KLM supported us in getting the Close the Gap story out!

“So close the Gap was up and running,” I say to Olivier. “You had the 7.000 computers from KLM and you had KLM- cargo to transport them to the African continent. What did you do next?”

“It was a start,” Olivier replies. “A very good start even, but we had to get our story out into the market to attract other companies with used computers. We did not have a marketing budget to spread the word and visiting the companies one by one was going to take a lot of time. But then again, if there was something we had, it was time.

“Help was on the way!” Olivier says, raising his index finger to stress his words. “KLM suggested that they could make a short three-minute movie in which they follow a used PC from a desk in the KLM office, on its way to Africa, and being reused in an education program in a small village. The video was made and showed on all intercontinental flights for three months.

The people in economy class were the ones we wanted to reach for the brand awareness of Close the Gap. The people in business class were the ones we wanted to approach for a partnership.”

“Wow!” I say. “It must have reached thousands of people.”

“One million,” Olivier replies. “We reached almost one million people with the video. We found several big companies who wanted to help us by giving not only their computers, but also their expertise. It was more than I had hoped for… it was really happening.

This led to the creation of a new operational model with local African service partners. These local service partners help us to efficiently deploy and maintain all those thousands of computers in schools and other educational institutions, universities, medical centres, entrepreneurial organizations and other non-profit projects. Coached and monitored by Close the Gap, the local service partners are responsible for maintenance, helpdesks, on-site training and end-of-life services for the benefit of the environment. This way we can guarantee professionalism within the day-to-day use of the pc’s for the thousands of users, beneficiaries and partners.”