What we do
Under the Giga partnership, UNICEF and ITU provide technical, financial and regulatory expertise to help governments connect every school in the world to the internet.
Giga helps bridge the gap between available funding and project delivery, supporting governments to unlock and structure financing for school connectivity.
By combining UNICEF’s child-centred, outcome-based financing models such as outcome bonds with ITU’s technical expertise and work on digital infrastructure investments, Giga supports countries in securing sustainable funding for school connectivity projects. Giga is a trusted partner to governments and capital providers such as International Finance Institutions (IFIs), working together with these stakeholders to secure tailored blended finance solutions to scale digital infrastructure projects that also attract private sector investment.
Our financing approach
Giga facilitates access to development loans, technical assistance grants, and blended finance instruments that align with national priorities, instead of disbursing grants or providing funding directly to countries.
Giga acts as a facilitator and technical advisor helping countries meet the requirements of IFIs, DFIs, and private investors in advancing school connectivity initiatives.
By coordinating public-private partnerships and engaging international finance institutions, we unlock new funding streams and accelerate digital infrastructure finance.
- Partnering with International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs): Giga actively collaborates with international and development finance institutions (IFIs and DFIs) that have a strong track record in funding digital infrastructure and education projects. Additionally, it advocates for new sources of funding and works to align financing opportunities with the specific needs of the governments it supports. Giga also contributes technical insights to shape investment strategies and support the inclusion of school connectivity in broader digital transformation efforts.
- Supporting Governments to Access and Deploy Capital: Giga supports governments in developing robust funding proposals that outline financial requirements and align with development goals. More critically, Giga provides essential technical assistance across various stages of project preparation and delivery – including mapping, infrastructure analysis, cost assessments, and procurement support. This support increases the likelihood that development loans and grants are approved, disbursed, and used effectively. By securing development loans and technical assistance grants, we help countries access sustainable financing for school connectivity.
Open-source financing: Where technology and the United Nations system can shine
Drawing from Giga’s work with UNICEF and ITU, Giga Co-lead, Christopher Fabian contributed an article on open-source financing for the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation’s 2025 report sharing how technology-driven transparency and adaptive partnerships can unlock billions in sustainable funding.
Giga programmes to support our financing work
Innovative Financing Instruments
Attracting investment, particularly private sector funding for underserved areas, requires innovative approaches. Giga designs, implements, and promotes innovative financing instruments:
- Blended finance structures: We layer public and private funds to lower risks and increase scale.
- Outcome bonds: We partner with issuers to tie returns to connectivity milestones, ensuring funds are efficiently deployed to deliver intended connectivity outcomes, which are independently verified.
- Connectivity credits: A mechanism for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to earn credits for connecting schools, which they can exchange for various incentives backed by governments and industry. This creates a transparent and performance-based incentive system to scale connectivity sustainably.
Connectivity Credits (UNICEF)
Connectivity Credits (www.connectivitycredits.org) are a mechanism to incentivize public-private investment in school connectivity, by creating a unit of exchange for school connectivity impact. ISPs can earn Connectivity Credits for connecting schools, and exchange them for financing, tax incentives, or infrastructure access. Credits enable public-private collaboration by automatically verifying the impact ISPs have had, and automatically exchanging it for incentives. The model is being piloted in Kenya, Mexico, Malawi and South Africa to test scalability, cost-effectiveness, and long-term sustainability.
Accelerator Programme (ITU)
The Giga Accelerator Programme is a digital development initiative designed to support growth-stage innovators through education, mentorship, and grant financing, enabling them to scale their existing technical solutions to facilitate connectivity to underserved and unserved regions worldwide. Our goal is to identify and catalyze economically sustainable and inclusive solutions that can effectively grow and thrive in these challenging environments.
Sustainable financial models
Building sustainable financial models is key to scaling school connectivity and ensuring its long-term viability.
Giga supports governments in developing and implementing sustainable business models that help offset school connectivity and operating costs. These models enable governments to reduce long-term reliance on public subsidies while fostering commercially viable connectivity ecosystems.
Giga supports governments in developing and implementing sustainable business models that help offset school connectivity and operating costs. These models enable governments to reduce long-term reliance on public subsidies while fostering commercially viable connectivity ecosystems.
- Infrastructure exchange: Facilitate partnerships that allow last-mile internet service providers (ISPs) to connect schools at no cost to the schools. In return, ISPs receive access to free or discounted network capacity that can be resold commercially. This discounted capacity can come from state-owned infrastructure, privately owned networks incentivized by governments, or bulk-purchases made possible by improved backhaul utilization.
- Pooling anchor customers: Aggregate budgets across government departments and administrative levels to fund connectivity for schools, health centers, and other public institutions. By acting as anchor customers, these institutions create demand that incentivizes ISPs to expand into underserved areas.
- Tax and regulatory incentives: Develop evidence-based financial models that help governments assess potential incentive, such as tax breaks, universal service fund contributions, or spectrum discount, for ISPs that provide free internet connectivity to schools.
Giga’s role: Giga can assist governments in designing financial models that ensure long-term sustainability, and can deploy the Connectivity Credits system to support the practical implementation of these models.
Galvanizing investment in digital infrastructure
Catalyzing public-private partnerships
Digital infrastructure gaps persist in many markets, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries restricting access to learning and economic opportunities. Giga is actively involved in multistakeholder initiatives that include a wide range of financial partners to encourage investment in digital infrastructure and improve access to capital. These partnerships are critical to turning policy commitments into bankable projects.
One such effort is the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII). Launched by ITU, it is co-led by seven Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in coordination with the G20 presidencies of Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025). The DIII seeks to maximize the impact of traditional financing models and develop new financing mechanisms and instruments to boost digital infrastructure investments.
Giga’s insights have helped shape new public-private partnerships and policy frameworks designed to scale financing for last mile and school connectivity. Through these efforts, Giga helps align the requirements of capital providers with government priorities and reduce barriers to capital deployment.
One such effort is the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII). Launched by ITU, it is co-led by seven Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in coordination with the G20 presidencies of Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025). The DIII seeks to maximize the impact of traditional financing models and develop new financing mechanisms and instruments to boost digital infrastructure investments.
Giga’s insights have helped shape new public-private partnerships and policy frameworks designed to scale financing for last mile and school connectivity. Through these efforts, Giga helps align the requirements of capital providers with government priorities and reduce barriers to capital deployment.
Digital Public Infrastructure
Giga is also involved in fostering the growth of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in education. Giga’s focus is on interoperability of platforms – usable practically anywhere – that support a learner-centric approach.
Developed under Giga, the ITU published “Building the Case for Digital Public Infrastructure for Education,” which explores how interoperable and scalable DPI can serve as the backbone for delivering accessible and equitable digital learning opportunities.
READ MORE
Developed under Giga, the ITU published “Building the Case for Digital Public Infrastructure for Education,” which explores how interoperable and scalable DPI can serve as the backbone for delivering accessible and equitable digital learning opportunities.
READ MORE
Let’s build a connected future together
