The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have Selected Rwanda as a test land in Africa for the Giga initiative, which aims to provide internet connectivity to schools across the world. The information was given on June 5 by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of ITU’s telecoms development bureau.

According to her, Rwanda was selected regarding its ICT policy that helped improve access to the Internet and digital services in the country. On the national agenda, Rwanda has succeeded in deploying 7,000 km of optical fiber, extending 4G Internet coverage to 96% of the populace.

Costs have also been lowered to enable the majority of the population to access digital services. In the education sector, computers were distributed to students. Through the Rwanda Education Board (REB), 250,000 computers have been distributed to 1,624 of the 2,909 targeted schools.

“I look forward to working closely with Paul Kagame and Paula Musoni to provide every young person in the region with the information and the skills they need to shape the future they want in the digital era,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

According to Paula Musoni Ingabire, the Minister of ICT and Innovation, the Giga initiative aligns with Rwanda's vision of becoming a knowledge-based economy. This vision is underpinned by the ability to provide easy access to education through connecting all schools to the Internet while equipping them with the tools and skills to make the Internet an engine of growth.