By Heidi Vogt
NAIROBI, Kenya--As young pitchmen shout to potential passengers
over blaring music, a graffiti-covered private minibus fills up
more quickly than the other dozen in the scrum. It has free
Wi-Fi.
The specially outfitted matatu, as the minibuses are known in
Swahili, is part of an experiment by Safaricom Ltd. to connect
Africa's unconnected, offering a glimpse of what it takes to bring
some of the world's most price-sensitive users online.
Once on board, Mwenda Kanyange updates his Facebook status and
browses the Web for his hourlong trip home through Nairobi's
traffic-clogged streets.
"It gets kind of boring," the 23-year-old college student says,
"Wi-Fi is good for that."
Tech companies world-wide are trying to reach billions of people
just beyond the middle class, and many of them are in Africa. Only
about 16% of Africa's one billion people use the Internet,
according to the International Telecommunication Union industry
group. That is well behind Asia, with 32%, and Arab states, with
38%.
But Africa is the fastest-growing region for accessing the
Internet by phone. Mobile-broadband penetration on the continent
rose to 11% last year from 2% in 2010, the group says.
"The numbers can only move in one direction," says Erik Hersman,
who founded a Kenyan crowdsourcing site and a tech incubator here
in the capital.
The key to unlocking that growth is discovering ways to bring
the Internet to people for whom even phone calls can be too
expensive.
Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and other companies are funding
groups like the Alliance for Affordable Internet, which work to
bring down the cost of getting online globally. Intel Corp. is
working in Africa with phone manufacturers to bring down the price
of smartphones running on Intel processors. International Business
Machines Corp. has opened a research center on the continent.
There are few better places in Africa than Kenya to start a
technology venture. A half-dozen tech incubators dot Nairobi. And
nearly half the country's population of 40.7 million people use the
Internet in some form, according to the government. But Wi-Fi in
Kenya tends to be at upscale establishments, such as airports or
high-price restaurants.
On Mr. Kanyange's matatu, only half the roughly 20 passengers
appear to be jumping online. A 24-year-old housekeeper a few seats
away from him says she doesn't have an email address, let alone a
Facebook account. Neither does anyone in her family.
Reaching people like the housekeeper is the goal of Safaricom's
Vuma Online program, borrowing a Swahili word for "blowing strong
and fast."
The Kenya-based company hopes that putting free Wi-Fi in places
where tech novices and tech aficionados meet will coax more people
to the company's paid service. Safaricom says it is willing to
absorb losses for the time being but declines to say what it is
spending.
"We looked at where our [potential] customers were, and they
were in the matatus. Most of our customers spend two or three hours
commuting every day," says Gideon Karimi, who oversees Internet
marketing for Safaricom. The program has expanded to about 3,000
matatus and buses nationwide from about 20 in 2012.
The telecom gives matatu owners the equipment free and charges
them 2,000 shillings ($23) a month for data, 30% off the retail
price. It is money well-spent to attract riders. Every time Wi-Fi
matatus reach their stops, says bus owner Vincent Swaleh, there is
"a group of people waiting for them."
Rival Airtel Kenya takes a different approach. The unit of
India's Bharti Airtel Ltd. is focusing on people who know they want
Internet access, but are scared away by price. The telecom gives
free airtime for a few popular applications, such as Facebook,
hoping they will serve as gateways for broader online use.
Safaricom, meanwhile, is airing television and radio commercials
and distributing flyers to explain what is available on the
Internet, like soccer scores and advice on farming. Some ads
explain that Gmail and Facebook accounts are free.
The idea is to start conversations among consumers about going
online, Mr. Karimi says. Safaricom staff have seen matatu
passengers explain the Internet to each other, he says. Drivers
explain smartphones to riders who don't understand why their basic
handsets won't connect.
The Vuma Online program is expanding to other gathering spots,
too. SafariSHYcom is installing Wi-Fi routers at city train
stations and small-town barber shops. The company also takes a
router-laden bus to rural areas on market days to create a
temporary Wi-Fi hot spot. Staff use a loudspeaker to announce that
free Internet is available and help shoppers set up free email
accounts.
"We're trying to create a culture of Internet here," Mr. Karimi
says.
Write to Heidi Vogt at heidi.vogt@wsj.com
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