INTRODUCTION 

The Connectivity Coalition (“the Coalition”) is a multi-stakeholder initiative convened by the  DG Murray Trust (DGMT) and Kagiso Trust (KT), which together serve as the Secretariat. The  Coalition brings together civil society, public institutions, and private sector actors to advocate  for universal meaningful connectivity in South Africa. 

A significant portion of the population continues to face barriers to affordable and meaningful  access to reliable internet and the services it enables. While supply and infrastructure  dimensions of this challenge are comparatively well documented, the demand side and civil society dimensions, which are largely the reasons that many people who could connect do not and the question of what organised civil society should be demanding, remain under examined. Consistent with the Connectivity Coalition’s Steering Committee, the goal is to  develop a shared evidence base for the Coalition’s advocacy by commissioning research to  produce a concise synthesis of the state of connectivity, an evidence base examining barriers  to connectivity, and a civil society advocacy agenda. All this would additionally be distilled into  an advocacy ready policy brief. 

Submissions should be sent to Sibongakonke Dlamini,  sibonga@dgmt.co.za, by 28 August 2026.