Empowering Communities

Through Telecommunications

It works, It’s Sustainable

Presented By

Nobuhle Chonco

Workshop on Empowering the Poor

02/12/02

BACKGROUND

Community Services:

Came as a result of the National Telecommunications License obligations.

To provide 22 000 affordable telephones in underserviced/rural areas.

Empower disadvantaged communities and SMMEs.

Create jobs.

Facilitate training, skills transfer and career development.

Corporates: Transportable

These are deployed in institutions (e.g Fort Hare Univ) and NGOs-

(e.g Hospice)

They are like any other mobile phone (such as Nokias, Phillips, etc)

These will be completely phased out by July 2003

METHODS OF DEPLOYMENT

These are deployed in phone shops and spaza shops or other non-containersied premises (e.g shebeens)

A phone shop is a Vodacom branded 6m steel container which is fitted with 5 to 10 phone cubicles and a counter.

PHONE SHOPS:SIGI PHONES

Total Turnover 86 873 079.65 Total Commission 28 547 797.94Average total per phone 4 266.64Average Rev per CSTO 53 460.35Average Commission per CSTO 17 818.33

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Turnover and Commission (Sigis) for October 2002 ($1=R9.50)

We have a total of 4102 phone shops

•Owned by 1635 entrepreneurs

•15% have expanded their businesses to include Vodashops

•5% have expanded to other businesses e.g tourism, guesthouse owners, etc.

•2% have expanded outside the Republic of South Africa.

124 000 000 minutes a month are generated by the phone shops. These generate more minutes than the entire Vodacom pre-paid commercial phones.

CREATED PLATFORM TO GROW

It can hold 5 to 10 Sigi phones

Phone shops are owned by independent community members who offer the service to the public

The refurbished containers remain the property of Vodacom

PHONE SHOP

Job creation

•Spin-offs from phone shops include small businesses around the phone shops.

•Insert video clip

•More than 20 000 jobs have been created as each phone shop employs 4 to 5 employees.

•Those who have expanded their businesses employ more than 5 employees per establishment.

CREATING JOBS

VIDEO CLIP

•Phone shops owned by community members.

•Technology is pre-paid

•Profit guaranteed

•Tariffs subsidised

•Excellent support system which comprises of:

WHY IT WORKS

Support System

Training entrepreneurs in Basic Financial Accounting

concentrating on:

• How to run a small business

• To how to prepare a business plan

• How to manage cash flow

• Ho to interpret financial statements

• To to decide on appropriate business structure e.g closes corporations, sole proprietorship, et

• Basic labor legislation e.g. unemployment insurance fund and workmen’s compensation act.

IT WORKS, IT’S SUSTAINABLE

More than 500 entrepreneurs have been trained

1.2 Road Shows

Promoting the use of phones by the public

(Clip of video insert)

1.3 Communication through:

Ringers

Show picture of ringers (insert picture of Ringers Newsletter)

SMS

Quarterly meetings at regional and (Focus Group) national levels (Nitosa)

1.4 24 hour Community Services Helpline.

IT WORKS, IT’S SUSTAINABLE

ENKOSI!!