UNICEF and Liquid Intelligent Technologies have partnered to support Giga’s work in connecting school in Africa to the internet. The move aims to give the youth access to information, opportunity, and choice.
The partnership will initially focus on Kenya and gradually expand to other Liquid markets over time. This includes South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
According to UNICEF, almost half of the world’s population lacks meaningful access to the internet. The partnership with Liquid is committed to addressing this digital divide, which has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, Giga has mapped over 1 million schools and their connectivity around the world and has connected over 3,000 schools. The company 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.
Commenting on the partnership with Liquid, Thomas Davin, Director, Office of Innovation at UNICEF stated, “This partnership with Liquid will allow our Giga team to gain a deeper understanding of the connectivity landscape in Kenya and across Africa. That knowledge will help UNICEF to get more schools online, giving children access to the opportunities they need to flourish.”
On his part, Ben Roberts, Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies noted, “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.”