Giga

Accelerated steps to connect every school in Rwanda

Announcements, Connect /

In collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, Giga launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) for applications of technology and business models that may be more sustainable than current models and approaches for connectivity, to provide broadband internet to schools in the Eastern province.

This common bid will help test a procurement model that aggregates the demand for connectivity across schools in the Bugesera district and asks service providers to offer commercially viable “all-inclusive” solutions, which consider the delivery of electricity and other inputs necessary to connect schools that were previously left behind.  

The objective of this Giga Accelerate pilot is to provide these schools with sustainable connectivity using innovative business models and uses of technology which could also be deployed elsewhere in Rwanda and the world.  

The schools connected by Giga will become nodes for connectivity and financial services. Each school will report the quality of service of the received connectivity in real-time through the live visualizations in Project Connect, and with this information Giga will prototype the use of pay-by-performance models. 

The Accelerate pilot in Rwanda will also test the extension of connectivity from schools to the surrounding communities, as a mechanism for schools to monetize additional connectivity and pay for this service. 

Solution providers are encouraged to apply here, by 26 March 2021, 5:00PM Kigali Time.
More about Giga: 

Giga is a global UNICEF-ITU initiative which aims to connect every school to the internet, and connect young people to information, opportunity and choice.  

Giga aims to expand broadband connectivity through its focus on four main pillars of work:

  1. Map: identifying the locations and connectivity status of every school and determining connectivity gaps;
  2. Connect: supporting the expansion of safe, secure, reliable, fit-for-purpose infrastructure to support future digital development needs;
  3. Finance: building affordable and sustainable country-specific models for finance, and
  4. Empower: deploying open-source digital solutions and ensure young people and communities leverage connectivity to reach their full potential. 

Through Accelerate, Giga is connecting the first 1,000 schools in partner countries and exploring diverse technologies and business models to provide broadband connectivity solutions to schools and communities, in order to fast-track governments’ universal connectivity programs.