Eswatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly known in English as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Eswatini is the only country in Africa that has an absolute monarchy with constitutional provisions and Swazi law and Custom. ICT is noted in Eswatini's national strategy as a key enabler to economic development in the kingdom.
Manqoba Khumalo, Eswatini’s minister for information communication and technology, while commending MTN for partnering with the government in the delivery of ICT services in the kingdom highlighted that the government has identified ICT as one of the five key growth sectors in its strategic roadmap and part of the COVID-19 economic recovery strategy.
Khumalo notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the critical role played by ICT, as it is enabling online schooling and learning, working from home and e-commerce.
Some ways that the government of Eswatini has embraced the digitisation of the economy is by adopting mobile money in payment of elderly grants, at least 10 different government taxes, company registration and renewals.
MTN says this demonstrates how the government has embraced its MoMo platform as an official payment method and an enabler in fast-tracking efforts to reach strategic ambitions of a digital economy.
“We have seen the launching of the e-payment platform for company registrations using MoMo and this will soon include payment of trading and liquor licences and the payment of social grants using MoMo, as well as the provision of data bundles to Cabinet to enable the hosting of virtual meetings,” Khumalo says.
Eswatini In Focus
Population: 1,136,281 (Compared to South Africa's 59.6 million)
GDP: $4.662 billion (Compared to South Africa's $369.85 billion)
GDP Per Capita: $4,146 (Compared to South Africa's $6,193)
