TES Partners With Close The Gap To Help Bridge The Global Digital Divide with E-Waste

ATLANTA-- Close the Gap collects decommissioned computers from companies and arranges for other organizations to sanitize and refurbish them according to their end-users' requirements. The computers are used to support educational, medical, entrepreneurial, and social projects in emerging and developing countries. Since its inception in 2004, Close the Gap has supported over 6,000 projects in more than 50 countries, donating over 1 million computers to reach over 3 million people.

This includes projects like the Pebbles Project in South Africa which received 20 desktops for students to do research for school projects. The Grootbos Foundation received 46 computers, for use in developing sustainable livelihoods through ecotourism, enterprise development, sports development, and education in the Cape Floral Kingdom (a region in South Africa). There is an endless need for projects like this, including Computers for Education in Malawi whose goal is to make sure that more schools and students gain access to quality IT devices; Close the Gap provided 100 computers for this initiative.

TES processes millions of laptops, desktops, tablets, and mobile devices annually after collecting them from its partner organizations. Their certified process records, securely sanitizes, and grades the devices, before determining they are suitable for refurbishing for re-use with social and educational projects identified by Close the Gap. TES's partnership with Close the Gap provides a local presence in many countries and enables the mission of better connecting those that need it most.

Gary Steele, TES's CEO, said, "Extending the lifespan of repurposed technology devices is foundational to TES and our mission to securely, safely, and sustainably transform and re-purpose 1 billion kg of assets by 2030. The partnership between TES and Close the Gap represents an extension of that foundation and furthers our commitment to global corporate social responsibility." Steele added, "We are proud to participate in a program that makes quality refurbished IT assets available to people who otherwise would not have access. The reuse of IT assets for education stimulates local development and contributes to a more sustainable, circular economy."

Olivier Vanden Eynde, the founder of Close the Gap, said, "By working towards making ICT assets 100% circular, we aim to bridge the digital divide and provide equal access to information and communication technology so that, regardless of your location, you can reach your full potential and create a prosperous sustainable future for all. This new partnership with TES accelerates the monitoring of our refurbishment process, transport, export/import process, distribution, installation and maintenance, and local collection and recycling."

About TES - https://www.tes-amm.com

Founded in 2005, TES is a global leader of sustainable technology services and bespoke solutions that help clients manage the commissioning, deployment, and retirement of technology devices and components. As one of the largest IT lifecycle service providers in the world, TES understands the common challenges faced when managing IT equipment throughout its lifecycle, and bespoke, cost-effective solutions address these challenges while achieving compliance with all local and international data security, environmental, and industry regulations.

With a mission to make a decade of difference by securely, safely, and sustainably transforming and re-purposing 1 billion kg of assets by 2030 through an unmatched global footprint of 42 owned facilities across 21 countries, TES offers unrivaled service-level consistency, consistent commercials, lower logistics costs, local environmental compliance experts in-region, support in local time zones and languages, and a deep understanding of trans-boundary movement globally.

About Close the Gap

Close the Gap, founded by Olivier Vanden Eynde in 2004, is an international social enterprise that aims to bridge the digital divide by offering high-quality, pre-owned computers donated by large and medium-sized corporations or public organizations to different projects in developing and emerging counties. Recycle, refurbish, and remarket are the three pillars that are central to the organization. Decommissioned computers from other companies are collected, cleaned, checked, and adapted to the needs of their end-user. The computers are then shipped to the destination country to support educational, medical, entrepreneurial, and social projects. All projects are demand-driven and impact-oriented initiatives. Since 2004, Close the Gap has already received more than 1,007,000 computers from companies all over the world; more than 6,280 projects from all over the world (mainly in Africa) were supported by Close the Gap, and more than 3,220,000 beneficiaries were reached.

Close the Gap also powers Worldloop (sustainable e-waste recycling), the BOOST programme—formerly known as the Leap2 programme (supporting local entrepreneurship and innovation)—and the Digital for Development platform, all contributing to creating impact in developing and emerging countries all over the world.