MetroFM Interview: Networks have until January to drop the data wall. Are they ready?
Imagine needing information about a social grant, looking for a job, trying to access healthcare advice or simply trying to educate yourself online — but you cannot afford the data required to get For millions of South Africans, the cost of mobile data remains a barrier to accessing information and services that many of us […]
Business Day Article: Concern over slow rollout of free data for public benefit sites
Communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi has acknowledged the slow pace in ensuring South Africa’s mobile network operators make the digital content of public benefit organisations available data-free but is still confident about meeting a January 2027 deadline. According to the DG Murray Trust, only about 40 out of thousands of public benefit organisations […]
Geekhub Article: Zero-rating in South Africa – The networks already paid for it, so where is it?
Whenever there’s a suggestion that mobile operators should give something away for free, most South Africans respond with “nice idea, but never going to happen.” Except this time it is not a suggestion. Zero-rating in South Africa is a licence condition, it has a deadline, and the deadline is 15 January 2027. On that date, […]
BizCommunity Article: South African networks urged to zero-rate PBO content for equal internet access
Given the exorbitant cost of data, as well as the unequal access to the internet in South Africa, the zero-rating of digital content of public benefit organisations (PBOs) is imperative to ensure underprivileged South Africans have access to information for education, social services, healthcare and job seeking. While some mobile network operators, like Rain, which […]
SmileFM Interview: NGOs are being zero-rated across networks, just not quickly enough
On SmileFM, DGMT’s Innovation Director, Dr Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, welcomed Rain’s decision to zero-rate the digital content of 23 public benefit organisations, and urged other mobile network operators to accelerate implementation in line with their licence obligations. She highlighted DGMT’s Social Innovation Register, which streamlines applications to ICASA, and explained why timely rollout matters: every delay […]
SAFM Interview: NGOs are getting zero-rated; mobile operators need to speed up
On SAFM this week, DGMT’s Innovation Director, Dr Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, welcomed Rain’s decision to zero-rate the digital content of 23 public benefit organisations, and urged other mobile network operators to accelerate implementation in line with their licence obligations. She highlighted DGMT’s Social Innovation Register, which streamlines applications to ICASA, and explained why timely rollout matters: […]
Cape Talk Interview: NGOs are finally getting zero-rated but mobile network operators need to move faster
On Cape Talk this week, DGMT’s Innovation Director, Dr Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, welcomed Rain’s decision to zero-rate the digital content of 23 public benefit organisations, and urged other mobile network operators to accelerate implementation in line with their licence obligations. She highlighted DGMT’s Social Innovation Register, which streamlines applications to ICASA, and explained why timely rollout […]
Op-ed: South Africa needs business leaders who drive public innovation
The debate about South Africa’s real unemployment rate has again shone a spotlight on the informal economy, and whether we are maximising its productive potential. UCT professor of economics Haroon Bhorat argues that our high unemployment rate is real, not because of poor employment elasticities and restrictive labour regulations but because the informal economy is […]
Is there an app for that?
The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation. Download takeaway instructions Mobile apps are designed to simplify and digitise almost every aspect of […]
Learning Brief – Data-informed arguments for investment in children
In 2024, analysis of routine data revealed that some of South Africa’s gains in child development and wellbeing are stalling, and may be starting to reverse. Young children are now more likely to live in poverty, suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition, and die before their fifth birthday than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic. […]