Research Hub > Dell Technologies and CDW Help a South African Community Improve Digital Equity
Case Study
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Dell Technologies and CDW Help a South African Community Improve Digital Equity

Solar Community Hubs expand economic opportunities and information access for residents in rural Newlands.

In a remote community on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, a persistent digital equity gap is finally starting to shrink thanks to a Solar Community Hub that provides computers and internet connectivity to residents. The Dell Technologies Solar Community Hub, housed in two recycled shipping containers, opened in June in the town of Newlands, or Nxarhuni. It’s one of around 50 hubs built through an award-winning program led by Dell Technologies and Computer Aid International (CAI) and supported by partners including CDW.

Since 2014, Dell’s Solar Community Hubs have helped to provide access to education, healthcare and financial stability for millions of people around the world. A hub may be a fixed structure like the one in Newlands, a technology-enabled van that travels from town to town, or it could be a portable connectivity center designed for quick deployment after a crisis or disaster.

CDW joined the effort in 2022 and signed on to sponsor a hub in South Africa.

“Day to day, we’re focused on serving our customers and growing the business, but engaging in a project like the Solar Community Hubs brought extra purpose and meaning to our partnership and ultimately created a wonderful program for an under-resourced community in South Africa,” says Dell Channel Marketing Consultant Nick Thelen.

“The Solar Hub is providing access to what some now call the fourth utility — access to the internet and a device to access it from — and the world of learning and opportunity it presents.”

“At CDW, empowering communities around the world is core to our company culture,” says Suzette Carty, global head of environmental, social and governance. “We are committed to making a lasting difference in our world, and this commitment is underpinned by our foundational beliefs that everyone should have equitable opportunities and be able to experience the unlimited possibilities that technology unlocks.” 

In 2023, CDW aligned its ESG priorities with eight of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, areas where the company could make the most meaningful contributions. Dell’s Solar Community Hubs can support these SDGs, which include quality education, economic growth and reduced inequalities.

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Solar Community Hubs Emphasize Localization and Environmental Sustainability

Dell Technologies partner CAI works closely with local communities, oversees local partner relationships and guides the projects through critical milestones. The Small Projects Foundation, which recommended Newlands as an ideal candidate for a hub, had worked with the community for several years to address youth unemployment and the lack of digital services.

“It is a remote and under-resourced community with seven schools, with very little support to create opportunities for their youth,” says Ludovic Gautier, CAI’s head of programs. “SPF understood the impact a hub could have there.”

“Everything starts from understanding the needs of the communities we serve before designing the support that will be provided,” says Houcine Faïk, giving and impact manager for Dell.

Environmental sustainability is a pillar of the Solar Community Hubs program. The structures rely solely on renewable energy and use energy- and power-efficient technologies. In addition, every hub constructed from shipping containers is built in-country, conserving resources and preventing the containers from becoming waste.

On the technology side, Newlands’ computer lab is equipped with Dell Wyse 5070 thin clients powered by a PowerEdge T430 server and a PowerSwitch N1500 Series switch, together with Dell Latitude 5420 rugged laptops. For internet connectivity, there’s an outdoor LTE antenna with an uncapped SIM from MTN, a South African telecommunications provider, along with an indoor router for the hub and an outdoor access point for public use.

“Community members have responded very positively,” he says. “The attendance has been high from day one.”

Knowing that CDW is helping to create meaningful change is inspiring, says Maria Richards, head of CDW’s South Africa Shared Services Centre.

“It aligns with our mission of empowering people through technology,” she says. “By ensuring that under-resourced communities have the same opportunities as others, we foster inclusive growth and help bridge the gap between different socioeconomic groups.”

49

The number of Solar Community Hubs that have been built around the world

Source: Dell


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“This computer lab will change the face of our community. Not everyone might have a university degree, but people have potential and skills, talents and dreams.”

— Ayabonga Jezile, Project Assistant, Small Projects Foundation

Solar Community Hubs Increase Digital Equity and Provide New Opportunities

In many places, the hubs do much more than bring internet connectivity to an area. They also fill critical gaps in infrastructure. In Newlands, for example, the hub also expands access to water and electricity. However, their primary aim is to increase digital equity and create opportunities for financial stability by empowering residents with valuable digital skills such as coding and how to use Microsoft Office, for example.

As programming expands in the future, Newlands residents will be able to obtain the International Certification of Digital Literacy, which demonstrates readiness for jobs requiring digital skills.

Healthcare is one of the biggest ways that hubs can support local communities. In Newlands, the hub offers HIV prevention education, mentorship for mothers and early childhood development programs. The hub’s technology also enables SPF to bring its Umbono Sight Project to Newlands. The project screens children for vision problems and helps them obtain eyeglasses and other eye care services.

The personal impacts made a powerful impression on CDW’s Thelen. “Hearing the thanks and testimonies from the residents of Newlands was heartwarming,” he says. “I’m glad that our teams could make such a positive impact on their lives.”

Get to Know Newlands

THE SITUATION: South Africa’s Eastern Cape is one of the country’s poorest provinces. Unemployment is over 42%, and approximately half of residents have less than a high school education, according to the Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council. Newlands is a rural village of single-room brick huts that house large families, many of whom work in agriculture.

THE CHALLENGE: Water and electric services are spotty, and the closest internet source is a cafe 40 minutes away. Before the deployment of the Solar Community Hub, Jason Richards, head of sales for CDW in South Africa, says, “we heard stories of students arriving at university with no knowledge of computers, and the unemployed unable to apply for jobs because job applications are online.”

THE CHANGE: As of fall 2024, approximately 90 middle schoolers are attending classes at the hub’s computer lab, 50 high schoolers completed online college applications there and 100 young people come to the lab regularly to submit online job applications, according to Computer Aid International. “Projects like these transform and uplift countless generations,” Richards says.

Get to Know Newlands

THE SITUATION: South Africa’s Eastern Cape is one of the country’s poorest provinces. Unemployment is over 42%, and approximately half of residents have less than a high school education, according to the Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council. Newlands is a rural village of single-room brick huts that house large families, many of whom work in agriculture.

THE CHALLENGE: Water and electric services are spotty, and the closest internet source is a cafe 40 minutes away. Before the deployment of the Solar Community Hub, Jason Richards, head of sales for CDW in South Africa, says, “we heard stories of students arriving at university with no knowledge of computers, and the unemployed unable to apply for jobs because job applications are online.”

THE CHANGE: As of fall 2024, approximately 90 middle schoolers are attending classes at the hub’s computer lab, 50 high schoolers completed online college applications there and 100 young people come to the lab regularly to submit online job applications, according to Computer Aid International. “Projects like these transform and uplift countless generations,” Richards says.

Building a Sustainable Future Through Innovative Partnerships

Partnerships are at the heart of the Solar Community Hubs, both between multinational companies and with community residents. CDW recognizes its capacity to lead and scale ESG initiatives by virtue of its extensive partner relationships, says Jon Steggles, ESG strategic lead for CDW in the U.K. “It’s the power of radical collaboration: bringing people and expertise together to build a single voice that delivers change and lasting impact,” he says.

Ayabonga Jezile, SPF’s project assistant and a trainer at the hub, says giving advantages that she didn’t have to the next generation via the hub is exciting.

“This computer lab will change the face of our community,” she says. “Not everyone might have a university degree, but people have potential and skills, talents and dreams.”

Steggles agrees. “If we now see just a small number of those young people go on to have careers they couldn’t have had, that’s when the real impact will come,” he says.

Amy Burroughs

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Amy Burroughs is an award-winning writer specializing in journalism, content marketing and business communications.