PMTS registers robust growth in Airtel products distribution in 2023
Speaking at the stakeholders’ engagement to review the company’s performance in 2023 on Sunday, March 10, 2024, Paul Sine, CEO of PMTS Limited revealed that the number of sites has increased by 15%, shops by about 20%, and employees by about 10%.
PMTS Limited, a distributor of Airtel Uganda services and products in the districts of Wakiso, Kampala, and Kayunga has recorded significant growth in the year 2023.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ engagement to review the company’s performance in 2023 on Sunday, March 10, 2024, Paul Sine, CEO of PMTS Limited revealed that the number of sites has increased by 15%, shops by about 20%, and employees by about 10%.
Sine also stated that besides reviewing last year’s performance, it was an opportunity to plan, analyse and agree on strategies for the coming year 2024. It should be noted that Airtel Uganda’s year ends in March and New Year starts in April.
“Our infrastructure of motorcycles has also increased and our ability to service our agents has also increased,” he said.
He added, “We have seen tremendous growth in the past year in terms of the number of sites, infrastructure, number of shops, the number of employees, but we still feel there are lots of opportunities in this market. Uganda is a growing economy.”
Sine noted that despite the significant growth, there are still more opportunities in the areas they operate in considering of their development rate.
“The peri-urban areas are increasing and we are not located in some of these locations. So we need to take advantage of this [because] Airtel has been gracious enough to put sites there for people to be able to access their network, so we too need to move our infrastructure into these areas to better service,” he explained.
According to Sine, due to changes brought by COVID-19, many people are working from home something he attributes to the availability of data.
“They wake up in the morning and start working. So they need our data, MiFi, and phones. We need to be able to provide them in these areas.”
He further revealed that their mother company came up with Airtel App which is a powerful tool that enables a customer to access all services, wherever and whenever they want them.
“So the Airtel team took our team through the use of the Airtel App, which is critical because in most cases, we can’t reach anywhere but someone can use the App, move money from their bank to their phone and access data.”
However, he said they are faced with several challenges including area accessibility since some of these areas are hard to reach.
He also decried insecurity in some of the areas citing several attacks on Airtel Money agents.” So the rotation of our teams in these areas has got to increase which also increases our costs.” said Sine.
Airtel Uganda Sales Director, Ali Balunywa applauded PMTS for the job well done and also for hosting a self-check conference.
He emphasized the importance of such trainings in reinvigorating passion and connectivity between distributors and the company.
“These trainings help, fast, renew the passion and desire but also the connectivity between the distributor and the company so that when they give the service, we are aligned in terms of the quality of service they gave, but also we are aligned in terms of driving our agenda.”
Balunywa highlighted that such meetings play a crucial role in renewing distributor commitment to serving communities and addressing any existing gaps.
“Such meetings help renew our commitment fast by the distributor to know he is committed to serving the communities that Airtel has given him but also reminding them where the gaps are,” he noted.
He also expressed confidence that partnerships with companies like PMTS will contribute to the improvement of Airtel’s services.
