Wicrypt Is Bringing Wireless Internet To African Cities
Solving internet connectivity issues in developing countries is a big issue. In major cities across Africa, there are 4G networks, but it can also be expensive to get connected. With the increase in smartphone penetration in Africa, there are millions of Africans that want to go online. The table below from a research shows the cost of a 1GB data bundle in different countries. There might be changes in the actual prices, but this gives you an idea of the data costs.
As Uber pioneered ridesharing, introducing cheaper fares for rides whilst also creating employment for drivers, Airbnb pioneered room sharing by enabling users to rent out their property for a period of time. Wicrypt is pioneering data sharing.
Wicrypt is a service that allows its users to get paid while sharing their WiFi. It is designed in such a way that you have a device that is the “host” and another which is “client” can connect to the host. The host could be a Mobile phone Hotspot, Router, MiFi, etc., which is configured to become a Wicrypt device, while the client is an android mobile phone. The inbuilt wallet verifies that beneficiaries always have enough credits to use the service while users receive payment per gigabyte of data consumed. Users without the Wicrypt mobile app can also connect via vouchers.
Data is still quite expensive in Africa and to foster the growth of the ICT sector, internet subscription has to be a lot cheaper. Also, in the different parts, there are areas where the internet coverage by a particular ISP is low and might already be subscribed to that particular ISP, so in that case, the user has a subscription but can’t access the internet.
Wicrypt helps in this regard with a sharing economy. Data is much cheaper when purchased in bulk. Individuals and companies can make a profit by sharing their internet over Wi-Fi as Hosts. Clients are happy to connect to Wicrypt hotspots for very low prices. Also, individuals or companies that do not exhaust their excess data or have unlimited internet connection can also resell their excess.
“Wicrypt is solving Africa’s last-mile internet connectivity problems,” says Wicrypt founder Ugochukwu Aronu. “With Wicrypt, it does not matter what ISP is being used. Mobile Networks, Microwave, Internet fibre cables, etc. Any of these can be used to distribute the internet. This way we can provide internet connectivity in both Urban and Rural Areas”.
The Internet data space in Africa is a large one and it is currently growing at CAGR of about 17.5%. Data consumption across Africa is estimated to increase to about 18 billion GB by 2022 with revenues north of $20 Billion.
According to internetworldstats.com, there are 1.3 billion people in Africa and an estimated 526 million people connected to the internet which represents 39.3% of Africa’s population. Wicrypt is solving that problem in Nigeria by offering cheaper data rates through its wifi resellers at a cost that he claims is affordable for Africa’s emerging middle class and low class. The subscriptions are on a per GB basis as set by the data reseller in that particular area so every user can access the internet at their own price without having to pay the full price of 1GB bundle. For example, a user can purchase 100MB of data for NGN 25 ($0.06) and 1GB for NGN 250 ($0.55) from a Wicrypt data seller. The A4AI defines affordability as 1GB of mobile broadband data costing no more than 2% of average monthly income. But the average across the African continent is 7.12%, and in some cases, 1GB costs more than a fifth of average earnings. So this greatly reduces the cost of data.
Another benefit is that funds in Wicrypt wallets or vouchers are not tied to a particular reseller. So as a user when you buy a voucher or fund your wallet, you can purchase data from any Wicrypt reseller in the world.
With partnerships such as Enugu WiFi to provide cheaper data in Enugu state and other partners in different parts of Nigeria, Wicrypt is set to provide more affordable internet to over 10,000 Wifi zones within the next six (6) months. Check how much you can make reselling data with the profit calculator on the Wicrypt website.
