Project Giga, which was launched in 2019 with the goal of providing internet connectivity to every school in the world by 2030, has expanded its reach by adding 12 new countries, including six in Africa. Those African countries are Benin, Botswana, Guinea, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Led by UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), this initiative now aims to connect schools in 30 countries.
The main activities of the Giga project include school mapping, infrastructure planning, real-time connectivity monitoring, financing and improving market access as well as procurement processes. Each country also has national steering committees that oversee local efforts.
Since its launch in 2019, Project Giga has already connected almost 6,000 schools and 2.4 million students to the Internet. The initiative aims to connect 25,000 schools and another 10 million students in the next 18 months. In addition, it has mobilized more than $1.7 billion to fund school connectivity, with a particular focus on the world’s most remote and underserved regions. ITU Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasized that the goal is to give governments the tools to achieve universal school connectivity and ensure that no child is left out of the digital age.