When the School of Community Networks South Africa (SCN-SA) concluded in February 2023, it was found that 80.9% of the students remained actively engaged with their community networks, a significant increase from just 23.8% engagement prior to the programme's start. Beyond celebrating this great immediate outcome, Zenzeleni Networks NPC – the organisation running it – decided to revisit the impacts on these communities in late 2024, marking the first initiative to explore the journey of the communities after conclusion of the training programme.
The National Schools of Community Networks were a collective capacity and movement building effort for the creation, development and consolidation of community networks in five countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Over 35 communities took part in them between December 2021 and January 2023.
With the support of a subgrant from the Local Networks initiative, led by APC and Rhizomatica, Zenzeleni Networks NPC conducted an audit of six community networks in South Africa last year, focusing on their current operational status, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. The study also aimed to assess the impact of the school training programme and to identify the opportunities and challenges these networks face in their pursuit of sustainability. The results offer valuable insights for community-centred initiatives across South Africa and the wider region.
To amplify these learnings, we spoke with the three leads of the project – Nicholas Eppel, Yumna Panday and Neo Magoro – about how lessons from past actions can inform the future. In this month’s column, we share some of their reflections, alongside evidence from the audit, highlighting that seeding change and harvesting knowledge are two parts of the same nurturing cycle.
School of Community Networks South Africa
Within the South African context of high inequality, community networks can represent an opportunity for communities to both solve challenges of access and affordability and develop pathways for socioeconomic development.
In South Africa, Zenzeleni Networks NPC was selected as the local partner to run the school in the country, while participants included representatives from seven different communities: Zenzeleni Networks and Amadiba Community Networks (both in the Eastern Cape), Mamaila Community Networks (Limpopo), Seoding Community Networks (Northern Cape), SOWUG (Gauteng), and VNET and Black Equations (both in the Western Cape).
These are rural communities or townships and peri-urban areas in the country, where the lack of connectivity is combined with other social challenges. When asked about the biggest opportunity for community networks in South Africa during the audit, almost all communities agreed that it lies in filling the gaps left by large internet service providers by offering affordable and reliable connectivity to rural, informal and other marginalised populations. While the survey and workshop results show that this is the goal of all the community networks, the complex reality of internet service provision in these contexts means that this opportunity may not yet be fully realised.
“Community networks have the potential to be the primary networks in underserved areas,” points out Yumna Panday from Zenzeleni, while also highlighting the importance of deepening our collective understanding around the obstacles and the kind of support needed to overcome them.
In fact, the audit reveals a complex landscape relating to community networks in the country. Their efforts face numerous challenges, from limited resources and technical expertise to compliance hurdles and financial instability. The findings also highlight, however, their resilience and potential even in the face of challenges.
Celebrating achievements
Six of these seven communities that participated in the School of Community Networks South Africa took part in a survey and an in-person workshop held in Cape Town in September 2024 as part of Zenzeleni’s audit.
“This particular [activity] in South Africa was a very useful exercise to say, okay, let's think of them through the same lens. Let's begin to ask similar questions and see where they fit in this kind of maturity model or stages of maturation,” explains Nicholas Eppel. “I think what that does is it moves the conversation away from community networks being considered solely as a social good, to as needing to be some sort of sustainable social enterprise also,” he adds.
When asked about the reasons to celebrate, Nicholas Eppel, Yumna Panday and Neo Magoro highlight how the training programme fostered movement building, personal skills development and peer-to-peer support.
“There are small wins across various community networks. Zenzeleni, for instance, is slowly expanding, and in terms of digital literacy, we are diversifying our training,” explains Panday. She also celebrates the collaborations between the Mankosi community, where Zenzeleni is hosted, and the Mamaila community.
“One of the things we can celebrate is the establishment of public benefit organisations, including all six of the community networks we’ve mentioned,” adds Magoro, referring to a collective agreement made by them to register together as a “public benefit organisation”, acting as a body for the community networks to operate as an alliance. This is a way for them to negotiate better broadband backhaul rates, bulk-buy devices, and put forward a united voice in public policy consultations.
Acknowledging challenges
While we can celebrate the progress made, it’s crucial to remain mindful of the many challenges faced. Among the evidence captured by the audit, several barriers were identified, such as the lack of affordable and reliable access to backhaul connectivity, power supply issues, limited space for the community networks to operate, technical difficulties, and even external threats to the continuity of their technical services.
The participating communities also mentioned structural barriers such as “unsupportive big businesses” and a lack of a “conducive policy environment”. According to Magoro, who works with both the Zenzeleni and Mamaila community networks, the majority of community networks in South Africa do not receive the support promised by the government, while there is still little understanding of what community networks truly are among the decision makers.
The funding landscape is another major concern for their future. The audit highlighted the combination of limited grants and the low socioeconomic status of the communities, which further complicates these networks’ financial sustainability.
“We need to start rethinking whether we can really afford to give away services for free,” comments Magoro, when defending that community networks should be seen as social business providing services. “We need to find mechanisms to keep our labs open, for instance. And in order to offer the services we do, we are selling laptops,” she offers as an example from her own experience in Mamaila. Their knowledge of the local context helps them to ensure the prices are affordable.
Complex social challenges like unemployment, which is at over 32% in South Africa and higher in more marginalised communities, as well as a lack of local opportunities, can also hinder community members’ engagement with the network. Eppel emphasised the importance of building movements with a realistic perspective.
In summary, the three authors of the audit report underline that it is important to understand that building movements takes time and goes through ups and downs – and community networks are no different. In this regard, this community-centred connectivity alternative, although better positioned to serve underserved communities, should not be mistaken for a magic solution to complex problems. It requires people’s commitment, a genuine intention of dedicating time and effort to help each other, as well as the existence of a support network of collective action. It also demands supportive actions from those with decision-making power.
Looking towards the future
To enhance the long-term success and sustainability of community networks in South Africa, Zenzeleni Networks NPC presents recommendations based on the evidence gathered in the audit. These include more mentorship programmes and expanding training opportunities. Another key suggestion is the establishment of a support or incubation body in the country to offer guidance and resources to emerging networks. Additionally, a financial sustainability toolkit and a fund for community networks could be developed to assist them in achieving financial stability. These inputs were included in a broader planning process in 2024 and will be part of advocacy strategies being built by civil society organisations for the next three years.
“I think one of the most important things for community networks in Africa is to start thinking about what maturity might look like. Then, we need to consider what the support structures – the ecosystem – must look like to help community networks through a process of maturation and professionalisation,” notes Eppel.
The deep reflection carried out by Zenzeleni shows that with the right support, they can thrive and reach sustainability in different aspects, including financial, technical and with regard to personnel as well as community engagement. And by doing so, they can be a beacon of hope for underserved communities.
This piece draws on the information shared by Zenzeleni as part of the project Meaningful community-centred connectivity (2024-2027) for the “Seeding change” column, which presents the experiences of APC members and partners who were recipients of funding through grants and subgrants offered through APC projects and initiatives.
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