With the barriers to connectivity still being present in many parts of South Africa, it’s good to see firms working together to help address the issues.
Most recently Vodacom Limpopo Region and Google South Africa have announced that together they will be giving away hundreds of smartphones to residents in eleven villages across the Limpopo province.
While those in the area won’t have 5G, the region does have both 3G and 4G connectivity.
“At Vodacom we are optimistic about how technology and connectivity can enhance the future and improve people’s lives. Through our business, we aim to build a digital society that transforms communities, embraces everyone, leaving no one behind,” managing executive for Vodacom Limpopo Region, Imran Khan said in a statement.
“Our purpose is to ‘connect for a better future’, improving the lives of the next 100 million customers by 2025. In our pursuit to build an inclusive and sustainable digital society, we prioritise investing in deep rural communities as this is part of our vision to make sure that we connect everyone, irrespective of where they live,” Khan added.
In addition to the Android smartphones, Vodacom says that the second phase of the project will involve education. Those who receive handsets will be shown how to use them, how to use apps like Google Search, Maps and YouTube.
Further to this, residents can also sign-up for Vodacom e-School a free, unlimited online education portal that provides educational content for learners in grades R to 12.
“Android’s goal has always been to bring the power of computing to everyone. Access to the opportunities the internet offers is critical for any nations’ economic growth & social inclusion. We believe that this collaboration will bring more South Africans online and help them take advantage of the opportunities,” said director of Android and Platforms Partnership for Africa, Mariam Abdullahi.
It’s good to see that Vodacom and Google are not only providing devices and connectivity, but also highlighting the need for education.
We hope to see more partnerships like this in future.
