Zero-rating of mobile data. The time to act is NOW!
Zero-rate the content of public benefit organisations Mobile network operators must fulfil their legal obligations to zero-rate. Don’t let them leave South Africans on read. Zero-rating can help address inequality. South Africa, like many other nations, is grappling with how to bridge the digital divide, where unequal access to mobile internet and smartphones has significant […]
Why an obligation to provide South Africans with free public benefit content has stalled.
An obligation placed on South Africa’s biggest mobile network operators (MNOs) to start providing free access to content from public benefit organisations (PBO) has stalled because discussions with the communications regulator are yet to be finalised. This obligation was created following last year’s successful spectrum auction, where Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Rain, Cell C and Liquid […]
Fight looming over zero rating in South Africa
The DG Murray Trust believes significant educational progress can be made in under-resourced schools in South Africa if only telecommunications operators would play ball. The trust wants educational and other websites “zero-rated” so that access to online resources is available to everyone at no cost. Having digital content zero-rated is a major advantage because it democratises access to information […]
eNCA Interview: Zero-rating – Making information accessible to everyone
In a recent discussion on eNCA, DGMT CEO David Harrison laid out a vision of connectivity and opportunity for South Africa. He made it clear: the door is open for mobile network operators (MNOs) to join DGMT’s Social Innovation Register and begin zero-rating public benefit organisations (PBOs). Zero-rating isn’t just about free data—it’s a […]
Hands-on Learning Issue 25
Through the newly rebranded edition of our Hands-on Learning publication developed in June 2023, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others are able to draw from and build on their experiences. Blended learning: When […]
Learning Brief – Social Employment Fund partnership: Partnering to bring the SEF to communities across South Africa
This learning brief explores some of the lessons learnt from the first phase of the Social Employment Fund (SEF), a state-funded stimulus package for civil society organisations that work on a range of community development projects – referred to as Strategic Implementing Partners (SIPs). By design, the SEF encourages partnerships among the different Strategic Implementing […]
Learning Brief – Community development in Lesedi & Letsatsi: Lessons on partnership – DGMT’s Place-based Synergies
To improve developmental outcomes in economically depressed communities, we need holistic investment from womb to adulthood. This investment aims to bridge opportunity gaps and establish pathways toward self-sufficiency. The involvement of DGMT’s place-based synergies team in the Lesedi Solar Park Trust (Lesedi) and the Letsatsi Solar Park Trust (Letsatsi) aims to assess and showcase the […]
Learning Brief – Blended learning: When partnerships spark innovation
This learning brief explores how partnerships between government, civil society and communities led to innovations aimed at tackling a number of challenges impacting quintile 1–3 schools in South Africa, serving some of the country’s poorest children. To read this learning brief, download a PDF here or read it magazine-style on ISSUU here. […]
Not so fast — targeted strategies to stop hunger fail to reach one in six children
We need an urgent national conversation about food security in South Africa. For this reason, criticism of the ‘10-best-buys’ proposal, aimed to alleviate child hunger, is a welcome contrast to radio silence from the food industry, which has opted not to engage publicly with this proposal. Encouragingly, Shoprite has just released its Food Index report, […]
Schools must allow parents’ voices to be heard to ensure quality education
In Ganyesa, a small village outside of Vryburg in the North West, Mme Mashego*, an enthusiastic mother to a grade 6 learner, takes pride in going to her son’s school a week before assessments start to encourage learners to study and try their best at school. While Mme Mashego did not finish school, she wants […]
