Project Isizwe Partners VulaCoin to Monetize Township WiFi

In an ambitious effort to promote the adoption of internet on a pay-as-you-go basis in South African townships, Project Isizwe has partnered with fintech startup VulaCoin. They claim that the need for township connectivity is growing, and they are pleading with internet service providers (ISPs) to adopt flexible payment options to enable uptake in underserved areas.

According to the agreement, VulaCoin, a stable coin pegged to internet time and Solana-based wallet, is used by Project Isizwe, a non-profit organization that provides internet connection to low-income areas, to enable network access and micro pay-as-you-go transactions.

VulaCoin, a cryptocurrency-based mobile wallet that was introduced earlier this year, enables prepaid users to digitize their cash using a stable coin pegged to internet time. Users incur no transaction fees when storing, sending, or using VulaCoin in the wallet. According to the startup, VulaCoin stands for a trustworthy, traceable payment method that can act as the foundation for the micro pay-as-you-go service.

The partnership between Project Isizwe and VulaCoin comes at a time when there are urgent demands for both public and private organizations to act and play significant roles in tying together underserved communities.

Shireen Powell, CEO of Project Isizwe speaking on the development said that connecting underserved areas is increasingly critical, and for ISPs, this is a new frontier to monetize their services.

“People are saying townships are the new battleground, and it is unfortunate these areas have been overlooked. It’s unfortunate when we consider that in SA, 35% of the population lives in rural communities but only 1% have got internet access. That’s dire; it’s dire.

“So we know that when going into these areas, we lead with internet connectivity; and while we are there, we need to monetize or be able to make people buy internet access because it’s a prepaid model. We have talked about the township economy as the unbanked economy, and basically what people have are coins – they have a R5 or R2, that sort of thing. Now they can obviously take that coin to one of our resellers and be able to buy internet through VulaCoin.

“By doing that, you are not just creating the ability to get onto the internet; you are creating opportunities for people to earn money because they make 20% on WiFi sales. I see products like VulaCoin becoming very useful in township economies. It’s massively important that you have products like VulaCoin as an over-layer on connectivity,” said Powell.

Powell concluded that partnership with government was also essential in the quest to connect the townships and other underserved areas.