Local viral consumer rewards application Maholla and Internet service provider (ISP) ikeja have partnered to deliver high-quality, cost-effective Internet services to youth across South Africa’s townships.

Maholla, a viral consumer application that rewards users for scanning any receipt from any store, will now include vouchers from ikeja to help bridge the digital divide that permeates townships in South Africa.

Philippi-based ikeja, which aims to leverage its bespoke wireless infrastructure to bolster Internet connectivity in underserved communities across South Africa, offers a hotspot service providing 15 minutes of complimentary unlimited data every day, with the option to extend the uncapped Internet access through affordable packages, starting as low as R5 for 24 hours.

The partnership aims to make the ikeja voucher the most attractive reward option offered on the Maholla application with the hope of driving high adoption rates among South African youth.

“Together with Maholla, we hope to increase access to employment opportunities, educational resources and skills development courses for members of the youth living in communities where digital resources remain restricted,” says ikeja COO Matthew Symonds.

“It is simple and it works: scan your till slips and you can start claiming your ikeja Internet voucher right away,” he adds.

With shopping a daily activity and smartphone penetration growing rapidly in South Africa, Maholla aims to support millions of shoppers in the youth category in a manner that ensures they get more back from their daily purchases.

Maholla’s app works on all entry-level smartphones and has a download size of around 12 MB, while its image compression capabilities mean that uploading a receipt incurs negligible data costs for users as well.

“Youth Day offers stakeholders in the private and public sector a dedicated opportunity to leverage the resources at their disposal to improve our youth’s collective access to opportunity in our country.

“Bridging the digital divide between the youth in our townships can help us do this in an empowering manner that could significantly change the landscape of our economy in the long term,” concludes Maholla CEO Adam Reilly.