Africa – KigaliTech

[Rwanda] The Internet Society Pledges to Expand Internet Access in Africa

As the Internet Society (ISOC) celebrates its 30th anniversary as a global nonprofit advocating for an open, globally-connected Internet, the organization is calling for accelerated action to further Internet development throughout the African region. During the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) 2022 taking place from in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme “Connecting the unconnected to achieve sustainable development”, Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President of the Internet Society in Africa, lauded the progress made by stakeholders in expanding access throughout the continent, while encouraging more collaborative efforts to bridge the digital divide.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest growth in global Internet penetration, increasing from less than 1% in 2000 to 30% today. Between 2019 and 2021 Internet use in Africa jumped by 23%. Despite this impressive growth, there is still a coverage gap of over 840 million people who don’t have access to reliable and affordable Internet access.

“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of Internet connectivity which has been an essential lifeline for the continuity of business, healthcare, education, government, and other critical activities. We applaud the significant investments in the last decades to develop Internet infrastructure, which have made the Internet available to more people across the continent. However, the pandemic also highlights the digital divide that remains, particularly in rural, remote and even urban areas around the world,” said Dawit Bekele.

In Kenya specifically, the rapid pace of Internet ecosystem development since 2012 underscores the critical role that Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and the accompanying infrastructure play in the establishment of strong and sustainable Internet ecosystems. The Internet Society has conducted technical capacity training on Internet routing technologies for network operators in Kenya and supported the development of community networks including TunapandaNET in Kibera, AHERI in Kisumu, and Lanet-Umoja in Nakuru.

It’s through such initiatives and collaboration from the government that has propelled an increase of the number of internet users from 0.4% in 2012 to 41.9% of the population in 2020 with nearly 70% of traffic localized. Localizing Internet traffic has led to significant cost savings for participating networks and puts the country in a strong position to participate in the digital economy.

Community networks are a way to help address the digital divide. They are communications infrastructures built, managed, and used by local communities and are a sustainable solution to address connectivity gaps in underserved regions. The Internet Society has a long history of working with communities worldwide to fund, build and train people with the skills needed to run and maintain community networks.

In Africa, the Internet Society has helped build community networks in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco, Senegal, and Ethiopia.

At WTDC, the organization will be making a pledge to support 100 complementary solutions to connect the unconnected, and to train 10,000 people to build and maintain Internet infrastructure, all by 2025 as part of the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, an initiative led by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that aims to foster meaningful connectivity and digital transformation in the hardest-to-connect communities around the world.

Also vital to expanding the Internet throughout Africa is the interconnection between local networks, content providers, and users. Currently, millions of dollars are spent every year to route local Internet traffic through expensive international links. This not only makes the Internet slower and more costly for Internet users, but it also limits the kinds of applications that can run on the local Internet. For this reason, the Internet Society has been at the forefront of supporting the establishment and growth of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) that enable and encourage local traffic.

ISOC research shows that IXPs improve the end-user experience, lower the cost of access, and stimulate the development of local Internet ecosystems and cross-border interconnections. By improving local Internet services and reducing their costs, well-managed IXPs open new worlds of possibility with modest investment.

Google announces 30,000 scholarships under African developer scheme

Opportunities for software developers in Africa are at an all time high, according to the 2021 Africa Developer Report by Google and Accenture, opportunities for software developers in Africa are at an all time high, driven primarily by the booming startup ecosystem and the global demand for remote work. Local businesses are also contributing to this demand as they seek to hire more developers to help them build a better online presence.

The report also looked at ways that technology companies can accelerate access to these opportunities through education and training programs that improve on job readiness. At Google we have been supporting developers in Africa through community and training programs for over 10 years. Today, there are more than 180 active developer communities in 30 countries across Africa. These local developer communities provide developers with the opportunity to connect, learn and grow together. The research report showed that nearly 1 in every 2 developers in Africa has been through a Google developer training or community program.

Mampho and Christopher are two software developers based in Johannesburg and Lagos respectively who have graduated from the Google Africa Developer Scholarship program. They both heard about the opportunity online and decided to apply for the Google Cloud learning track. After completing the training, they went a step further and took the Associate Cloud Engineer certification. This has enabled them to be more productive at work, and opened up a world of new opportunities for them. To quote Mampho, “The GADS program empowered me, and showed me that I could be a world class developer”

Google is announcing an additional 30,000 Android and Google Cloudtraining opportunities for aspiring and professional developers in Africa. «We are pleased to be partnering with Andela and Pluralsight on this program for the 5th year in a row, continuing our commitment to Africa’s developer ecosystem.» Developers selected for the program will gain access to carefully curated training content and hands-on learning experiences. They will also access a pan-African network of peer learning groups and community mentors who will guide them on the learning journey.

Follow this link to apply for the scholarship.

africa.googleblog.com

Google and Tony Elumelu Foundation support 1 mln more African entrepreneurs

Google and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have announced an inaugural Google.org Fellowship to provide 1 million more people in Africa with access to TEFConnect, as part of TEF’s mission to support young entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. Nine full-time Google employees, including software engineers, UI/UX researchers and policy experts, will work with the Foundation to upgrade the TEFConnect platform.

TEFConnect already provides over 1 million African entrepreneurs with tools, market partnerships, and access to coaches and investors for small businesses. The fellowship builds upon an initial USD 3 million grant by Google.org to support the 2021 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme to enable 500 African women to start or expand their businesses. The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is a USD 100 million initiative that has supported over 15,000 African entrepreneurs.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is a philanthropy venture to support African entrepreneurs, catalyse economic growth, eradicate poverty and create jobs.

TEF has disbursed over USD 85 million in seed capital to date to support small business growth across Africa.

With African entrepreneurs raising more than $4 billion in funding in 2021, more than double the $1.5 billion raised in 2020, it’s clear investors around the globe are waking up to the continent’s potential. For some, like philanthropist Tony Elumelu, this growth is the validation of a long track record of backing African entrepreneurship.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), he has helped empower African entrepreneurs from across the continent. To date, TEF has distributed more than $85 million in grants for seed capital, and supported more than 1.5 million entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries through its proprietary digital platform, TEFConnect.net. Google is similarly enthusiastic about African startups and has supported them with funding, mentorship and skills development, among other things. That’s what makes it so exciting that TEF and Google’s paths are once again converging in 2022.

Last year, Google.org committed $3 million to the TEF to support an additional 500 female entrepreneurs across the continent. To further support the effort, this year, nine Google employees from Africa and Europe will devote six months of their time and expertise to TEF as part of the first Google.org Fellowship in Sub-Saharan Africa. Composed of engineers, user experience (UX) specialists and business and marketing managers, these Googlers will work with TEF full-time, pro bono, to build a new TEFConnect platform, equipped with new tools to help entrepreneurs access the resources they need to succeed.

We hope to support TEF in reaching one million more African entrepreneurs through the new TEFConnect, expected to launch later this year. The improved, more mobile-friendly TEFConnect platform will give those entrepreneurs access to a catalog of more curated educational resources, and more avenues for funding.

Additionally, as the world kicks off a month of celebration for International Women’s Day, Google.org and The Tony Elumelu Foundation want to mark the occasion. As part of these collective celebrations, we will convene policymakers, private sector and entrepreneurs to engage in a discussion about entrepreneurship on the continent. We will hear from female entrepreneurs who have benefited from the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s support, as well as from notable leaders.

As the year 2022 progresses, we want to play a larger role in supporting the world’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Africa’s citizenry is youthful, optimistic and enterprising. There is so much to be gained by leveling the digital playing field and creating possibilities that will raise the ceiling for the continent’s population.

By bringing together people from the private and public sector and supporting entrepreneurs in areas that will make the most difference, we can go a long way to helping Africa’s entrepreneurs reach their full potential.

www.tonyelumelufoundation.org

www.blog.google

Next Engineers programme launches in Johannesburg

General Electric (GE) in partnership with FHI360, PROTEC and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) officially launched the Next Engineers programme in Johannesburg to increase the diversity of young people in engineering. The programme launch, which was officiated by the Gauteng MEC for education, Panyaza Lesufi, will provide more than 3500 students between the ages 13 to 18 over five years with hands on exposure to engineering concepts and careers, and ultimately award financial support to students pursuing engineering degrees.

Next Engineers, funded by the GE Foundation, has also been launched in Cincinnati, Ohio and Greenville, South Carolina in the United States of America, and Staffordshire in the U.K. Since announcing the selection of Johannesburg as one of the four launch cities to implement Next Engineers globally last year, PROTEC and the GDE ensured Next Engineers garnered significant interest in the programme from high schools across Johannesburg’s five educational districts. In fact, approximately 1100 students have applied to be among the first to participate in the programme’s exciting Engineering Discovery, Engineering Camp and Engineering Academy pillars. Today over 550 high school learners have been selected as the first cohort of students to develop their engineering identities through programme’s Engineering Discovery and Engineering Academy pillars.

Nyimpini Mabunda, CEO of GE South Africa says, “As we slowly start recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that we require more diverse solutions that will contribute to the growth of the economy. Through GE’s Next Engineers programme, we are not only exposing tomorrow’s engineers and changemakers who will solve society’s most pressing challenges to invaluable hands-on learning experiences but we are playing our part in increasing the representation of females in the engineering sector”.

“As the GDE, we welcome this initiative and are grateful that GE will be investing in transforming our engineering sector, especially through our learners. As we are aware, the engineering sector has a critical role to play in ensuring that Gauteng achieves its goals as articulated in the Growing Gauteng Together Vision 2030,” said Gauteng Education MEC, Mr. Panyaza Lesufi.

The total $2.5 million USD investment in Johannesburg will cover funding to PROTEC to implement and grow the programme, provide financial support for up to 150 Engineering Academy participants and funding for tuition for 800 youth to attend Engineering Camp.

“Working with the GE Foundation is a key step to uplifting the lives of many potential engineers in Johannesburg while also contributing to the acceleration of the engineering industry. Through this collaboration we look forward to mentoring and exposing students to endless possibilities brought by the engineering sector and giving them an opportunity to turn their passion into a career in engineering”, says PROTEC CEO, Mr. Balan Moodley.

Across South Africa, while education has made vast improvements, particularly in the past 15 years, there remains various challenges regarding access to varying levels of education. The Next Engineers programme starts with raising awareness as early as age 13 (grade eight), igniting interest throughout high school (ages 14 to 18), and alleviating financial barriers to higher education through financial support.

Students, educators and the community can obtain updates and more information at https://bit.ly/3HmEu10.

www.GE.com

Oracle announces $1M investement to support African tech startups

Oracle has announced support of $1 million for tech startups in Africa that will help accelerate their digital initiatives with the latest cloud technologies and business resources. Led by Oracle for Startups, Oracle will provide extra resources and support to technology startups across Africa over the next two years.

Cloud credits of up to $10,000 for 100 startups will be made available as part of this program. Hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources, and customer engagements will also be offered to startups.

“At Oracle for Startups, we help startups grow from grassroots through scaling. Africa is a hotbed for tech entrepreneurs, and we have witnessed a 91 percent growth in enrolments from South African startups, and 39 percent growth from over 13 other African countries within the last year. The USD one million investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their startups,” said Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups.

A recent report from IDC notes the importance of corporations supporting startups to help further spur innovation, and had this to say about Oracle for Startups: “Highly valuable to the startup community. Not only do they provide technology support, but they also provide benefits aligned in business areas such as marketing, market access, business knowledge, and expertise.”

This program follows Oracle’s recent announcement of the opening of its first cloud region in Africa to meet the rapidly growing demand for enterprise cloud services on the continent. The Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region will boost cloud adoption across Africa while also helping businesses achieve better performance and drive continuous innovation. The opening marks Oracle’s 37th cloud region worldwide with plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.

Eligible African tech startups can find out more information and apply to this program by visiting the program website.

www.oracle.com

Accenture, Dubai Cares, Microsoft and UNICEF launch digital education platform

Accenture, Dubai Cares, Microsoft and UNICEF announced the launch of a global, digital learning platform for young people. Operating under the Generation Unlimited partnership, the Passport to Earning platform aims to address the global education crisis, currently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare the next generation for decent work.

The platform will provide young people aged 15-24 across the world with free, certified education and skills training—with content spanning across digital, foundational, role-based, and technical skills. Young people using the platform will be able to use the certifications gained to support future employment and entrepreneurship opportunities made available on the platform. The Passport to Earning platform was unveiled today at the RewirEd Summit, the largest global education summit of its kind, led by Dubai Cares, in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and in close coordination with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), and delivered in partnership with global stakeholders.

“The youth of today represent the leaders of tomorrow. Preparing and equipping them for the challenges that lie ahead of us is critical to ensuring that our future is in capable hands. Passport to Earning will provide young individuals with an effective tool to strengthen and upscale their skillsets and empower their professional journeys towards greater goals. In addition, the RewirEd Summit proved to be a fitting gathering to launch this platform in line with the conversations we hosted around the summit’s first day theme: Youth, Skills and the Future of Work,” said His Excellency Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Dubai Cares.

Passport to Earning is built on Microsoft’s Community Training (MCT) platform and will form an extension of UNICEF and Microsoft’s Learning Passport, a digital learning platform aimed at school-age children struggling to access mainstream education. Operational in 20 countries, the Learning Passport was recently identified by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best inventions of 2021.

“We’ve seen first-hand how technology can be used in transformative ways to reach and connect learners—even in the most challenging scenarios. Passport to Earning is a powerful tool that allows us to reach young people and provide them with digital skilling opportunities at scale. We’re thrilled to work with UNICEF, GenU, Accenture and Dubai Cares to bring this program to life,” said Kate Behncken, Vice President and Lead of Microsoft Philanthropies.

The platform will offer online and offline digitalized curricula with supplemental content curated at the national level. It will keep young people learning—both inside and outside of classrooms—with content that is not dependent on a consistent web connection. It will also build government capacity to provide sustainable skilling and employment opportunities in the digital economy.

“Young people across the world are poised to advance their societies and economies. Yet, without access to relevant, quality education and training opportunities, they are unable to truly participate in the 21st century workforce. The Passport to Earning, which builds upon proven solutions in delivering education in the most challenging of environments, will provide young people with the skills and certification they need to create a better, more sustainable world,” said Omar Abdi, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director.

According to a recent World Bank-UNESCO-UNICEF report, the current generation of students risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings—around 14 per cent of today’s global GDP—as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures. However, even before the pandemic, young people were not learning the skills necessary for future work. Pre-pandemic data showed that without immediate action, by 2030 an estimated 825 million children will not acquire the basic secondary-level skills—such as transferable, digital and job-specific skills—needed to support lifelong learning and employment.

“The fourth industrial revolution is bringing with it irreversible changes for the education sector and the labor market—and we must not fail to do our part in enabling young people to prepare for what’s ahead. Passport to Earning exemplifies what partnerships between the public and private sectors, the UN and young people can achieve. It’s a new, modern, and inclusive global skilling solution that will connect millions of underserved youth worldwide with state-of-the-art curriculum, certifications, and ultimately jobs,” said Kevin Frey, Chief Executive Officer of GenU.

Rapidly advancing digital solutions have the potential to reach all young people and help them to access world-class learning. Accenture will bring expertise in digital learning and a user-centric design approach to Passport to Earning.

“The need for digital skills has never been greater, especially in those regions hardest hit by global inequalities and the impacts of COVID. We are proud to partner with UNICEF, Microsoft and Dubai Cares on Passport to Earning to support many thousands of young people get a job or start a business. Working with our global partners, Accenture’s Skills to Succeed initiative has equipped over 4.5 million people with the skills to make substantive improvements to their lives,” said Jill Huntley, Managing Director for Corporate Citizenship at Accenture.

www.unicef.org

Ericsson pledges to support one million young people by 2025 with access to digital learning and skills

Ericsson announces a major new commitment to empower one million children and young people by 2025 through access to digital learning, tools, content and development programs.

This commitment forms part of the World Economic Forum-aligned EDISON Alliance 1 Billion Lives Challenge – a global movement of forty-five champions from the public and private sectors.

The members, including Ericsson, are committed to prioritizing digital inclusion as foundational to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that every person can fully participate in the digital economy and society.

The ‘1 Billion Lives Challenge’ brings together digital inclusion commitments from governments, companies and other organizations globally.

Ericsson’s new commitment will be unveiled today by company President and CEO, Börje Ekholm, in a virtual address to the Global Forum for Children and Youth. Ekholm will explain the criticality of the work to Ericsson in realizing its mission: to enable a world where limitless connectivity improves lives, redefines business and pioneers a sustainable future – a world where limitless connectivity means limitless possibility.

Building on a legacy of work in digital inclusion

Today’s commitment will be realized through Ericsson’s leading Connect To Learn initiative which has positively impacted more than 200,000 children and young people in more than 25 countries around the world since its foundation in 2010.

The initiative is enabling access to quality education for underserved and unconnected communities and establishing an inclusive digital platform with a focus on empowering the next generation with digital skills, essential for their socio-economic development. It also aims to improve gender equality by empowering women and girls through ICT.

Ericsson President and CEO, Börje Ekholm, says: “At the heart of Ericsson’s purpose is the belief that connectivity creates possibilities for all people. We believe it is a responsibility of government and business to work together to build a more equitable future for children and young people – digital connection is a critical enabler of this, ensuring that every young person has access to a quality internet connection and can acquire the necessary skills to thrive in a digital economy.”

He adds: “This is why we are making this pledge to help narrow the digital divide and create a more equitable society. This is the latest milestone for Ericsson’s Connect To Learn program, which has been working for over 10 years to advance digital inclusion. However, there is still much more to be done. We call on partners, customers, governments and NGOs to join us in pledging the resources needed to make a real, lasting difference.”

A long-term partnership with the EDISON Alliance

Ericsson’s commitment to the World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance 1 Billion lives challenge comes in addition to its partnership with UNICEF, in support of the Giga Initiative. The Giga Initiative is a partner of the EDISON alliance and aims to connect every school to the internet by 2030 and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice.

www.ericsson.com

MTN appoints Hermann Tischendorf Chief Technology & Information Officer for Digital and Fintech

MTN Group has announced the appointment of Hermann Tischendorf as Chief Technology & Information Officer for Digital and Fintech.

“We are delighted to have a seasoned executive of Hermann’s calibre joining our growing DigiFin team,” says MTN Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer Serigne Dioum. “He brings the skills and experience that will accelerate innovative digital and fintech advancements in line with our strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa progress.”

Hermann joins from 4Finance Group, where he was Chief Technology Officer. He has 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, where he has occupied numerous senior roles. Hermann brings a solid track record of success in directing organisational expansion, digital product development, operations management, IT budget allocation, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

MTN says Hermann is expected to offer transformation and disruption to mobile payment platform and help improve customer engagement, experience, acquisition and loyalty. He will also be responsible for developing new products and services, building the nascent ecosystem and scaling up existing revenue streams.

Hermann holds a Master of Business Administration and a Diploma with Honours from Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria and studied Finance & Banking at the Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His appointment took effect on 1 December 2021.

www.mtn.com

Fellowship opportunity empowers thousands of African students to start/continue scalable businesses

The Mastercard Foundation and the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC) have announced a partnership offering free virtual entrepreneurship training, and an opportunity to receive startup funding to more than 1,000 students through the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship for African Students at Queen’s University.

The program launched in September 2020. It provides students and recent graduates from African universities within the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program with the opportunity to apply to a free virtual entrepreneurship training program delivered by Queen’s University’s DDQIC Program. Through this program, award-winning faculty and some of the best innovators, policymakers, and business strategists collaborate to support students to become Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellows. During the 2020-2021 Academic year, 1,252 students participated, and more than 60 percent of the cohort were women, recognizing the additional barriers women face when starting a business or seeking employment in Africa.

“The launch of the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship for African Students last year was a proud moment,” said Jim Leech. “Seeing bright African students take advantage of this entrepreneurial training to initiate, strengthen, and bring their business goals to life is exciting and augurs well for Africa’s future. I look forward to seeing the new waves of talent come in with this year’s applicants.”

Prospective fellows receive access to a curated list of online entrepreneurship courses developed at DDQIC and work through the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Framework developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The fellowship is designed to address unemployment among post-secondary graduates by equipping thousands of students and recent graduates with sufficient entrepreneurial training to initiate and continue to grow their businesses.

Titose Chembezi of the University of Cape Town was a $5,000 winner at the DDQIC Summer Pitch Competition and said the pitch experience provided her with a boost of confidence. “It was the first time my team and I got to compete with ventures from Canada and won a prize. It taught me to move past the stigma that startups from the African continent may not be competent enough compared to the West and it also gave me the courage to see the world as my oasis.”

The Mastercard Foundation created these fellowships through an endowed donation to Queen’s University in honour of Jim Leech, former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mastercard Foundation and Chancellor Emeritus of Queen’s University (14th Chancellor). In 2014, Mr. Leech was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions as an innovator in pension management, for his writings about retirement funding, and for his community involvement.

The applications for the upcoming academic year close on December 10, 2021. Learn more about the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship and complete your application today.

For application inquiries, please contact:

Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre
Megan Sieroka
Program Coordinator at the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship for African Students: jimleechfellowship@queensu.ca

www.mastercardfdn.org

UNICEF and Liquid Intelligent Technologies launch a partnership to help Giga bridge the digital divide in Africa

UNICEF and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, announced a partnership in support of Giga’s work to connect every school to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice.

Liquid will share anonymized data to support Giga’s work to map the location and connectivity status of schools in Africa. Liquid will also share information with Giga about schools’ proximity to telecoms infrastructure and will help develop a connectivity monitoring platform. The resulting information will provide a basis for better-targeted investment to connect schools, including in hard-to-reach areas.

The partnership will initially focus on Kenya but will aim to incorporate other Liquid markets over time, including South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

“This partnership with Liquid will allow our Giga team to gain a deeper understanding of the connectivity landscape in Kenya and across Africa,” said Thomas Davin, Director, Office of Innovation at UNICEF. “That knowledge will help UNICEF to get more schools online, giving children access to the opportunities they need to flourish.”

Ben Roberts, Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, said, “The Giga Initiative from UNICEF and ITU echoes Liquid’s sentiment of creating a digitally resilient economy in Kenya and Africa at large. There is no better place to start than our schools that shape the minds of our children, thereby securing our future. Through our expertise in the digital and telecom landscape, we will support UNICEF in its endeavour to map school connectivity data across Kenya by providing real-time figures to measure impact. This initiative also reiterates the vision of our parent company – Cassava Technologies, of creating a digitally connected continent that leaves no African behind.”

Around half of the world’s population still has no meaningful access to the Internet. UNICEF and Liquid are committed to addressing this digital divide, which has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Giga has already mapped over 1 million schools and their connectivity around the world and has connected over 3,000 schools.

Liquid has connected 4,000 schools to internet across Africa. The company aspires to continue empowering schools with digital technology and has mapped 150,000 schools through the continent.

Giga is part of UNICEF’s broader Reimagine Education initiative, the UN Secretary General’s Common Agenda and Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, and ITU’s Partner2 Connect Coalition. It has the potential to transform efforts to narrow the digital divide, providing a connectivity layer on which digital empowerment initiatives can build.

www.liquid.tech