Our Journey
Dots for was founded in 2021 by Carlos Oba with a clear mission: to break the digital isolation of rural Africa by building the infrastructure and services that enable equal participation in the digital economy. What began as a bold idea has, in just five years, grown into a thriving network of 300 connected villages. By 2025, our work has expanded across Benin and Senegal, and into Zambia through a franchising system, proving both the scalability and adaptability of our model across diverse African markets. Alongside expansion, we have continuously strengthened our technology: from launching the first version of our d.CONNECT device, DC Box Origin, to developing the DC Box 2.0, expanding our marketplace, and enabling AI-based digital jobs that provide direct income to rural communities. Our growth has been fueled by the creation of a global partner ecosystem, bringing together leaders in digital services, financial inclusion, and employment opportunities such as Honda, Brother Industry, SoftBank, and Transsion Holdings, among others. These partnerships not only validate our model but also ensure that the solutions we bring to rural Africa are reliable, sustainable, and impactful. Today, Dots for stands as a trusted bridge between digitally invisible rural communities and the global digital economy. With connectivity, access to finance, work opportunities, and essential digital services, we are helping families and entrepreneurs in rural Africa unlock their potential and improve their quality of life.
Message From CEO
What is the image that comes to mind when you hear the word “Africa?”
When we start talking about Africa, many people seem to think first of either a “poverty-stricken Africa” or a “rapidly developing Africa."
But when we actually visit rural villages, we find an Africa that is neither.
We see people who are poor, but who live really happily, talking with their families and neighbors over a cup of tea, laughing, singing, dancing, etc. On the other hand, they are stuck in poverty for reasons beyond their individual control and are in a very vulnerable position where the slightest negative impact, like a car accident or bad weather, can put a family's livelihood at risk. Many adults are forced to leave their families and migrate to cities to work, seeing their families only a few times a year.
We, Dots for, believes that communication and digitalization are the key to changing these lives. We want to create a world where people in rural Africa can stay with their families and friends in the villages where they were born and raised, while being connected to the world, and having access to a variety of opportunities and income increases taken for granted. We will realize this world, which has already been established in most countries and regions, especially in developed countries, in rural Africa where people have been left behind because of their low income.
CARLOS OBA
Benin office
Our Core Value
Everything for customers
Everything we do is done to maximize the value delivered to our customers.
Trust all "dots"
We treat everyone with respect and believe that each of them is a "Dot" with the potential to change the world.
Shake your heart
We create moments that make our hearts tremble as we pursue our beliefs.
Prove your value to the world
We must have a mission to prove the meaning of our existence through our own actions.
Tumble first
We are not afraid to fall down. Failure is not failure if we have the opportunity to get up and learn.
Be modest explorers
We recognize that we don’t know what we don’t know, and we keep searching for a better world, continuing our adventure to expand it.
Stand on your feet
We question “well-known” problems and taken-for-granted assumptions, and act based on our own experiences and perspectives as those directly affected.
Our Mission
Bridging the Digital Divide: Closing the Information and Opportunity Gap for 3.5 Billion People Through the Power of Connectivity and Technology
Today, around 3.5 billion people around the world live in what is known as the digital divide — a state where individuals are unable to access or benefit from digital technologies and internet connectivity. Due to both economic and geographic barriers, they have been left behind by the wave of digitalization and access to communication networks. This situation has created a huge information and opportunity gap between rural residents and the rest of the population, which in turn has created a serious income disparity. In Africa, internet penetration remains below 30%. However, traditional telecom operators have little incentive to make large investments in infrastructure for these regions, where populations are widely dispersed and income levels are low. As a result, the digital divide continues to persist with no clear sign of improvement.
Dots for uses a local communication network to build digital platforms for rural users who cannot access the internet. Through these platforms, we provide a variety of useful smartphone-based services, helping to close the digital divide and solve the challenges that rural communities face through the power of communication and technology.
Our Approach
From Isolation to Connection
For decades, rural villages in Africa have remained disconnected from the rest of the world, with information shared only within the community and opportunities confined by geography. This isolation has limited access to education, jobs,financial tools, and even basic communication with the outside world. Dots for is breaking this cycle by building affordable local communication networks that extend digital access to underserved villages. Through our services, community members can buy smartphones and connect to Wi-Fi, access financial services, receive training and education content and tap into digital jobs such as AI annotation and remote work opportunities. Our marketplace empowers villagers to purchase essential equipment through flexible installments, while our credit scoring system opens the door to financial inclusion for those who have never before had a chance to build credit. Our work results in isolated communities becoming digitally empowered hubs where people can learn new skills, start businesses, increase their income, and improve their quality of life. By bridging the information and opportunity gap, we are not only connecting villages to the global economy but also ensuring that millions of people previously excluded from the digital age are given the tools to participate, grow, and thrive.
Learn more about our servicesTake the right step,
do the big things.
Villages visited
Accumulated orders
Countries
We are available year-round to respond to inquiries regarding partnerships, market research, and investment opportunities in Africa.
What is our corporate color ?
Originally, we had chosen green as our company color, but after entering the field, we noticed a pattern in the color of the walls and roofs of our customers’ houses, who live in rural villages.
That color was “Aka-sabi” (rust-red). We then decided Aka-sabi would be our color for two main reasons:
- This color is present in the daily lives of our customers and it adequately embodies our most important value "Everything for customer".
- We hope that, when people see Africa in Google Maps, they will see many dots of this color, representing the potential each dot has to change the world.