Rwandan trade organisation the Private Sector Federation (PSF) partnered with the local unit of MTN to jointly promote the use of mobile money services in the country.

The organisation, which represents small- and medium-sized businesses in the nation, will promote cashless payments at its forthcoming Expo industry event. It will also work with the operator on education programmes for business owners and provide advisory services on adopting cashless solutions.

In a statement, PSF said it hoped the measure would promote “digital user-friendly solutions” and ultimately help accelerate business in Rwanda. It added the country’s digital economy could help support a range of industrial areas including health, agriculture, food processing, tax and transport.

Commenting on the move to a digital economy, MTN Rwanda CEO Bart Hofker (pictured, right) said: “The key to success is the adoption of mobile money as an alternative to cash by small- and medium-sized businesses.”

MTN Rwanda is battling with Airtel to be the largest mobile operator in the country, with GSMA Intelligence figures for Q1 showing both had around 5 million connections at the close of the period.