Thursday, January 23, 2014

Solar-Powered Internet Cafe Spaza Shop


The demand for 3G connectivity in rural areas is growing rapidly. Statistics from Nigeria and Kenya at Davos 2014 indicate that "every 10% increase in broadband penetration in any given population delivers a 1.3% increase in GDP to a country, as long as the cost of broadband does not exceed 5% of an individual's income." Internet Café Spaza Shops provide an easy way for countries to deliver the penetration in Africa, by allowing cellular networks to extend their services to all parts of a country and to provide free solar power to individual cellphone users to keep their phones charged and connected at all times.

With this in mind, it is a smart and logical idea to invest in a quick-to-set-up and mobile Spaza Shop with internet capabilities. The investment is ideal for not only the entrepreneur, but for the cellular networks as well. Of particular interest is the convenience for students who do not have access to the internet at home, but who require it to facilitate their studies. Since our  Spaza Shops provide solar charging of customers' cellphones, business owners have the added benefit of customers spending more time and money in the establishment.

Obviously, transportation of these units is an important consideration, and fortunately each solar-powered Spaza Shop kiosk is supplied flat-packed, which reduces transport costs as they are less bulky. Set up is simple and this function can be carried out by untrained personnel.

To see the Spaza Shop kiosk in action, view this short video clip:

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