It's a little-known fact, but MTN once played a crucial role in a breakaway region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Frans Joubert, then the marketing manager of Rwandacell (later MTN Rwanda), found himself leading Supercell, a unique network primarily serving cities like Goma in the turbulent early 2000s.

"I was the CEO of Supercell, and the technical platforms were almost entirely run from Rwanda," Frans explains. "I was there for nearly two years and almost died of cerebral malaria, but it was certainly an exciting time."

Perhaps the most dramatic episode during Frans's tenure was the 2002 eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano near Goma. This wasn't the first eruption that year – an earlier event had tragically claimed over 200 lives. The looming threat of another eruption sparked a wave of anxiety, but the timing and severity of the next event remained uncertain.

In the face of this uncertainty, Frans and his team devised an ingenious solution to help protect the local population. They leveraged the power of mobile technology to create a real-time warning system.

Turning Cell Phones into lifelines

Supercell's innovative approach involved transforming ordinary cell phones into lifelines. "We had a system whereby we could change the cell broadcast information on subscribers' phones from green to orange to red, depending on the level of threat," Frans explains. "If the information was red, people knew that a threat was imminent and could get out of harm's way."

The system was put to the test in the dead of night when Mount Nyiragongo erupted once again. "But the problem was that the volcano might be about to erupt in the middle of the night – which is exactly what happened," Frans recounts. "So, one night, at 2am, when the experts believed an eruption was about to happen, we sent out an alarm signal to all of our subscribers, waking them up. They then looked at their phones, saw that the information was red, and were able to take evasive action. A lot of people did get out of the way and I’m sure we helped to save many lives.”

When peace eventually returned to the DRC, following international mediation, Supercell faded from the scene after two years of operation. However, its legacy lives on as a testament to the power of human ingenuity and technology to make a difference in even the most challenging circumstances.