In a groundbreaking event at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos on May 9, Facebook partnered Airtel to officially launch Free Basics on the Airtel Nigeria platform.
Free Basics by Facebook provides free access to basic internet services to over a billion people in the world.
These websites available on the Free Basics platform are free for people living in areas of the world that have low or expensive internet services.
With Free basics, they will be able to access news, health information and services like Jobberman that were built by Nigerians and other developers across West Africa without having to pay for data.
This means Free Basics is now live in more than 40 countries, with half of those are in Africa.
Facebook also revealed that over the next months, they will be looking at ways to connect developers with people who can use their apps, and they will partner with local companies to bring internet to people across Africa who don’t have access to mobile networks.