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MTN Uganda Foundation and the official partners of the MTN Kampala Marathon in conjunction with the Ministry of health and UNFPA have officially today handed over a newly refurbished maternity ward inclusive of a state-of-the-art operating theatre at the Kalangala HC IV in a concerted effort to curb the raising maternal and child mortality rates in the region.

The MTN Kampala marathon that is run every year, for the last sixteen years has supported various causes ranging from providing safe water to water stressed areas in Uganda to providing sanitation facilities in schools among many interventions.

In the last three years however, maternal and child health have headlined the MTN Kampala Marathon with all the proceeds going towards complementing the government of Uganda’s efforts towards maternal health

This project is underpinned by MTN’s commitment to creating shared value and improving the lives of the people living in the communities within which it operates.

In a bid to uphold its commitment of investing in Uganda’s health sector, MTN Uganda aims to achieve the SDG 3 which focuses on health and well-being of people in communities. A total sum of Ugx.216 million was injected in the refurbishing and equipping of the maternity ward and the operating theater.

Kalangala district has a total of 84 islands and a continually changing population. The upgrading of the health center will aid in providing improved services to the numerous people in the region.

The auspicious occasion to hand over the newly refurbished maternity ward and operating theater was graced by district officials, the Ministry of Health and implementing partners such as UNFPA and Reproductive Health Uganda.

In his remarks to officiate the handover ceremony, Mr. Patrick Tusiime the Commercial Head central from MTN Uganda, relayed that this newly refurbished maternity ward and operating theater will give mothers and their children a safe and advanced medical facility where they can receive all round care.

“We believe that with the refurbishments made and the new equipment acquired at this facility will contribute to the periodic antennal visits made by pregnant women and also provide a safe environment for mothers whiling giving birth, this will help curb any anticipated issues in time and offer safe delivery for birth mother and child. Mr. Tusiime

The newly refurbished and equipped maternity ward plus operating theater in the Kalangala HC IV will enable the provision of quality health services that will aid the preservation of maternal-child health and general restoration of lives in the region.

The guest of Honor Mr. Richard Mugahi, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Reproductive and infant Health from Ministry of Health raved about MTN Uganda’s generosity in prioritizing maternal health and working to better communities by providing basic needs like access to better healthcare.

“We applaud MTN Uganda for their continued effort in supporting government initiatives that oversee the reduction of the soaring maternal and child mortality rate. We have seen a slight decline over the last 2 years and it is imperative that we stay the plans put in place to curb it.” He said

Mr. Mugahi retreated that the decline in mortality rates has reduced by 3.21% from last year and as government they commend institutions that have contributed to this decline such as MTN but urges the communities and health centers to remain vigilant in the struggle to end maternal and child mortality.

The operating theater and maternity ward were refurbished and equipped with machines such as the ultra sound, operating theater lights, oxygen concentrators, patient monitor for the theater, sterilizer, baby warmers and more. All these will be crucial in aiding safe delivery of babies and catering to patients during surgical procedures.

One of the biggest beneficiaries is the Kawempe National Referral hospital that garnered support in the amount of UGX 400 million which set up a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit to collectively accommodate newborns.

MTN Uganda in realizing its commitment to support government and community initiatives embarked on implementing a 1.3 billion project called “Improving Maternal and Newborn Health outcomes”. This project has improved and enhanced the functionality of five health facilities which include Muyembe HC IV in Bulambuli district, Pakwach HC IV in Pakwach district, Karugutu HC IV in Ntoroko district and finally the newly commissioned facility in Kalangala district.

Kamwokya 1 Village B Women Tailoring group, a village savings group comprising of wives of policemen stationed at Kira Road police barracks has realized growth in their collective community business following a boost from the MTN Uganda staff community empowerment initiative. 

Launched in 2015, the tailoring group was created as a way for the women to raise their household incomes and complement to their husband’s earnings so as to support their family livelihood. The group currently caters to over 15 households in the community through tailoring and selling different clothing apparel including school uniforms, bags and casual wear.

Despite the zeal of the women to make money, as most businesses, during the country wide lockdown caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the group faced dire challenges as their main source of business was schools that had been closed for over a year leaving them without a readily available market for their goods. In response, the group decided to diversify their business and expand their product portfolio with the inclusion of new products such as making liquid soap and body oil but none the less, they were not able to meet their financial targets.

As the lockdown eased, the group found that it required to recapitalize the business for growth in recovery of the two-year lock down period when the business was not performing. MTN Uganda through a recommendation from KCCA’s directorate Gender and Community services provided UGX 8 million to the group in June this year under the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign to help quicken the recovery.

With this support, the group purchased equipment to boost production in line with the increased demand for school apparel after the lockdown. In a period of just two months, the group has reported increase in production of school sweaters from 42 to 240 per month.

“With the MTN Uganda contribution, our business has really experienced quick and heightened profit turnover. We have been able to buy a new knitting machine, 3 sacks of thread and industrial sewing machines that have now spontaneously increased our production volumes” said Lillian Cheptoyek the group Chairperson. “

With increased production to match their market demand, revenues have improved, attracting more women in the community to join the business venture as a source of income. With growth the group has high hopes for the future.

“As the business grows, we are in the process of opening up a new training section to carter for newly registered members, with the long-term plan of buying land and setting up a permanent structure that will house more policemen’s wives beyond just Kira Road police station.”

Bryan Mbasa, senior manager at MTN Uganda Foundation said they are excited that the campaign has created a positive impact on the communities in which the company operates.

 “We consider sustainability a very key part of our initiatives both as Corporate Social Responsibility and as a business in general,” he said, adding that they look forward to reaching out to more communities for skilling, work readiness, and innovation culture for start-up and Small and Medium Enterprises.

Other groups that received MTN support during the campaign include; the Tesobar deaf carpentry group in Lira, the Masaka Diocese Youth, the Jinja-based Tabulera Kawuma deaf carpentry, the disabled association of Fort Portal, the Bunusya Abarema Twetungure association in Mbarara, the glorious widows of Makindye, Focus for Life Development Link in Kawempe, Missionaries of the poor in Rubaga and the Nakawa Market Vendors association.

The MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care is an annual MTN staff volunteerism campaign observed by all MTN employees across all its markets to make a difference in the lives of the communities within which they work.  The campaign that dates back to 2007 is always executed within the first 21 days of June every year.  

 

MTN Uganda is embracing renewable energy with the connection of all its network sites to the hydroelectric grid.

The company has partnered with Ubuntu Towers Uganda and American Tower Company (ATC) to connect 250 network sites countrywide to the hydroelectric grid this year in a bid to minimize the use of fossil fuel in its operations and help achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

This is in line with its environmental, social, and governance principles premised on the belief that the company’s growth and success should not come at the expense of the planet. MTN Uganda has approximately 3,000 network sites countrywide.

MTN Uganda’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Bugembe said MTN Uganda has set a science-based target to achieve a 47% average reduction in absolute emissions which stands for tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2030.  

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources while scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company.  Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions in a company’s value chain.

“Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity in recent times and MTN Uganda has a big part to play in fighting this global crisis,” Bugembe said.

Bugembe said MTN Uganda’s bold step provides the best opportunity to implement its vision of creating shared value for all the stakeholders through responsible economic, environmental, and social practices.

He said added that the company’s current and future investment in infrastructure modernizations has also emphasized enhancing efficiency and aligning with the ESG goals on environmental sustainability.

According to the UN, the earth expects to record a sharp increase in temperatures past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries agreed.

 In the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries committed to limiting the global average temperature rise to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5°C.

Uganda has already experienced various climate change-related hazards including drought and the recent flash flooding in Mbale that left at least 30 people dead and 5,600 others displaced.

MTN Uganda has also initiated various projects to promote sustainable growth and development including a 50 hectares of forest restoration in Ogera Hills Central Forest Reserve in Serere district and a 20 hectares forest restoration in Kyewaga Central Forest Reserve in Entebbe among others.

MTN Uganda has also partnered with Fenix International to develop an ultra-affordable Pay As You Go energy solution to deliver safe lighting, phone charging, and more to those living off-grid across the country.

 

MTN Uganda Foundation in partnership with Comprehensive Rehabilitation services (CoRSU) will sponsor an additional 50 children with disabilities for corrective surgery besides the 80 that were sponsored in 2019.

The MTN-CoRSU Disability partnership was initiated in 2019 with the aim of improving the quality of life of vulnerable children and youth living with disabilities in Uganda especially those that would not easily access or afford the services.

CoRSU is a private local NGO located in Kisubi, founded in 2006 with a mandate to prevent disability and to restore ability for children through the provision of quality Orthopedic and Plastic surgery, assistive devices, therapy and Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR).

According to UNICEF , children and youth living with disabilities were pointed out as one of the most excluded and marginalized groups in the world. Most of the disabilities were attributed to limited access to health care, hazardous living conditions, malnutrition and poor hygiene. This has led to the death toll of about 80% of children living with disabilities.

It is upon this premise that MTN Uganda Foundation partnered with CoRSU to intervene with the formulation of the “Improving the quality of life for children with disabilities in Uganda” project. The project has since provided mobilization services to bring together children with disabilities from hard-to-reach regions of Uganda like Karamoja region, Budduda region and Kalangala.

The 1st phase of the program cost UGX 184 million to provide corrective surgery for 80 children. This second phase will also be costing the same amount of UGX 184 million for 50 children to give them a more comprehensive treatment package that can allow up to two surgeries per child.

The project supports the mobilization of children and youth from the hard-to-reach regions in Uganda and selects patients who are financially unable to afford this treatment. They are then transported to CoRSU hospital where they receive extensive care from CoRSU specialists in form of quality therapies, corrective surgeries, inpatient hospital care and medical follow ups until they are in good health for discharge

Speaking at the launch event in Kisubi, the MTN Senior Manager for the MTN foundation, Brayan Mbasa Said “A child’s formative years are very crucial and with a disability they are faced with numerous challenges which is why we found it prudent to step in and give them a life changing opportunity that can be provided by modern medicine.”

“Children are truly the future, and at MTN we take that to heart and that’s why investing in preserving and bettering these children’s lives is a major priority in our foundation.” he added.

The Launch event comprised a sports gala that was a fun affair activity that aimed at promoting interaction, sports entertainment for the children at CoRsu.

The guest of Honor, Minster for Gender and Nudipu Mrs. Mary K Okurut while addressing the public at the CoRSU sports gala highly commended MTN for its efforts in supporting the government of Uganda in extending health services to the disabled.

“Companies like MTN have gone a long way in supporting various health initiatives to those in need and those who have no or limited access to medical care, we salute you MTN and pray that other companies can emulate your generosity.”

MTN Uganda under its purpose and ambition 2025 is committed to attaining the advancement of the United Nations SDG 3 whose goal is to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all at all ages. These health prompting activities have been attained through MTN’s acceleration of implementation through partnerships.

 

 

In line with its vision of delivering a bold digital world to everyone, MTN Uganda has today introduced the MTN WakaNet Pocket MiFi to offer affordable internet connectivity to more of its customers.

The portable pocket size 4G WakaNet MiFi supports up to 10 devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, e-book readers, portable gaming devices, mp3 players, and many more internet-enabled devices.

The portable WakaNet MiFi is affordably priced at Ushs. 75,000/- and comes with 15GB of free data. Its top-up data bundles start from as low as 10,000/- for 3GB. All WakaNet Pocket MiFi top-up bundles are also Freedom bundles. This means they do not expire – a factor that is set to encourage more internet usage, based on the affordability and agile functionality of the MiFi and its bundles.

Talking about the MTN WakaNet Pocket MiFi, Somdev Sen, the MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer said that (this) device guarantees to offer functionality, convenience and affordability- all in one.

“With this pocket size 4G WakaNet MiFi, our customers can now enjoy MTN’s best-in-class internet wherever they are, be it school, home, and even on the go. This offer comes at a time when more people are working and studying remotely, making the WakaNet Pocket MiFi a great connectivity accessory since it can be easily carried around due to its size,” Somdev said.

Somdev further said that as a brand that is keen on leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, MTN is committed to championing internet accessibility for all through such innovations that offer affordability and functionality to its customers.

The WakaNet Pocket MiFi is the latest addition to MTN’s WakaNet products. MTN WakaNet is a data solution from MTN that offers affordable, fast and reliable customized connectivity. MTN WakaNet currently has three offers namely, WakaNet Pro (high-speed fiber to the home and business Internet), WakaNet Max (WiFi router), and now, the portable and mobile WakaNet Pocket MiFi.

The MTN WakaNet Pocket MiFi is available at all MTN Service Centres across the country at only Ushs 75,000/- and comes with 15GB of free data, which does not expire. To top-up, customers can simply go to the MyMTN app or dial *165*64# to purchase affordable data that does not expire.

MTN WakaNet Pocket MiFi data bundles

Bundle Volume Bundle Price
3GB 10,000
5GB 15,000
12GB 30,000
25GB 55,000
45GB 85,000

 

Note:

  1. To top-up WakaNet bundles, visit MyMTN (select Buy, then WakaNet) or dial *165*64#
  2. MTN WakaNet bundles are Freedom bundles. They do not expire.

 

 

As the biggest supporter of Uganda’s music, MTN Uganda yesterday announced its support for several Ugandan artistes’ music concerts starting this month until early next year. 

At a press conference held at the MTN Headquarters in Kampala, the company hosted the six artistes who are set to benefit from MTN’s sponsorship package. The artistes are; Spice Diana, Sheebah Karungi, Fik Fameica, Gravity, Ray G, and Levixone.

This season of concerts is set to excite Ugandan music fans, following the reopening of the entertainment scene after a two-year lockdown. MTN Uganda, which has over the past years supported Ugandan music and it’s our pride to be “the number one supporters of Uganda music,” said Somdev Sen, MTN Uganda’s Chief Marketing Officer.

“We all know that music is one of the biggest passion points in Uganda and as a country, Uganda is blessed with a pool of very talented artistes who make world-class music. We as MTN, are therefore happy to provide a platform which promotes Ugandan music for both the artistes and the fans,” Somdev said.

As part of the sponsorship package offered to the artistes, MTN is subsidizing the concert fees for fans who pay for their concert tickets using MTN MoMo, at the entrance.  To pay for tickets using MoMo, customers simply dial *165*98# or go to the MyMTN app, then select MTN Events and follow the prompts. The total sum of the discounted amount goes to the artiste. For more detail, follow the MTN Uganda social media pages and the hashtag #supportingugmusic and participate in the various 

challenges to win tickets for you and your friends to watch your favorite artistes live in concert starting this weekend. Below are the artistes and their scheduled concert dates

No. Artistes Region Date
1 Ray G South Western – Mbarara Sat 20th August
2 Fik Fameica Central -Kampala Fri 26th August
3 Gravity Central -Kampala Sat 1st October
4 Levixone Central Sat 26th November
5 Spice Diana Central- Kampala Fri 13th January 2022
6 Sheebah Central -Kampala Fri 9th December

 

 

The Kamwenge district Woman MP, Sylvia Bahairera has described the ongoing MTN-sponsored Tooro Kingdom bicycle race competitions as a big achievement for the people of Kamwenge and Tooro Kingdom at large. She said this during the Kamwenge bicycle race that was held yesterday, attracting hundreds of people who poured onto the streets of Kamwenge town to witness the exciting bicycle racing.

By 8 am hundreds of cyclists had assembled at Rugonjo trading center in Kibale county ready to participate in the 20KM race that ended in Kamwenge town.

While presiding over the event, Bahairera said that: “The bicycle race is a very big achievement for both Kamwenge and Tooro kingdom. In some cases, we have only been hearing that different activities are taking place in Fort Portal city but I am happy that today the people of Kamwenge have also benefited, ” Bahairera said shortly before handing over cash prizes to the 10 winners.

The winners in the ordinary bicycle race were; Peter Wabulo, Tumusiime Zadok, Steven Tumuhimbise, Emmanuel Tumukwasize and Emmanuel Bizimana while the sports bike category winners were; Martin Ampaire, Herbert Tumwebaze, Joseph Mugisa, Gwon Ahimbisibwe and Ivan Murungi.

Julius Mwesige who participated in the 20KMs race described the race as massive.

“I feel happy even though I haven’t won. I am proud that I participated and I want to thank MTN and Tooro kingdom officials for the good partnership. Some of the people are seeing the bicycle race for the first time,” he said.

Prof. Denis Mukama Namara the Tooro kingdom education minister said that the kingdom had achieved a lot through the partnership with MTN.

“As a kingdom our people have benefited a lot from MTN and we are grateful for their support, ” Namara said.

Bunyangabu edition

On Friday last week, Hundreds of people lined up along the Kasese-Fort Portal highway in Bunyangabu district to watch the Bunyangabu leg of the exciting MTN-Tooro Kingdom bicycle races.

Over 30 cyclists participated in the event and the winners received cash prizes.

Winners in the manual bikes were; Friday George, Tobios Muganzi, David Sunday, Posiano Basaija, and Patrick Kyalingonza while the Sports bikes category winners were; Peter Mugisa, Abdul Murungi, Alex Sabiiti, Micheal Mugisa, and Francis Bwekale.

The Tooro kingdom County chief for Bunyangabu, Kabuuzi Earnest who presided over the event on behalf of the kingdom said that the bicycle race was the first of its kind in Bunyangabu.

“I need to thank MTN for partnering with Tooro kingdom and ensuring that the bicycle races take place am happy that many people have embraced the sport including youths and elderly,” Kabuuzi said.

Nyaika Achebe the coordinator for Bunyangabu district said that they had been overwhelmed by the high turn-up of people.

Achebe said that all the five winners in the different categories will represent Bunyangabu county at the grand finale in Fort Portal on 4th of September where the Omukama of Tooro Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru is expected to be the chief guest

 

Over 100 youth have been trained in how to use monitoring and evaluation tools to track business goals under the MTN youth Skilling program.

The MTN youth skilling program is a partnership between MTN Foundation Uganda and Ubinufu systems aimed at inspiring and empowering youth with the goal of creating practical ICT driven solutions to challenges in society.

The program, which kicked off in December 2020 targeted 100 beneficiaries from university graduates, small and medium enterprises and young innovators in a bid to prepare them for a market where they can create and sustain jobs.

This year, the program has offered online training workshops for the youth focused on how to successful run a business focused on the day-to-day operations.

In the recently held a session, Nelson Munyanda the Manager of MTN Foundation tabled the use of monitoring and evaluation in one’s business or tasks.

Munyanda detailed the methodology used in evaluating projects and static businesses. He observed that for the development of business plans and proposals, goal objectives must be set and there must be checks and balances. 

Mr. Munyanda went on to discuss the importance of setting a criteria for M&E that includes measures of effectiveness, relevance, impact, coordination and cohesion. He added that one must be able to map their businesses stakeholders and know how to address their different concerns n order to have business success.

He added that the M&E comprises of a logical framework that outlines the objectives, inputs, outputs, and outcomes of the intended project and the indicators that can be used to measure all these. Also, a baseline study should be undertaken to ascertain the level of the business or project with mid-term and endline evaluations.

These checks and balances are aspects of monitoring and evaluation that help to address the progress of the project and how to ensure the sustainability of projects or businesses.

“Every job, activity, business, and project have an aspect of Monitoring and evaluation (M&E), this is seen at the planning stage, implementation stage, and close out of a project. One must have an M & E framework which will help evaluate their goals and targets of their work to achieve the desired success” said Mr.Munyanda.

As he ended his discussion, he concluded by reminding the listeners that feedback is a very important aspect in M&E and tasked them to ensure tools such as informal conversations, observations and surveys are put in place to collect this reliable feedback.

This online training session had over -100 youth participants who were listening in and participating with a number of raised questions to the moderator who answered and guided them with answers and research topics.

MTN Uganda foundation realizes the deep challenge of the unemployment crisis in Uganda and has taken up such interventions to extend knowledge and skilling to the youth so they can take strides in improving their businesses or creating jobs that will serve them and their communities to deter the increasing unemployment rates.

Through these upskilling training sessions, MTN Uganda is reverberating its commitment to fostering shared value through supporting the government in advancing the attainment of the UN SDG set goals. 

 

In an effort to optimize the growth potential of the digital economy and social economic transformation of Uganda, MTN Mobile Money Uganda and Outbox, an innovation Hub hatched a plan to work together.

With a vision to improve the innovation ecosystem in the country, the two institutions launched another edition of the famous MTN Momo Hackathon, entailing a new exciting challenge that is calling for entrepreneurs, software developers, and innovators to participate in developing payment solutions hosted on the MTN Mobile Money platform.

Developers will compete to create innovative applications for the markets in which they are registered, which can process financial transactions with added capabilities that go beyond processing payments and drive both financial inclusion and literacy.

Speaking at the launch on Friday last week, Stephen Mutana, the Chief Regulatory, and Administration officer at MTN Mobile Money services Uganda Ltd, said that MTN is ready to harness the immense potential and talents young innovators have by providing the vital connections they need so as to realize their ideas and bring them to life.

In addition, MTN Uganda will give third parties access to its mobile money programming interface to enable them to develop modern tech solutions without facing the cost of building and maintaining a new API. This implies that the applicants will have an opportunity to leverage the available technological infrastructure in place.

“We know that the youth in Uganda have immense potential and talent but sometimes lack the vital connection to bring their ideas and dreams to life. At MTN Uganda, we are happy to provide that vital connection and infrastructure,” Mutana said, while launching the MTN MoMo Hackathon 2022.

Mutana also approached the Hackathon challenge by using childhood analogies to bring to life the idea of development and continuous discovery of systems that have improved livelihoods in both the social and economic areas of today’s world like sending and receiving money on the Mobile Money platform that has since evolved into an international payment platform, among many other attributes.

“Currently, the world has taken a complete turn to appreciate the convenience of cashless transactions like e-payments that help pay for goods and services directly from their MTN Money accounts,” Mutana said. 

Richard Zulu, the team leader at Outbox Innovation hub that grooms youths in technology said that the team is delighted in MTN’s continuous support for the youth looking for opportunities to explore their abilities in software development and technological innovations.

The lucky winners of this new challenge will walk away with the first prize of USD 5,000, the second prize will be USD 3,000 and the third prize is USD 2,000. 

These packages will advance their innovations and support them in attaining higher goals in software development. 

The MoMo API Hackathon will enable developers based in Ghana, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda, eSwatini, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea Conakry, Zambia and Benin to offer financial and transactional applications innovations using the MTN mobile money (MoMo) API platform.

To register, visit https://www.mtn.co.ug/hackathon/ and stand a chance to participate in the MoMo Hackathon 2022.

MTN Uganda customers can now use their MTN Senkyu loyalty points to get insurance from aYo, in the form of life or hospital cover. 

aYo provides fast, convenient, easy-to-use hospital and life cover directly to a user’s mobile phone, and over the last 5 years has enrolled 16 million customers across the African markets that it is active in. 

Through the new addition to the already successful Senkyu loyalty program, MTN is enabling even more customers to access insurance for the first time.

By subscribing to aYo insurance, using MTN Senkyu, customers will have peace of mind that in the event of an accident, aYo will help them take care of their hospital bills and in the event of your passing away, aYo will help support their family financially. 

While announcing the new development, Susan Kayemba, the MTN Uganda Senior Manager, Digital Services, said that this innovation underscores MTN’s commitment to providing its customers with the benefits of a modern connected life.

“Insurance is a key asset and the very essence of life, yet many people still grapple with accessing basic insurance. As MTN, this is our way of further enriching our MTN Senkyu offering to our loyal customers by enabling them to secure aYo cover through their MTN Senkyu points, making access to insurance more available. We believe many customers will find great value in this service.” said Somdev.

To access this service, customers can simply *141# and select aYo to subscribe to this option. Once a customer signs up for aYo through Senkyu, 75 points will be deducted from their wallet every month for 6 months. During this time, they will be provided with cover equivalent to UGX 90,000 worth of aYo MyLife Cover – & UGX 120,000 worth of aYo MyHospital Cover that caters for accidents. 

Allan Lwanga, the CEO of aYo Uganda, said insurance cover is a powerful driver of financial inclusion, as it provides a social safety net that helps ordinary Ugandans recover from unexpected crises.

“We’ve always believed that insurance should be accessible to everyone in Uganda and easy to use. By allowing users to buy aYo cover using Senkyu, we’ll be able to reach even more people at a time when growing numbers of Ugandan consumers are purchasing health cover to protect themselves and their families in the event of hospitalization or loss of life,” said Lwanga.

While addressing the press at the event, Solomon Rubondo, an ex-official of the Insurance Brokers Association of Uganda noted that aYo and MTN had demystified the concept of insurance.

“I congratulate MTN and aYo for addressing the intangibility of insurance, thereby making it more accessible to more people who were previously excluded. Let’s see more of these innovations in insurance. Let us continue domesticating insurance.

Bernard Obera, Director of Supervision at the Insurance Regulatory Authority lauded the move by MTN and aYo. He urged insurers to embrace innovations to extend insurance services to more people.

How aYo Senkyu works:

Under the aYo section on the MTN Senkyu menu, customers can do the following:

Eligible customers can claim their insurance cover by dialing aYo 296# USSD, and upon verification their pay-out is paid into their MTN MoMo account.

Customers earn points for using MTN and MTN MoMo. Customers also receive bonus points on their birthday and on the anniversary of when they joined MTN. The points earned can be used to get aYo insurance, Minutes, MBs, SMS or to pay for goods and services with MTN MoMoPay. Points expire if the customer doesn’t do any redemption within 90 days. To register and use MTN Senkyu a customer dials *141# or uses the MyMTN App