Connect Africa applauds Chiefs on Rural Development

Featured

July 29, 2013

Zambian low-cost rural communications and services provider to work with traditional leaders

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA –Zambian rural telecommunications and service solutions company Connect Africa has paid tribute to the nation’s traditional leaders and their role in promoting rural development.

Chief Shakumbila

Connect Africa representatives attended Senior Chief Shakumbila’s traditional ceremony in Mumbwa District on Saturday and have paid tribute to the nation’s traditional leaders and their role in promoting rural development.

The contribution of chiefs to enhancing the livelihoods of rural people was praised during the Ikubi-Lya-loongo ceremony in Senior Chief Shakumbila’s chiefdom in Mumbwa District, which was held on Saturday (July 27) near Connect Africa’s innovative low-cost pilot telecommunications base station.

“Traditional leaders play a pivotal role the well-being and prosperity of communities, particularly in remote areas, and their strong leadership can help their people to be part of the global village,” said Connect Africa Special Projects Director Dion Jerling. “We are honoured to be working alongside Senior Chief Shakumbila to bring connectivity to his people.” Continue reading

Connect Africa poised to revolutionise Rural Telecoms Coverage

Featured

Media Release
July 26, 2013

Zambian low-cost rural communications provider set to expand across the Continent

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA –Zambia’s pioneering rural telecommunications equipment and solutions company, Connect Africa, officially opened its Lusaka office today (July 26), paving the way for a roll-out of services across the region.

The company has chosen Zambia as its hub, which it plans to use as the springboard from which to launch its low-cost entrepreneur-driven information and communications technology (ICT) services to rural communities across southern Africa.

Office Opening

Department of Communications Assistant Director of Technical Services Sechwayo Nzima (centre) officially opens Connect Africa’s new Lusaka office, flanked by Connect Africa chairman Ian McFadyen (left) and Special Projects Director Dion Jerling.

“Connect Africa is pioneering a new model of service delivery that puts rural people in control of their communications needs,” explained Connect Africa Special Projects Director Dion Jerling. “We see Zambia as the leading example of how state-of-the art technology can be harnessed to connect remote communities to the mobile phone network, empowering them to develop their livelihoods as a result.” Continue reading

Taking the nation’s heartbeat

Featured

the community walk often long distances to the clinic

Rural communities walk often long distances to the clinic

Over the years, Connect Africa’s field work has taken the team off the beaten track through the Southern African region, and led to some pretty interesting revelations. The years of travelling through remote villages and camping in deep rural areas have resulted in a wealth of knowledge about cross-cutting areas of development.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) might sound like words which should be confined to the laboratories of computer nerds and tech-savvy geeks.  Yet their impact on the ground to transform lives and communities is nowhere better illustrated than by looking into the subject of health. Continue reading

Policy Briefing: Delivering Strategic Rural Coverage Across Zambia

Featured

Connect Africa Managing Director Dion Jerling with stakeholders in Lusaka

Connect Africa Managing Director Dion Jerling with stakeholders in Lusaka

Leading the way: Partnering with Government, Mobile Network Operators and Traditional Leadership

Over the past 10 years, Connect Africa has developed a unique ICT model for rural development that can facilitate government’s socio-economic objectives – quickly.

Using rapidly deployed low-power, low-cost out-door cellular base stations, Connect Africa Logistics Ltd (CALL) presents an effective and sustainable cellular coverage solution for remote rural communities that provides them with access to communication, in turn stimulating and supporting rural development. Continue reading

The Spark* South Africa Changemaker of 2014

Is it possible to help 1 million people out of extreme poverty by finding and enabling 1000 local Changemakers in some of the world’s poorest countries, in the next decade?

Well, Spark* is a non-profit aiming to do just that.

Connect Africa was invited by Spark* South Africa to a lunch in April 2014 to assist in this process, by hearing the pitches of 14 Changemakers and then casting a vote for the Spark* South Africa Changemaker of the Year.

Changemakers Sonwabo Modimoeng, Ntsoaki Phali and Mwendeni Mafumo, with Spark International Co-founder and General Manager, Kaitlin Tait.

Changemakers Sonwabo Modimoeng, Ntsoaki Phali and
Mwendeni Mafumo, with Spark International Co-founder and General Manager, Kaitlin Tait.

These fourteen Social Entrepreneurs had just been through an intensive 5 day programme equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, and the mindset to make their impact as big as possible. And all fourteen of them not only showed the passion for their respective ventures, but also the enthusiasm to succeed in order to have a much needed impact in their communities.

What we were most struck by was the number of rural initiatives, and how on a grass roots levels the ventures were planning to work.

Like entrepreneur Sly Morukhuladi, whose Hikari Foundation will be uplifting children in the rural Limpopo region, by giving them tutoring, mentoring and career guidance. And Lalumbe Makugy, who’s Rural Bridge Initiative will encourage parents to not be solely dependent on living off social grants, but empower them to start small businesses with access to market in the big cities, to increase their income.

Thendo Mapume will be training and developing women in rural areas to start small chicken farms, through his Chix Chickens programme. And how P’NCRO will be doing formal waste collection and recycling in the rural areas, as well as turning waste into re-usable products, led by Matema Thosago.

Some of the other ventures included facilitating the community to work with the police force; developing social video games for social change, feminine hygiene products, a recruitment agency for the disabled and many more education of the youth initiatives.

Paul Talliard, Spark* South Africa Changemaker of the Year 2014 with Telana Simpson, Connect Africa

Paul Talliard, Spark* South Africa Changemaker of the Year 2014 with Telana Simpson, Connect Africa

The person who won the title of “Spark* South Africa Changemaker of the Year 2014” went to Paul Talliard of Hands of Honour. The audience believed Paul would make the biggest impact with his venture which takes men out of soup kitchens to upcycle and sell distressed or obsolete stock from local companies. The profits are used as salaries and to improve the impoverished yet most productive areas of the community, like painting schools or planting food gardens. Paul won USD1000 to help him take Hands of Honour forward.

It was inspiring to hear the social entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, and know that they are more equipped from their attendance in the Spark* programme to impact in their communities positively.

Connect Africa is also more determined to meet our own mandate of providing connectivity and facilitating multiple service delivery in rural Africa, as we can see how we have the opportunity to leapfrog legacy technology to the present day latest options, which will help these and many other entrepreneurs and rural changemakers. And our link with iSchool and our service centres are geared to offer backup and support for eLearning which will contribute to the education ventures we heard pitch at the event.

We wish Spark* the very best with their mission, and hope that we can keep supporting them in the future by supporting the changemakers they identify and develop.

Written by Telana Simpson