In a bid to assist with the development of SME businesses in South Africa, Metrofibre Networx has partnered with Riversands Incubation Hub to bring broadband services, at a rate 50% more affordable than commercially available fibre services, to the companies operating within the Riversands campus.
Riversands Incubation Hub was launched in 2015 through a private-public partnership between Century Property Developments and the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund. The organisation’s goal is to boost local economic activity by providing promising SMEs with an affordable premises, a supportive entrepreneurial community and access to business support services. Today, the campus is home to 170 businesses from a variety of sectors.
“In order to grow our economy we have to invest in the development of small businesses and entrepreneurs, but often the costs of operating a business can be prohibitive to these companies, which is why the role of organisations such as Riversands Incubation Hub are so important,” states Gary Webster, Head of Wholesale at Metrofibre Networx.
“As part of our agreement with Riversands we will be offering its small business owners and other tenants access to greatly discounted broadband services, in a bid to help them grow their businesses with the support of superior connectivity and place them at the forefront of the new digitally-driven world.”
The broadband services will be offered to the SME businesses in the campus via the existing infrastructure Metrofibre has laid within the Riversands business park. Today Metrofibre owns and manages South Africa’s first globally compliant Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) open access fibre network, and connects over 60 cloud, application, voice and Internet service providers with their customers. The businesses in the campus will have direct access to this network via the Metrofibre offerings.
“Fast, reliable and affordable broadband internet access is a hallmark of any progressive community. This agreement helps us complete an important piece of the infrastructure puzzle. Our current entrepreneurs benefit from unbelievably low pricing for data and voice, and this will make Riversands an attractive destination for digital content producers. The deal underlines Metrofibre Networx’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs – we are pleased to welcome them aboard as a partner,” says Jenny Retief, CEO at Riversands Incubation Hub.