Invitation to Internet Cafe workshop

At iWeek 2004, I delivered a groundbreaking presentation: “The State of the Internet Cafe Industry in South Africa.” Since that time, I’ve received numerous queries from people who want to set up cyber cafes, and I’ve not always had my ducks in a row. However, I’ve continued to gather information on this topic and consulted here and there with some clients who set up cafes from scratch.

One of the outcomes is www.internetcafedirectory.co.za, which is still in beta, so your feedback is welcome.

Recently, I met an amazing young black guy, Terrence Mohlala, who has an Internet cafe business offering, and I’m helping him to develop this further into a more complete solution. He mainly sells computer hardware and does some basic end-user training from his own Internet cafe in Joburg.

Today, we agreed on a joint venture where I will offer research and marketing to his clients, and I will refer all the queries to him from the iWeek presentation mentioned above. Our aim here is to bring this to the widest possible audience, i.e. the Internet cafe as a viable small business.

I’ve always believed that the more Internet cafes there are, the more Internet users, which leads to more economic growth over the medium term. Professor Hans Rosling produces evidence for a direct link between Internet access and economic success in his 2006 presentation at TED.

So on Saturday, 24 March @9am we’re hosting an open workshop for people interested in starting Internet Cafes at the following venue: 2nd Floor, 58 Marshall Street, 3rd Floor, Johannesburg

It’s easy to book your seat for these workshops by calling +27814399555.