On December 15, 2023, Lumitel (Viettel Burundi) held a ceremony to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the company's establishment (December 19, 2013 - December 19, 2023). At the time Viettel received its investment license in Burundi, most of the people here, especially those living in rural areas and remote border areas, still did not have access to telecommunications and the Internet.
Starting trial sales at the end of March 2015, after only 4 months, Lumitel network has reached 1 million subscribers, accounting for 10% of the population of this country. Lumitel is one of the networks with the highest subscriber growth rate in the markets Viettel has invested in. This is truly a miracle when looking at that number on the scale of the Burundi market - an African country with just over 10 million people and one of the lowest GDPs in the world.
Lumitel representative said that after only 2 years, Lumitel's number of subscribers has surpassed the 2 largest networks in Burundi, which have been operating in this country for 10 years. Lumitel is the latest telecommunications network to enter the Burundi market, but has quickly risen to the top and pioneered the mission of popularizing telecommunications services to the people of Burundi. Mobile services were previously only for high-income people, but thanks to Lumitel breaking the monopoly, providing high-quality services at reasonable prices, telecommunications services have now been popularized to all people here.
From the very beginning, Lumitel's technical staff did not hesitate to work hard and made tireless efforts to build a network infrastructure across Burundi at a rapid pace. In just over a year, 400 technical staff from Vietnam completed the construction of the largest infrastructure in Burundi, nearly twice as large as the second largest network operator in the country.
Not only helping to change the face of Burundi's telecommunications industry, Lumitel also actively contributes to the country's economic development. Every year, Lumitel contributes an average of 4% to the country's GDP, and is always in the top of the businesses that contribute the most to the budget of Burundi.
In addition to traditional telecommunications services, Lumitel has expanded its business to many new services in the fields of ICT, digital television, and digital content. Specifically, Lumitel has deployed the first LumiLOTO electronic lottery service in Burundi, promoted LumiTV business as well as ICT services such as SMSBrandName, IPCC, ServerCloud server booking, etc.
In the near future, Lumitel plans to deploy 5G technology for the first time in Burundi, as well as deploy many new services such as LumiSOKO e-commerce platform, mobile taxi calling application, and many other new and useful services. Lumitel's long-term orientation is to become the leading digital service provider in Burundi with the best network, diverse and useful services, dedicated customer care and maximum contribution to the development of Burundi.
Speaking at the event, Ms. Léocadie Ndacayisaba, Minister of Communications, Information Technology and Multimedia of Burundi, said: "Over the past 10 years, Lumitel's systematic and effective investment has played an important role in the positive development of the telecommunications and information sector in Burundi. This growth has had a strong impact on Burundi's position on the global information and telecommunications map, contributing to the transformation of our economy, stimulating trade and improving the income of our compatriots."
"With 10 years of existence, Lumitel has created competition in the market by reducing telecommunications prices and promoting wider access to quality services at affordable prices. Currently, Lumitel is still a pioneer and dominant company in applying advanced technologies such as 4G, high-speed Internet, IT applications and digital transformation. This approach has encouraged other operators to develop to maintain competitiveness," said Ms. Mme Léocadie Ndacayisaba.
Mr. Nguyen Huy Tan, General Director of Lumitel said: “Exactly 10 years ago, on December 19, 2013, the beautiful and hospitable country of Burundi opened its arms to welcome Lumitel, a business from the distant S-shaped land of Vietnam. Coming to Burundi, we bring the mindset of a friend who goes through life and death together, sharing joys and sorrows, focusing on social, educational and medical programs, considering it the best way to contribute to the country and people of Burundi”.
After 10 years, Lumitel is the telecommunications operator with the largest technical network infrastructure, the best quality mobile coverage to 97% of the population, owns about 65% of the mobile market share, 81% of the e-wallet market share, 43% of the fixed market share, top 2 enterprises paying the most taxes to Burundi, creating jobs for 60,000 people with an average pre-tax income nearly 20 times higher than the GDP per capita.
Lumitel's General Director emphasized that he will always be a pioneer in leading the company to lead in building and developing digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital services, etc. Proactively and actively promote the development of the digital economy in Burundi with a diverse ecosystem of products and services including: Telecommunications, fintech, information technology solutions and digital services.
Mr. Nzimana, Lumitel's Customer Service Manager, said that before Lumitel officially started operating, there were 4 mobile networks providing services in Burundi. However, these mobile networks only covered densely populated areas such as cities and the quality was very poor. Therefore, Nzimana wished that the capital of Burundi could have good coverage so that people could use the service. Today, not only people in the capital but also remote areas of Burundi have phone coverage.
“Lumitel is like a miracle that allows them to make calls right at home without having to climb mountains like before with other networks. At that time, I felt happy and proud because Lumitel brought very good products to the people of Burundi. When we introduce Lumitel services to relatives, family, and friends, we no longer feel like we are selling products but rather feel like we are bringing opportunities for relatives, family, and friends to access technology, the Internet, and connect with people,” said Nzimana.
From Nzimana's perspective, Lumitel not only provides Burundian people with the opportunity to connect for socio-economic development, but the company also pays a lot of taxes to Burundi and carries out many charity programs such as the program of giving health cards to the poor... in this African country.
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