Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Digital Inclusion

Transforming Lives in Africa Through Free WiFi Hotspots

Article Image
With under a week to go until AfricaCom 2018, Connecting Africa speaks to some of the AfricaCom Ambassadors, a group of 30 leaders and innovators from across the continent with unique stories in driving Africa’s digital transformation.

Dudu Mkhwanazi is the CEO of Project Isizwe, the South African non-profit organization that advocates for and enables free Internet access within walking distance of low-income communities.

Connecting Africa: Tell us a bit about your background and experience.

Dudu Mkhwanazi: My background is in politics, having studied Political Science and obtained a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Comparative Politics at the Université Montpellier in the South of France. I immediately started working for an opposition political party after completing my studies, however, in 2017 I joined Project Isizwe and my interest in Tech for Impact took over my passion for politics.

CA: What excites you most about working in the African tech sector?

DM: What most excites me is seeing people's lives transformed through the use and engagement with technology. We get numerous testimonials of young people who have used our WiFi hotspots to apply to universities or apply for jobs in some of the most rural communities in South Africa.

CA: In your opinion, what kinds of technology are going to be the most disruptive in Africa?

DM: I think fintech is changing the way Africans are interacting with technology and financial solutions. There are amazing fintech startups in the continent with innovative solutions to our socio-economic challenges.

CA: In your work to promote digital inclusion, what steps forward have you seen in recent years that you have been most proud of?

DM: We have partnered with some amazing organizations and the results have been exceptionally positive.

We recently launched a free WiFi project in the rural mining communities of Phola and Ogies through a partnership funded by Glencore Mine. Residents can connect to subsidized free WiFi, receiving 500MB of data per device, per day. The content portal is used to not only share information on Glencore Mine and opportunities at the mine, but also to share content on education and job applications. The most innovative section of this partnership has been our addition of linking the Google Digital Skills For Africa Programme with the portal, and our WiFi Ambassadors [unemployed youth incentivized through our partnership with an organization called The Social Collective], have now taken on the responsibility of not only teaching users how to connect to the free WiFi and how the portal can be used, but also oversee residents who are completing the Digital Skills modules online.

We also launched another initiative with a non-profit called Aware.org, which advocates for responsible alcohol usage. Through our partnership, we are using free WiFi as an enabler to access information on their initiative through the usage of our content portal in Bushbuckridge and Botshabelo.

CA: You will be joining us at AfricaCom to discuss Strategies for Connecting the Unconnected. What do you see as the greatest challenges currently to bridging the digital divide?

DM: For most African countries, the greatest challenge is mainly the political buy-in, financial contribution and the sustainability of these projects.

CA: What are you most looking forward to at AfricaCom 2018?

DM: I'm looking forward to engaging with other startups in tech, learning about new trends and partaking in the robust discussions.

Dudu Mkhwanazi will be joining our panel discussion on "Strategies for Connecting the Unconnected" at AfricaCom this year.

There's still time to book your pass to Africa's largest tech, media and telecoms festival, AfricaCom, taking place in Cape Town, November 13-15, 2018. Book now.

— Gabriella Jeakins, Digital Content Marketer, KNect365, for Connecting Africa.

Innovation hub

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Key adoption areas for machine learning in Africa

ICT analyst Francis Hook identifies some of the key sectors that could be positively impacted by machine learning, including education, government services, healthcare and climate tech.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002