“Giga is the key to our work on digitalization in Zimbabwe, We have made substantial progress since we began working with this initiative.”
– Gift Machengete, Director General, Director General Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Zimbabwe
In Benin, Giga supported a first round analysis of the country’s infrastructure and connectivity gaps. Giga created a multilayered infrastructure map that displays school geolocations with infrastructure attributes such as distance to fiber nodes, towers, and mobile coverage. This has provided the Government of Benin with evidence, visuals, and proposals on the best technologies to connect specific schools.
In a second round in 2024, these mapping analyses will lay the groundwork for conducting additional analyses, such as cost scenarios based on available and optimal connectivity options. These would help governments decide where to build and improve ICT infrastructure, strategically prioritizing specific areas or regions while taking into account budget constraints. It is a powerful tool for building proposals and investment cases for donors, telecommunication companies and investors.
A similar infrastructure analysis has been conducted in Zimbabwe, and it already includes some preliminary cost estimates to connect unconnected schools to the internet. Giga is continuing to work with the Postal & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) to validate its work.