Siyafunda CTC: A model of sustainability

Abstract

An organisation in South Africa has developed a network of local and international partners to offer a broad range of technology services to underserved communities. The idea was to bring technology to underserviced areas of South Africa, places that had seen little investment in the country’s history. Many of these places, known as townships, are densely populated and close to large urban centres, but they still do not have access to technology. Having technology nearby, however, is not the only challenge to be overcome. It has to be affordable too. In 2006, Siyafunda Community Technology Centres started to look at ways to bring ICTs to communities in the Ekurhuleni (East Rand) area of South Africa. The organisation was aware of previous attempts to introduce specialised technology centres to communities in the country, and was determined not to make the same mistakes.