NetOne seeks to leverage AI, roll out 5G and make OneMoney dominant in 2025

NetOne CEO, Raphael Mushanawani spoke to The Herald and gave an overview of the 2025 he foresees the organisation having. 

As CEO, you would expect him to sell his company and the impact it will have in the economy. He did that. However, we also got a few insights into what NetOne will be focusing on. 

Mushanawani seems to have grand ambitions for the mobile network operator, and I’m sure we are all rooting for him. Telecel is a non-entity and so if we are going to avoid an Econet monopoly, which nobody wants, we need NetOne to thrive. 

Apparently, NetOne is positioning itself as the leader in Zimbabwe’s digital transformation, aiming to redefine the digital economy through innovation and inclusivity.

The CEO says the company’s ambitious vision for 2025 includes becoming a billion-dollar enterprise while fostering a digital ecosystem that empowers communities and accelerates economic growth.

That’s as ambitious as it gets. I don’t know about the billion dollar enterprise bit but I guess it’s shoot for the stars time. 

Three main highlights:

AI and connectivity

NetOne plans to leverage artificial intelligence to enhance connectivity and customer experiences. 

AI has the potential to revolutionise any business, more so a tech company like NetOne. We don’t know just how the company will leverage AI but it’s good to know that they are actively looking to do that. 

We have heard a number of companies, including fierce competitor Econet, say AI has helped with customer experiences so it’s not beyond imagination that NetOne would find a way too. 

We would need details on how NetOne will leverage AI to enhance connectivity to have an opinion. 

Network expansion

NetOne wants to expand its network into underserved areas in 2025. It’s unfortunate that connectivity is still not up to scratch in a huge part of the country and so it’s good to see NetOne focus on it in 2025. 

The challenge has always been that it doesn’t make financial sense to serve some of those underserved areas. Hence why they are underserved. 

NetOne cannot just go out and cover every corner of the country without considering returns on investment. So, there will have to be a balance to do this sustainably. 

This makes me wonder if NetOne is going to leverage on OneWeb’s technology. We talked about NetOne partnering with OneWeb, a Starlink competitor, last year. 

This means like Starlink, OneWeb already has 100% coverage of Zimbabwe and if NetOne leverages on that, they will be able to deliver on the promise to expand network to underserved areas. 

In urban areas NetOne is going to be rolling out 5G. 

OneMoney

From what the CEO said, OneMoney is going to be getting a lot of attention this year. OneMoney is NetOne’s mobile money solution. 

He said something along the lines that OneMoney is set to become a crucial tool for financial inclusion, enabling seamless digital payments and providing financial services to the unbanked, thus supporting small businesses and individuals.

I don’t know what killer features or discounts or super marketing campaigns they have in store to achieve that. The reality is that the mobile money space is fiercely competitive these days. 

We still have EcoCash and the likes of InnBucks and O’Mari shot into the scene with a splash. At the end of 2024 we saw Mukuru get licences that will see it encroach on the space too. That’s not to mention the countless other players vying for market share in the space. 

With this in mind, it’s going to be a huge challenge to see OneMoney ‘become a crucial tool’ as the CEO wants. Nothing is impossible but it will be quite the challenge. 

We shall see how NetOne will take on the challenge in due time. 

That’s it. That’s what I gathered from the CEO’s sit down with The Herald. We shall come back to this article at the end of the year and see how NetOne did.