MPost, a Kenyan digital postal service, has launched its e-PO boxservice in Rwanda. This means over a million Rwandans can now use their phone numbers as postal addresses to receive mail and parcels, instead of revealing their physical address. MPost says this innovation heralds a new era in postal services for Rwandan people aligning with Rwanda’s digitization agenda of public services. Currently, Rwanda has less than 1% of the population attached to a post office and is often characterized by long queues and limited accessibility. MPOST’s e-P.O.Box system will enable Rwandan citizens to convert their mobile phone numbers into formal postal addresses. The solution allows more individuals and businesses to receive mail and parcels directly to their mobile-linked e-P.O.Box, eliminating the need for physical P.O. Boxes and providing a seamless and convenient postal experience. By providing a dependable postal solution, the e-P. O. Box platform will help e-commerce businesses expand their reach, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce delivery times.” the company said in a statement. ”This will enable local entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive, boosting the economy and positioning Rwanda as a burgeoning hub for digital commerce in the region,” it added. The virtual platform hopes to reach over 5 million citizens within the next three years. By integrating the local postal services and leveraging the high mobile phone penetration in Rwanda, MPOST aims to offer an inclusive solution that caters to both urban and rural populations. The rollout comes at the same time that the company is also announcing its official entry into the East African country. In November last year, the Kenyan startup announced that it was relocating its headquarters from Nairobi to Kigali due to what reports indicated were regulatory issues. The startup said in a statement that the strategic move revealed a significant shift in its operational landscape and aligned with the favourable business environment that Rwanda offers to tech startups. Founded in 2016 by Abdulaziz Omar and Twahir Ahmed, the startup’s platform enables the conversion of mobile numbers into official virtual addresses, which allows notifications to be sent to clients whenever they get mail through their postal addresses. It currently operates in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, and has been a trailblazer in the digital addressing, postal, logistics, and eCommerce space.
