Social Media
TikTok Partners With ThinkWiFi To Launch free Wifi’ hotspots In Communities In South Africa
TikTok has partnered with a South African company Think WiFi, a free public WiFi company, to launch 50 free WiFi hotspots spread across different communities in South Africa
It is reported that Africa has the lowest number of internet connections, with only 22 percent of the continent having access to the internet.
As part of its commitment to empowering local communities to ensure they have adequate access to internet connectivity, social media platform, TikTok has partnered with a South African company Think WiFi, a free public WiFi company, to launch 50 free WiFi hotspots spread across different communities in South Africa.
According to TikTok, this move was inspired by the need to drive awareness and advocacy relating to the digital divide & the need for digital literacy inclusion for all communities in the country.
“This is a move by the entertainment platform to drive awareness and advocacy relating to the digital divide and the need for digital literacy inclusion for all communities,” a statement on the initiative said.
The launch of the pilot coincides with World Literacy Day and its theme of “Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces”, focusing on the stagnant growth in Internet penetration.
TikTok’s director for government relations and public policy in Sub-Saharan Africa, Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda via a statement disclosed that the company understands that the social media platform plays an important role in the digital world, hence the reason for the company’s motive.
The statement reads;
“We understand that as an entertainment platform accessible on mobile devices, TikTok plays an important role in the digital world.
“With this pilot, we hope to encourage more people to join digital spaces such as ours, to not only create content but to learn new skills and educate fellow community members about their passion and interests.”
ThinkWiFi CEO Janine Rebelo disclosed that the Internet offered “endless” opportunities for South Africa’s youth, but many did not have access to digital hardware, digital literacy skills, or connectivity.
“The latter reality is exacerbated by the high cost of data and the limited availability of infrastructure to support broadband penetration targets,” Rebelo stated.