Telkom Business has partnered with South Africa’s largest private education provider, Damelin, in a mobile deal that aims to help students stay connected and in touch. The promotion will see 40 000 SIM cards handed to students for free, over a three-month period.

This is part of a broader collaboration with South Africa’s education sector through a strategic initiative known as Project Athena.

“We can safely say that the most effective way to communicate with the Millennial Generation is through their cell phones because that is how they connect,” says Megan Nicholas, managing executive of mobile solutions at Telkom Business.

“Along with attracting prospective students to our various campuses we will also be providing a viable communication platform to stay in touch with students beyond their initial visit,” explains Nolan Charles, group chief commercial officer at Damelin.

“Enclosed as part of the package, all for free to the end user, is a SIM card, CLI, connection and WiFi. This will allow for easy communication on things like registration dates and related offers, as well as other ongoing campaigns.”

According to Nicholas, this approach is perfectly aligned to Telkom Business’s positioning as a solution provider and an enabler of communication.

“We evaluated Damelin’s business need, understood their fundamental requirement, and devised a solution that could facilitate a positive end result – that is connecting with the students.”

The next phase of the agreement will see free WiFi being rolled out to designated Damelin sites.

“Here students can take advantage of Internet services, including video and audio streaming, Web site browsing and social networking.”