MTN, Garmin boost health and fitness with wearable technology

Health and fitness activities in Nigeria have received a huge boost as global leaders in wearable technology and lifestyle products, Garmin, has partnered with MTN to introduce a range of world class health and fitness devices to help boost fitness level of Nigerians.

The devices include a range of smart watches which enables users to track, monitor and record daily health activities and on selected devices pair with smartphones to receive current weather conditions, weather forecasts, voice call/text message notifications, emails among other functions.

Speaking during the formal announcement of the partnership in Lagos last week, Mr Mike Clarke, Business Development Manager, Garmin, Sub-Saharan Africa,stated that Garmin’s collaboration with MTN will deliver the ultimate digital experience to Nigerians and provide a platform for people to adopt healthy lifestyles.

He stated: “We are excited to extend our footprint into Africa and partner with the leading telecommunications provider to bring these innovative solutions into Nigeria where we have seen an increasing interest and adoption of healthy lifestyles. Our Garmin watches support various mobile devices operating on the Android, iOS and Microsoft platforms and they will be powered by data from MTN, which will give Nigerian customers the opportunity to stay fit and healthy.”

Clarke also added that Garmin products come with a mobile App, Garmin Connect Mobile, through which members can review, analyse and share their activities right from their smartphone devices.

“The beauty of the app is that people can focus on their fitness and healthy living goals as all the data they rely on is easy to retrieve and viewed through the App on their phones,” he added.

Also speaking on the partnership, Mr Richard Iweanoge, the General Manager, Brands and Communication, MTN Nigeria, stressed that the company’s partnership with Garmin is in line with its vision to lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to MTN’s customers.

“We are delighted to announce this partnership because we believe that Garmin is the right fit to drive our commitment towards deploying cutting-edge technology to enrich the lives of our subscribers. Health and fitness has become a critical issue that everyone needs to pay attention to and MTN is excited at being at the forefront of this movement to keep Nigerians fit,” he stated.

While giving details about the partnership, Iweanoge said that customers who purchase Garmin’s smart watches as well as the Garmin Index Smart Scale up until June, 31, 2017, would get 300MB free for three months (i.e. total of 900MB valid for three months) to use the Garmin Connect App.

In his remarks, Mr Brent Omdahl, the Commercial Counsellor, US Mission to Nigeria, who was also present at the event, expressed delight at the partnership. He described it as an indication of the strong ties that exists between Nigeria and America and pledged that America will continue to support similar partnerships in order to further strengthen ties between both countries.