The leading pan-African telecommunications group Liquid Telecom has announced that it is providing mbora, a new social enterprise in Malawi, with its VSAT connectivity services
mbora provides free connectivity to people living and working in rural areas at a community hub. It has also developed a super app to help increase digital inclusion by providing access to useful and relevant online information and services including finance and healthcare.
Content and service organisations can use the app as a marketplace to reach important farming and fishing communities producing food in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
Liquid Telecom is providing mbora with its own VSAT network. Each mbora hub is serviced with broadband speeds of up to 36mbps, which in turn allows mbora and its content partners to deliver their services digitally to mbora users over a free Internet connection.
Liquid Telecom is using the high-throughput-satellite of its long-term partner Intelsat and providing an uncapped data service to mbora.
The first community hub is now living in a lake shore village near Mangochi, Malawi, the country’s capital. mbora aims to build 150 hubs surrounding Lake Malawi, and expand throughout the region.
mbora has chosen Liquid Telecom after evaluating all of its connectivity options from both domestic and pan-African operators.
Scott Mumford, CEO of Liquid Telecom Satellite Services, said, “mbora is our first partner in Malawi, and also authorised to resell our VSAT services. We share mbora’s beliefs that online connectivity is a basic human right and that digital and financial inclusion are vital to future economic growth. We look forward to connecting more of mbora’s community hubs to support their purpose of redefining rural development in sub-Saharan Africa.”
