Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson), a Swedish communications technology and services corporation, recently announced that it has signed an agreement with the Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to launch a national interoperability switch, known as the Rwanda Interconnect Switch (RIS), which is expected to be operational by early 2017. RIS, based on Ericsson’s M-Commerce Interconnect solution, will allow Rwandan financial and payment services providers to perform real-time transactions. This will give customers of savings cooperatives and microfinance institutions seven days a week access to a greater range of digital payment options. As well as launching RIS, Ericsson will also be responsible for leading the on-boarding and integration of payment service providers and financial institutions.
Peter Heuman, the Head of M-Commerce for Ericsson, noted that “Africa has been a main driver for innovative mobile financial services. Ericsson M-Commerce Interconnect advances existing efforts by seamlessly linking banks, mobile operators, money transfer organizations, and payment and financial services providers – making the promise of true
financial inclusion achievable”.
Ericsson reported net income of SEK 13.7 billion (approximately USD 1.7 billion), total assets of SEK 248 billion (approximately USD 30 billion), return on assets of 4.91 percent and return on equity of 9.7 percent as of December 2015.
By Imke Herholdt, Research Associate
About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson)
Founded in 1876 Ericsson is a communications technology and services corporation headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson is listed on the NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and NASDAQ in New York. It employs approximately 116,000 people as of December 2015. Ericsson reported net income of SEK 13.7 billion (approximately USD 1.7 billion), total assets of SEK 248 billion (approximately USD 30 billion), return on assets of 4.91 percent and return on equity of 9.7 percent as of December 2015.
Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Ericsson: Ericsson and Rwandan Government collaborate on financial inclusion
[2] FT.com: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
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