Vodacom Tanzania’s Smart Kitochi, enabled by KaiOS, wins the Last Mile Connectivity Award at AfricaCom 2020 Awards.
The Last Mile Connectivity Award recognises organisations and initiatives that have significantly increased access to reliable and affordable internet in underserved areas.
KaiOS powers low-cost devices to significantly increase access to reliable and affordable internet in underserved areas and help build a better, more inclusive, digital world.
Today KaiOS has shipped 135 million devices to over 150 countries.
The first KaiOS-enabled device in Africa was announced at 2018 AfricaCom, and now these devices are available in most of the Sub-Saharan Africa countries and retail between $15-25.
Tanzania has one of the youngest populations in Africa but just 13% of the people own a smartphone.
Vodacom Tanzania has worked with KaiOS to tackle the problem of low smartphone penetration and usage with encouraging results.
At an affordable price of TZS 48,000 ($20), Vodacom Tanzania launched Smart Kitochi in late 2019. It comes bundled with 4GB data per month, 100 mins talk time, and 500 SMS messages for the first 6 months.
