Tower company Helios Towers and UNICEF have announced a multi-year partnership to bring internet access and digital learning to more schools and young people in Africa, TechAfrica News reported.
What the partnership covers
- Giga: the joint UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union project that aims to connect every school in the world to the internet by 2030. Helios Towers will support school connectivity mapping and infrastructure work.
- Learning Passport: UNICEF’s digital learning platform, which works online and offline so children can keep learning anywhere.
The work will start in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Tanzania, with support planned for one more country in West Africa, which has not yet been named.
Why it matters
Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, yet many schools, especially in rural areas, have no internet at all. Tower companies already own sites and power systems deep in underserved areas, which makes them useful partners for extending connectivity to nearby schools.
“Connectivity is a core enabler of education, social inclusion and long-term economic growth,” said Helios Towers chief executive Tom Greenwood.
Nigeria has its own school connectivity efforts, including projects under the Universal Service Provision Fund, but a large number of public schools still lack reliable internet and power. Partnerships like this show one way to close that gap faster.
Source: TechAfrica News.
