How to Get Value from Township Connectivity

Monde Ntoyanto is a young entrepreneur behind Culo’s Kitchen, an African cuisine cloud kitchen, in Kayamandi township (Stellenbosch).

Serving African cooked meals is nothing new, but the process of ordering online and picking up later is a new business model in a township economy environment. The business gets orders via Facebook and WhatsApp.

Clients are able to pay via EFT. To deliver goods to local restaurants, they also make use of Uber package service. This level of technology integration is unheard of for a township business. This is just one of the few businesses that is enabled by the digitisation process of townships in South Africa.

In recent years, we’ve seen a proliferation of fibre businesses digging holes to install fibre across South African townships. In Kayamandi, where Monde operates, the connectivity is enabled by Fibertime, an entity that has made it easy for online businesses and solutions to emerge. As townships are getting wired, it’s about time that a support system is developed to ensure that township communities get the full benefits of connectivity.

A question that should be uppermost in our minds is whether connectivity is changing the lives of those who are connected? It’s probably too early to tell. There are signs, however, that we are likely to witness digital adoption at a scale that we’ve never seen before. It’s as if townships are undergoing an internet rebirth moment that we saw when the internet took off.

What seems to be missing, however, is the support that should come with the massive connectivity that we are beginning to see in townships. What we see currently are green shoots of something far bigger to come. I’m convinced that South African townships can produce African technology unicorns.

What is needed, however, is a support system that is tailored for the growth of technology startups that can emerge out of townships. There’s something about current conditions in South African townships that requires entrepreneurs who grew up in townships to be the ones that are developing solutions. For that to happen, there’s a need for entities such as the Y Combinator dedicated to ensuring that township-inspired tech startups emerge. The Y Combinator succeeded in creating companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and others that emerged out of Silicon Valley. Through this startup accelerator, young entrepreneurs with promising ideas could access funding and business support within a supportive network.

This approach could address the current unemployment challenge in townships. At the same time, technology startups that could emerge from townships can form part of developing solutions to major township challenges. Business activity is one way we can measure the impact of connectivity in townships.

Beyond business, we will have to look at how connectivity has improved access to health, education, and information. These are just some of the few things that will form part of my mission to study the Township Connectivity Impact. I’m looking forward to seeing more beneficiaries of connectivity in townships.

*I f you know about anyone in any township whose life has been impacted by connectivity, please let me know via LinkedIn: @WesleyDiphoko