Case Study: How to Power 1,000+ Field Workers With Staff Airtime And Electricity Access

From grinding manual purchasing chaos to fully automated bulk top-ups in a fraction of the time, this is how one NGO streamlined staff airtime and electricity access into a single monthly upload.

Got a field team operating in SA?

Keeping your people online, reachable and productive is mission-critical for most organisations, but especially for NGOs. That's why, when non-profit TB/HIV Care grew from under a hundred to well over a thousand people, they had to rethink how they handle staff airtime and electricity top-ups.

This is how they moved away from manual voucher runs to fast, auditable bulk digital distribution — and kept campaigns moving without missed calls, offline surveyors or financing headaches, by keeping staff reliably connected and powered.

Before Prepaid24 Enterprise: Manually Buying Airtime And Electricity is Unsustainable at Scale

TB/HIV Care's early process was like many NGOs: A staffer physically goes to buy vouchers for a small team, tracking the details in a spreadsheet. And it worked - until it didn't…

"As the team grew, they quickly realised that this method would be unsustainable", says Vivian Mostert, Prepaid24 Enterprise Manager. "Not to mention the financial risks involved with doing it manually."

Managing staff airtime and data access across dispersed teams also collided with donor requirements. With local and international funders, TB/HIV Care had to prove how and where money was spent. Manual, in-store purchases meant physical slips, fragmented records and no definitive proof that a recharge landed on the intended number.

As Vivian notes, "Because they purchased physical vouchers, they could not prove if recharges were successful or if the credit was loaded onto the cell number it was intended for."

"When their team/network of fieldworkers grew from less than 100 to well over a thousand individuals, the operational risk of one offline fieldworker - let alone dozens - was too high for a mission where timing and responsiveness matter."

They needed a better solution.

Prepaid24 Enterprise's Fix: Reliable Staff Airtime And Electricity Top-Ups At Scale

Another NGO referral led TB/HIV Care to Prepaid24 Enterprise, where a purpose-built bulk system turned a patchwork process into a predictable, auditable workflow. "They quickly saw the benefits of using Prepaid24 Enterprise for bulk top-ups," says Vivian, "because the system also makes spend reporting to their various funders so much easier."

Operationally, the setup is lean. Ben Lindeque, Co-CEO of the Prepaid24 Group, explains: "TB/HIV Care structure their orders with Prepaid24 Enterprise based on their different funders, and our system enables them to have only one internal resource responsible for airtime and data purchases for all their field workers."

This gives TB/HIV Care a simplified recharge ops procedure:

• They submit a single file with all their top-up needs in one place

• Prepaid24 Enterprise helps check the accuracy of this file and provides an order reference

• They then submit their payment to finance

• And Prepaid24 Enterprise processes all the top-ups within an hour or two.

"And after their order, we compile a full, detailed purchase report," Ben adds.

A dedicated Prepaid24 Enterprise account manager helps with monthly bulk uploads, best-fit data package advice and cell number network accuracy by region, keeping airtime and power delivery fast and dependable for staff, while success rates remain high.

The Results: Faster Top-Ups, Fewer Failures, Stronger Donor Confidence

The first big benefit of this new system is a 99% recharge success rate, thanks to Prepaid24 Enterprise's dedicated service and quality checks, tightening control over staff airtime and electricity data and orders.

Second, speed: "Where a voucher run for the full team once took 3-5 days, the same order now processes in about an hour," says Ben. "Our bulk system tops up thousands of numbers in a single run." That's a material shift from multiple store runs to a one-hour processing window after payment - exactly the quick turnaround field operations need.

Third, audit-ready reporting that reassures funders. Each bulk order includes a transaction report detailing successes and any failures with reasons, plus invoices and monthly statements for finance. "Donors who are comfortable with the transparent allocation of their money are far more likely to keep funding an organisation's work," says Ben.

A TB/HIV Care team member sums up the service experience:

"The Prepaid24 Enterprise team always delivers professional customer service, even though we are a demanding client. Vivian goes out of his way to always be available when we need a hand. Thank you!"

How to Bulk-Distribute Airtime and Power to Your Staff

1. How To Register As A Business With Prepaid24 Enterprise

• Go to Prepaid24 Enterprise and click Sign Up.

• Complete the short Enterprise Registration form (email, password, accept T&Cs).

• Submit and proceed to the Enterprise dashboard once your profile is active (an email will be sent requesting a few KYC documents for proper compliance).

2. How To Log Into The Dashboard To Make Purchases

• Go to the Business Services Dashboard Login page.

• Enter your registered credentials and open the dashboard.

• Upload your cell number list (bulk file) or load your purchase, then confirm and pay from the dashboard.

3. Need Help? Get Support from Professionals

• Prepaid24 has caring support agents available from 06:00 to 22:00, 7 days a week. And you will enjoy access to dedicated business consultants during office hours, ready to assist with any and all of your business' bulk orders, numbers, meter queries and more.