Bboxx, a next generation utility, and the government of Togo, represented by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation, have announced the first-ever MoU to sell smartphones in Togo on a “Pay-As-You-Go” basis
Signed in the Togolese capital, Lomé, between Honourable Minister Cina Lawson and Bboxx managing director of the Capital Division, Laurent Van Houcke, the MoU is expected to improve digital inclusion and the delivery of digital public services through deployment of smartphones in Togo.
The programme will follow three phases with the rollout of handsets expected in 2022, as part of the Togo Smartphone initiative.
The phase one will focus on delivering sophisticated market research, capturing important insights regarding customer preferences and requirements, including data plans and hardware. The phase two will see smartphones made available, on salary deduction or a “Pay-As-You-Go” basis, to civil servants and public sector workers to incentivise the transition to digital public service delivery. The phase three will see smartphones made available to the Togolese public via affordable financing options like “Pay-As-You-Go.”
The MoU follows the government of Togo’s prioritisation of making the digital economy a lever to accelerate development of priority sectors. A new Strategy ‘Togo Digital 2025’ is currently being implemented to drive these ambitions further.
The announcement further complements the government of Togo’s emphasis on digital public service delivery, including the Novissi digital cash transfer programme which has received global acclaim. Novissi’s success is enabled by the rapid take up of mobile services in Togo, which has more than tripled in recent years, alongside an exponential growth in internet penetration.
Lawson commented, “Increasing adoption of high-quality smartphones is paramount for reaching the goals we have set for Togolese financial inclusion and delivery of digital services to the public. We also believe they have an important role to play in increasing the productivity of our public sector workers, who have delivered so much even through the recent trials of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Bboxx CEO, Mansoor Hamayun, commented, “The MoU signals our commitment to transform lives and unlock potential and we are excited to leverage our scalable technology and decentralised network to help the Togolese government accelerate access to the digital economy.”
