially launch operations in Rwanda by the end of this year.

Tigo Rwanda’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alex Kamara, told The New Times in an exclusive interview, last week that the telecom company which rolled out an investment package of about Rwf50 billion for its operations in Rwanda, is still committed to what was submitted during the negotiation for the licence last year.

The company last year beat numerous telecom giants, which included Zain, to win the license to operate as Rwanda’s Third National Operator (TNO) after Rwandatel and MTN Rwanda.

"I can’t tell you the exact time but what I can say is that we have been working extremely hard ever since we arrived. We are going to launch before the end of this year; that is our goal,” Kamara said.

”There is no deviation from the expectations that were set. Our strategies are focused on the service delivery and what we intend to bring.

What I can tell you so far is that the whole project has cost in excess of $100 million,” he added.

Tigo is a brand of Millicom International Cellular, a multi-national telecommunications company with operations in 13 countries including 3 in Central America, 3 in South America and 7 in Africa. As a brand in Africa, Tigo has been operational since 2006.

Speaking from his Nyarutarama office, Kamara said that Tigo’s interest in the Rwandan telecom market was based on the fact that the company has an interest in emerging markets, focusing on a business model that is designed to provide products and services where penetration rates are low.

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