D-Mark Mobile set to cover East Africa

D-mark is one of the six major companies offering mobile content solutions in Uganda. Its main service includes; short messaging service (SMS) gateway solutions, community and chat services, infotainment and entertainment via mobile phones. Other major players in the market include; True African, SMS Media, SMS One, Infodata and Blue Cube among others.

True African the market leader, was the first local company to expand beyond Uganda, opening in Kenya. However D-Mark is following in True African's foot steps after extending its service to Rwanda.

In an interview with Stella Lugalambi, the business development manager, D-Mark said the company is moving into Kenya to offer services based on Mobile Terminal Billing (MTB), which are not fully accessible. “We are going there to offer more value added services,” Lugalambi said. D-Mark has also been contracted by Zain Africa to offer mobile data services to fishermen on Lake Victoria to help them overcome bad weather related accidents and pirates on the Lake during their working hours.

In preparation for the entry, Lugalambi added that the company has also already signed up four Kenyan artists and 10 Tanzanian artists to help them sell their music via mobile, like it does in Uganda.

As the five East African countries including; Rwanda and Burundi, deepen their integration, economists have urged Ugandan business owners to expand into new markets to compete favourably with their counterparts in other states or face extinction.