It was an evening wrapped up in the festive mood as several MTN Rwanda clients won early Christmas gifts at a corporate gala dinner held in honour of the telco’s corporate customers on Thursday.

The gifts dished out to the lucky winners at the colourful event at the Kigali Serena Hotel ranged from vouchers to top local destinations, including two-night getaways at luxury hotels and national park safaris, to flagship smartphones, smart watches and six months of high-speed home internet packages.

Hosted by local comedian Arthur Nkusi and Isabelle Masozera, the event attracted top executives from the corporate world, and was graced by ICT and Innovation minister Paula Ingabire, Rwanda Development Board chief executive Clare Akamanzi, MTN Rwanda Board chair Faustin Mbundi, as well as MTN Rwanda chief executive Mapula Bodibe.

It was an evening immersed in splendour, elegance and soothing music as guests connected and dined and wined together at an occasion that seemed to set the stage for MTN Rwanda’s silver jubilee celebrations due next year.

"Thank you for betting on Rwanda,” Minister Ingabire said, referring to MTN’s 24 years of operations in the country. She said the company had over the years not only demonstrated that it believed in Rwanda’s digitisation journey but also in the country’s transformation vision and ambition to become a knowledge-based economy.

Mbundu, the MTN Board chair, said the occasion was an opportunity to appreciate their partners and customers as well as the government for continued support.

"We thank the Government of Rwanda for creating a conducive business environment and revising the Broadband Policy that will enable us to provide innovative solutions for all Rwandans,” he said.

MTN Rwanda chief executive Mapula Bodibe also paid tribute to their partners, customers, and franchisees.

She said the company serves more than 300 corporate clients in the country, adding that more than 220 businesses were represented at the event.

"MTN Rwanda would not be where it is now without your support,” she said.

MTN covers 98 per cent of the country, she said. The multinational telco officially set up shop in Rwanda as an exclusive GSM network providing voice and SMS services in 1998, three years after its establishment in South Africa.

It has since grown to a seven million subscriber base in the country.

The MTN Rwanda chief executive hinted at the challenges faced in 2022, owing in large part to global supply chain disruptions, inflation, among others, adding, however, that they had managed to withstand the shocks nonetheless.

"We are here to celebrate...the resilience and fortitude we have shown collectively are commendable,” she said. "We thank our partners as we celebrate 24 years of operation (in Rwanda).”

Bodibe particularly pointed out that the growth of MTN’s Mobile Money portfolio was enabled by a favourable regulatory framework.

"We received communication from MTN Group that MTN Rwanda is the leading fintech operation in the whole of MTN Group today...ahead of MTN Nigeria, MTN Ghana, and MTN Uganda.

"We are cognisant that this would not be possible without such an enabling regulatory policy and environment. We thank the government and relevant ministries for innovation and leadership in spearheading the transformation,” she said.

She also noted that MTN Rwanda recently launched a 'device financing programme’ which they hope will further accelerate smartphone penetration and empower Rwandan communities.

"We look forward to continuing working with our partners, growing their business as well as growing our business,” she said.

Bodibe said the revised broadband policy will enable MTN Rwanda to offer a 4G network in the country.

"4G in Rwanda means digitisation and we are able to propel businesses beyond current growth (rates). We are very proud to go with our partners together to grow our communities and our industry,” she said.

MTN officials believe the new policy will allow them to not only offer 4G services directly but also empower them with capabilities and agility to be more innovative and reposition themselves to eventually upgrade to 5G network rollout.

Didas Ndoli, General Manager, Enterprise Business, MTN Rwanda, told the guests: "There is no better time than this to express our gratitude and say thank you for your valuable support.

"Today, as a business, we stand firm and commit to you that we can and we will get along with your continued partnership.”

Besides the prizes that went to the lucky winners of random draws, all guests also received gifts from MTN Rwanda.