2018 winner, Dimension Data, partnering for good - case study

Rhino poaching has reached crisis proportions in South Africa: one rhino gets poached every eight hours, and if this rate of poaching continues, the rhino could be non-existent by 2025.
As a company that holds conservation close to our hearts, we knew that there had to be a way to use our technological expertise to find a solution.

In 2015, we partnered with Cisco and a private game reserve in South Africa to launch the Connected Conservation programme – the first partnership of its kind. The aim of the initiative is to use technology to tackle the problem of rhino poaching and, at the same time, raise global awareness around the bigger issue of poaching endangered species.

Together with Cisco, and with the expert local knowledge from the reserve, we used sensors, cameras and software to track the movement of people in and out of the park, rather than trying to track the location of the rhinos.

The pilot project resulted in a 96% reduction in rhino poaching in 2016. To celebrate, once the pilot project proved successful, we launched an integrated marketing programme using global print, online, and broadcast media. This included a media trip to the game reserve where the solution was rolled out, a video collaboration with CNN, and an augmented reality app, which was featured in The Economist.

We also created a worldwide internal engagement campaign targeting our 28,000 employees. Media coverage reports revealed that, excluding social media, the Connected Conservation had reached an estimated audience of over 700 million, and generated an advertising value of over USD 206 million across
online, print, and broadcast channels.

No rhinos were lost in 2017. Two years into the project, we’re now expanding the project to include sites in Mozambique, Kenya, Zambia, and protecting the Savannah elephant as well as the rhino. Our aim is to expand the programme to other continents to protect more endangered species over the next five years. More than ever before, technology has given us the ability to change the world – not tomorrow, not someday, but now. Dimension Data and Cisco are dedicated to making a difference by protecting the oldest and most vulnerable animals, with some of the newest connectivity technology.

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