SOLAR SHIP SELLS TWO AEROSTATS TO PEACE + FREEDOM SERVICES TO CONNECT AFRICA’S REMOTE AREAS
March 2, 2017
Thursday, March 2nd, 9am EST – Today, Peace + Freedom Services announced the agreement to purchase two Solar Ship aerostats as part of its mission to connect remote areas in Great Lakes Africa with South Africa. Aerostats are tethered balloons with wireless information and communications technologies (ICT). They drastically reduce the cost of data and connectivity for remote areas.
The purchase is part of Solar Ship’s effort to work with Peace + Freedom Services to connect people in remote areas of Africa with global transport and communications services. The focus is to unlock the brainpower potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs. Africa has the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs in the world; aerostats provide them with the tools they need to solve problems and create opportunities.
Peace + Freedom’s Director, Raymond Vokwana: “Solar Ship has been working with us for several months to develop the communications platform for Africa. Africa’s primary natural resource is brainpower, yet Africa has the lowest internet penetration rates in the world and some of the highest costs for data. Africa’s brainpower economy can flourish using this Solar Ship aerostat technology. This is one step in a longer journey to bring Peace + Freedom to our region and unlock our potential, especially the potential of Africa’s youth.”
Solar Ship’s Director of Africa Operations, Michel Rugema: “We have been working with partners in the Peace + Freedom network to establish financing and operations in order to connect South Africa with the Great Lakes region. These aerostats are part of Solar Ship’s self-reliant infrastructure package for Africa, designed to provide African operators with the ability to connect with each other and trade with the world.”
ABOUT SOLAR SHIP
Solar Ship Inc. is a Canadian company with its head office in Toronto and operations in Brantford, Ontario, Cape Town, Lusaka and Kampala and Shenzhen. Solar Ship develops hybrid aircraft and aerostats to service cut-off places. The aircraft uses two forms of lift: static lift, generated by buoyant gas like an airship, combined with the aerodynamic lift of a wing. This creates the capacity to fly large loads into areas without infrastructure and it enables the aircraft to fly without the use of fossil fuels. Aerostats use similar building materials as the aircraft. They provide low cost internet connectivity in remote areas.
ABOUT PEACE + FREEDOM
Headquartered in Gauteng, South Africa, Peace + Freedom is a network of entrepreneurs operating in South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya and Tanzania. They work with veteran peacekeepers to provide peace and security services and they work with entrepreneurs to provide freedom services – communications, transport, logistics.
Thursday, March 2nd, 9am EST – Today, Peace + Freedom Services announced the agreement to purchase two Solar Ship aerostats as part of its mission to connect remote areas in Great Lakes Africa with South Africa. Aerostats are tethered balloons with wireless information and communications technologies (ICT). They drastically reduce the cost of data and connectivity for remote areas.
The purchase is part of Solar Ship’s effort to work with Peace + Freedom Services to connect people in remote areas of Africa with global transport and communications services. The focus is to unlock the brainpower potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs. Africa has the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs in the world; aerostats provide them with the tools they need to solve problems and create opportunities.
Peace + Freedom’s Director, Raymond Vokwana: “Solar Ship has been working with us for several months to develop the communications platform for Africa. Africa’s primary natural resource is brainpower, yet Africa has the lowest internet penetration rates in the world and some of the highest costs for data. Africa’s brainpower economy can flourish using this Solar Ship aerostat technology. This is one step in a longer journey to bring Peace + Freedom to our region and unlock our potential, especially the potential of Africa’s youth.”
Solar Ship’s Director of Africa Operations, Michel Rugema: “We have been working with partners in the Peace + Freedom network to establish financing and operations in order to connect South Africa with the Great Lakes region. These aerostats are part of Solar Ship’s self-reliant infrastructure package for Africa, designed to provide African operators with the ability to connect with each other and trade with the world.”
ABOUT SOLAR SHIP
Solar Ship Inc. is a Canadian company with its head office in Toronto and operations in Brantford, Ontario, Cape Town, Lusaka and Kampala and Shenzhen. Solar Ship develops hybrid aircraft and aerostats to service cut-off places. The aircraft uses two forms of lift: static lift, generated by buoyant gas like an airship, combined with the aerodynamic lift of a wing. This creates the capacity to fly large loads into areas without infrastructure and it enables the aircraft to fly without the use of fossil fuels. Aerostats use similar building materials as the aircraft. They provide low cost internet connectivity in remote areas.
ABOUT PEACE + FREEDOM
Headquartered in Gauteng, South Africa, Peace + Freedom is a network of entrepreneurs operating in South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya and Tanzania. They work with veteran peacekeepers to provide peace and security services and they work with entrepreneurs to provide freedom services – communications, transport, logistics.