The market for device financing of smartphones is now spreading across Africa. Traction began first in markets like South Africa and Kenya, and recently this trend has begun to expand out across the rest of the continent. Partnering with BYG’s long-term client, Trustonic, BYG is helping to introduce the Trustonic device locking solution, making big strides in the region. In Ethiopia, device financing is still a relatively new phenomenon, despite the fact that the economy is one of Africa’s largest. The device locking platform offered by Trustonic, coined the ‘Telecoms Platform’, is a Google authorized device policy control system that is able to lock different types of Android devices from various OEMs. The Trustonic telecoms platform is a tool that mobile network operators, financial institutions, and retailers can use to lock devices when providing devices on credit. This tool throttles usage prompts them to make their payments, and helps to protect against fraud and theft. As an authorized partner of Trustonic, BYG is in a unique position to partner with companies in Africa who are interested in implementing device financing technology for smartphones.
In Ethiopia, the largest Mobile Network Operator (MNO) is Ethio Telecom. Ethio Telecom has millions of subscribers, yet only 60% of Ethio Telecom’s users have access to smartphones. Understanding the optimal position that Ethio Telecom is in to provide device financing to millions of users across Ethiopia, BYG attempted to initiate an actionable connection with them. However, establishing this beachhead and following through towards an agreement was not an easy process.
The first challenge that the team at BYG Africa ran into when connecting with Ethio Telecom was navigating the specific company culture within this largeMNO. The challenge that Ethio Telecom were trying to solve; how to enable device financing were familiar, but their preferences and priorities were distinct. To address this, our BYG team swiftly made a connection with an exceptional local technology reseller partner in Ethiopia; Vestek, who already had an established working relationship with the MNO. Through making this local connection, BYG mobile was able to anchor its legitimacy within the Ethiopian market. This relationship proved to be pivotal as soon after making this connection, BYG was able to connect with Ethio Telecom and provide them with demonstrations of the uniqueness of the Trustonic telecoms platform.
The efforts from the BYG Africa team to establish a relationship with Ethio Telecom did not stop with connecting with a local partner. After making an introduction with Ethio Telecom, the team made frequent visits to Addis Ababa, where the telco was headquartered, to spend time meeting with the individuals they were working with. The BYG Africa team assimilated to Ethio Telecoms cultural expectations, and orchestrated important connections between senior-most leadership and the folks in charge of implementation within the company. This proved to be instrumental when addressing project deliverables, negotiating the contract and ensuring the subsequent implementation proceeded smoothly.
After establishing a working relationship with Ethio Telecom, there remained the challenges of adapting to the regulations and timelines that the company required. As Ethio Telecom is a large state enterprise, there are different departments that need to coordinate with each other for testing and rolling out devices. Additionally, as the largest telecom in Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom which whom so many of the citizenry depended on for services, had reservations about the security of their customer data. To ensure the company data security was not a risk, the BYG Africa team took time to do a deep dive into how customer information would not be at risk during this work relationship and how exactly it would be protected. The team was also able to adapt to the prolonged timelines and remedied their traditional approaches to match the company culture.
With the efforts of the BYG team in Africa, Ethio Telecom has signed on with BYG and plans to see a rollout of device financing in the 3rd quarter of 2025. By partnering with BYG, the pay-as-you-go model will be deployed across the country, providing smartphone financing to millions of Ethiopians. Working with Ethio Telecom is just the beginning for BYG in Africa. There remain many unpenetrated markets across Africa with populations that lack access to smartphones. While many individuals across the West have had smartphones from a young age, this is not the same in Africa. The team at BYG Africa is motivated daily by the prospect of providing millions of people with the blissful, unforgettable moments of having a smartphone for the very first time.
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