Even as social media giant Facebook is championing its free internet access across the world, the company is partnering with stakeholders, especially telecoms companies in Africa, to provide free access to it’s platform. The latest is in Tanzania where the company has announced a partnership with telecoms company Tigo to offer subscribers free access to Facebook services in English and a new Kiswahili version through their mobile.
This is the first time that Facebook will be free on any mobile network in East Africa, according to Tigo General Manager Diego Gutierrez.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Gutierrez said: “What this partnership means is that Tigo customers can, for the first time, access Facebook through their handsets without incurring any data charges and connect with the social media network’s two millions of users in Tanzania and its 1.2 billion users worldwide.
“It is the first time any major social media company has made a version in Kiswahili the national language spoken by Tanzanians and majority of the people in East, Central and Southern African region.
“Facebook has been a fantastic driver of data on mobile networks. With this unique partnership, we are making Tigo stand out from the crowd and giving many customers their first taste of the internet and social media, including in Kiswahili. That’s what creating the digital lifestyle is all about, and it reinforces our strategy to encourage more Tigo customers to use data as part of their daily communications activity.”
