MTN Rwanda launched MTN Project Zero as a way of committing to net zero emissions by 2040, in order to contribute to a sustainable future.

Kick starting the initiative, the telecommunication company on Monday December 13, introduced 10 electric cars to its fleet.

Officiating the launch of the project MTN Rwanda CEO, Mitwa Ng'ambi, said that MTN Rwanda is committed to rolling out a set of initiatives that can contribute to reducing carbon emission across the entire country.

"We have at our co-focus environmental, social and governance issues and as we reflected on the past year and the global discussions going on about climate we decided to play our part, and the first initiative was swapping 15 per cent of our vehicle fleet with electric cars and we hope to see this number grow” she said.

Ng'ambi added that MTN Rwanda is partnering with the Ministry of Environment and REMA as a way to fully participate in the ongoing initiatives that contribute to a greener Rwanda, adding that going into the next year the MTN Project Zero will include other initiatives as well.

"For instance we have over 1,000 towers or sites across the country and we are currently exploring greener and cleaner technologies to enable the power of these sites to shift away from pure diesel power generators, and we are exploring solar systems as an alternative to power our different centres, and recycling of e-waste among others” she added.

Juliette Kabera, Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) commended MTN Rwanda’s commitment to a greener Rwanda.

"This project shows that it is possible to commit to the use of cleaner energy, and this shows us that it is possible that we can use electric cars and reduce the carbon emissions from cars that pollute our air that pose health issues,” she said.

"In terms of using electric cars we are still at the beginning, but as we see more commitment from the private sector in using electric cars, it greatly contributes to the Government’s plan to a cleaner transport sector,” she said, adding that "And if we continue like this by 2030 we will have made significant changes by reducing carbon emissions by 58 per cent.”

Kabera encouraged other players in the economy to put in place initiatives that will help the country in becoming greener.

In the National Strategy for climate change and low carbon development, Rwanda committed to address the challenge of climate change and reduce greenhouse gasses, and aims at being a developed, climate-resilient and low-carbon economy by 2050.