Telecommunications company, Econet Telecom Lesotho (ETL) is holding a four-day annual Econet Digital Expo 2024 at Maseru Mall, showcasing the company’s latest innovations in digital technologies and AI-powered solutions.
This year’s expo, which ends tomorrow, provides a platform to demonstrate ETL’s transformation from a telecommunications operator to a fully integrated digital services provider, reaffirming its commitment to driving digital transformation in Lesotho.
It comes at an exciting time for ETL, after the successful rollout of 5G network coverage across all 10 districts of Lesotho.
In addition, the company has expanded eSIM and HD Voice (VoLTE) services, enabling customers with compatible devices to enjoy seamless connectivity and high-definition voice calls over 4G network.
These developments underscore Econet’s ambition to offer innovative, future-ready solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers.
Speaking at the launch, Econet Telecom Lesotho’s GM-Sales and Services, Lebohang Ramaisa, said the expo is a platform to engage with their customers and stakeholders, showcasing how AI, 5G, eSIM, and other digital solutions are transforming homes, businesses, and public services across Lesotho.
Ramaisa noted that this year’s event demonstrates that ETL is more than a telecom provider –they are a partner in Lesotho’s digital future.
“With Lesotho’s growing need for digital infrastructure, the expo also aims to inspire businesses, entrepreneurs, and young innovators to embrace the potential of advanced technologies. Econet’s 5G network and AI solutions offer opportunities for businesses to streamline operations, improve customer service, and unlock new markets.
“With our recent milestones in 5G network expansion, eSIM technology are just the beginning. Through this expo, we aim to inspire a culture of innovation in Lesotho, empowering businesses and communities to thrive in the digital economy. This is about building a connected future where technology creates opportunities for all,” Ramaisa observed.
He further indicated that as more and more Basotho businesses adopt the use of these technologies, they will not only benefit their internal operations only, but will also have a direct positive contribution to the economy of Basotho nation.
Ramaisa also briefly summarised some of the benefits these solutions will bring:
“Basotho businesses will realise enhanced productivity and efficiency through the streamlining of their processes.
“I have witnessed first-hand from my employer a new set of jobs are being created – so we are now talking creation of the 21st century jobs. As you walk through these stalls through the week – you will be introduced to solutions that make use of the emerging technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), that make use of big data analytics, the solutions that help solve some of the challenges our small and medium enterprises face like access to global markets.
“You will see solutions that we have built for ourselves and that we are bringing to the Lesotho business community to improve the service delivery, that service experience while you also enjoy the much diversity of these solutions to cover a broad spectrum of the business sectors present in the country,” he noted.
Ramaisa added that it is no secret that more people are adopting use of digital solutions within their business operations and their daily lives at home. However, the threats of cyber-attacks continue to increase, hence ETL has solutions that are intended to help Basotho businesses to minimize the impact of such.
To respond to the increasing support that the company sees from Basotho who are joining their network and using their services, Ramaisa said, they have invested to ensure that they have the latest LTE technology across the country to improve speeds.
“In the fintech space we upgraded our Ecocash system to ensure that we can bring the latest innovative solutions. Unfortunately, this upgrade, as you may be aware was met with some challenges, but we have now passed the +90 percent mark resolving those issues.
“The management of ETL is prioritising ensuring that customers that made purchases during the times when the systems were problematic are reimbursed their monies in full and all issues addressed in full, in the coming days we are going to have a press conference that will come and address exclusively Ecocash issues, allow me not to spend any more time on it,” Ramaisa pointed out.
Econet has invited everyone – from technology enthusiasts and business leaders to entrepreneurs and the public – to the expo that will offer them a unique opportunity to explore how digital technologies can enhance every aspect of life.
