Isizwe, a South African-based internet service provider, has received a $450,000 investment from Global Innovation Fund (GIF).
Isizwe, meaning “people” or “nation” in many African languages and emphasising the term, togetherness, reflects the company’s goal to enable Africans learn in harmony for free through connectivity and education.
Enabling Isizwe to further achieve its goals, Global Innovation Fund is offering the fund as part of ADVANCE, a collaboration with Anglo Americans that allows private investment to grow creative business models in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Through the Isizwe Portal, or People/Nation’s Portal, users of the company’s R5 WiFi can access free education and resources. The company is building a community of Africans who want to build a better Africa.
Isizwe affirms to have constructed 80 Wifi Zones since its debut in 2020, including a community of scholars aiming to promote online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The internet service provider plans to develop over 25,000 Wifi Zones in South Africa by 2022.
So far, Isizwe has collaborated with remote communities, employing sales representatives known as WiFi entrepreneurs to interact with residents, generate direct marketing and has corporate sponsors to enable them supply WiFi access to full-time students and staff.
According to GIF Investment Director Khuram Hussain, the firm has seen the benefits of last-mile connectivity in India, Latin America, and parts of Africa, and hopes to demonstrate that its investment can sustainably offer internet access to those living in rural and peri-urban areas of South Africa while creating both huge social advantage to consumers and appealing investment rewards for investors.
Anglo American supports digital connectivity, especially as a means of supporting South African mining communities in building livelihood opportunities and revenue streams in the wake of mine closures.
