NEWS
Teraco Connect Foundation grant to support
SABEN in a changing digital landscape
Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco
Teraco, Africa’s largest vendor-neutral
data centre provider, has announced a
support grant valued at R7.5m to the South
African Broadband Education Networks
(SABEN) via the Teraco Connect Foundation.
Over the next five years, Teraco will partner
with SABEN to support the national drive
to end bandwidth poverty among South
Africa’s schools and public TVET colleges.
Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco, said that the
grant will help to facilitate the changing
landscape of education in South Africa.
Digital infrastructure initiatives, including
remote learning and educational streaming
will become more efficient
and easier to implement:
“The Teraco Connect
Foundation sees the grant as
an investment in the future of
this country at a time when all
sectors are facing significant
challenges. As a leading data
centre infrastructure provider,
we are proud to invest in
education, one of the most
important cornerstones to
secure the future growth and
development of South Africa.”
SABEN is a non-profit company serving
the public Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) sector in
South Africa. It is purpose-built to solve the
digital requirements of this sector. Hnizdo
said the grant will assist in laying essential
foundations for future digital remote
learning strategies.
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Ukheshe appointment targets financial inclusion
The new executive director of Ukheshe
Africa believes being able to reach the
unreachable parts of African society is the
largest challenge facing the banking sector.
The appointment of Mark Dankworth
comes at a time when the need for a
cashless society is a rising trend and a
strategic global imperative.
Ukheshe Africa will not only look to increase
its user base but will also be identifying new
business-to-business opportunities for the
platform across the continent.
Dankworth says that since his entrance
into the payments sector in 2004, true
financial inclusion is undoubtedly the most
important aspect.
end they cater for the same customer base
that has previously been banked.
“What excites me about Ukheshe is that it has
been built to address the smaller merchants
and people who previously did not have
access to affordable banking services.”
While Ukheshe has focused on South
Africa, Dankworth says that there are
already opportunities underway for the
micro-payment platform in Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi,
Botswana and Angola.
Mark Dankworth, Executive Director of
Ukheshe Africa
He said: “Being able to truly bank the
unbanked is by far the greatest challenge
as well as a significant accomplishment.
In my experience, several businesses have
attempted to achieve this but fail and in the
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