NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, November 20, 2015

Airtel Africa, which operates in 17 countries across Africa, has announced its partnership with Facebook which will see the launch of Free Basics in Africa.

Free Basics is a set of basic websites and services to introduce people to the internet and demonstrate how it adds value to their lives. They include providing free health, education and finance-related information to people in developing countries so that they can make informed choices and decisions to improve their lives.

In the first phase, Free Basics will be launched in Airtel Nigeria, DRC, Gabon and Niger followed by other Airtel Africa markets. Customers with an Airtel mobile connection will be able to access all the services that form part of Free Basics without paying extra for data charges or rental.

Commenting on the latest partnership with Facebook, Christian de Faria, MD and CEO of Airtel Africa said, “With Africa’s widest 3G network, Airtel has been at the forefront of the data revolution in Africa. We are cognizant of the power of internet in changing lives of communities and this partnership with Facebook will aid in bringing more people online and reduce the digital divide.”