Even some young students in Arusha are connected!
We just wrapped another successful trip in Africa and I’m happy to report that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Tanzania! We bounced across the country visiting active Vodacom Internet Café Containers in three cities over two days. It was quite a hustle shuttling from charter plane to Vodashops, Vodacafés, potential sites and back again. Logistically this trip was a potential nightmare, but it went as smoothly as can be thanks to the organization and tireless hospitality of our Vodacom hosts. Special and particular thanks to Christopher at Vodacom Tanzania who traveled everywhere with us making sure all went as planned – you were amazing, man!!
Owner of the internet café in Arusha with his employee
As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, this Vodacom program sponsored by the GSMA and Qualcomm falls under the Wireless Reach initiative’s entrepreneurial category. They’ve essentially created a “business in a box” that entrepreneurs throughout Tanzania can purchase and operate themselves within their communities. The Vodacom Internet Café franchise package includes a steel shipping container that has been nicely finished inside and out and can accommodate as many as five internet stations.
A woman in Dodoma carries a pot on her head. This is a very common sight throughout Tanzania.
I was really impressed with the finish work in these units. To be honest, when I first heard I’d be shooting internet cafés built from converted steel shopping containers, I didn’t have very high expectations. I love the prefab structure idea, but a shipping container?! That can’t be good. But I was so wrong! These have insulated and sheet-rocked walls, recessed halogen overhead lighting, air conditioning, comfortable chairs and of course wickedly fast and reliable 3G internet connections. One savvy entrepreneur in Arusha even made room for a small Pepsi branded refrigerator that he sold cold soft drinks from. Brilliant!
This little guy was watching me work the whole time we were at the cafe in Arusha. What a cute kid!
Now – these are shipping containers, so space is very tight inside. Though that doesn’t appear to turn off customers looking for broadband speed connectivity in a part of the world where electricity isn’t even terribly reliable. (The cafés even have a battery backup that can keep the whole store running for up to an hour if the power goes out – Vodacom thought of everything!) It was just amazing to see what these folks have done to eek out a revenue stream from every square inch of these tiny retail locations.
They offer fax and photocopy services, pay per minute phone usage, and they sell mobile phones and Vodacom service programs. They even have a Western Union style money transfer service called M-Peza which transfers funds through cell phones. You can pay for goods and services as well as get cash all through your mobile phone. It’s slick and works great. Fantastic for a country where getting from one town to the next may take over a day by rough road. And forget about it during the rainy season when the roads flood. These are very smart, well thought out little businesses that still offer a large degree of freedom and flexibility to the entrepreneur to add additional services.
I’ll post a proper trip wrap up when I get back to San Diego and post more pics – there are a TON! Thanks for reading everyone. Next post will be from home sweet home!!
-N
