TANZANIA – VODACOM Tanzania Foundation, the social investment arm of Vodacom Tanzania Plc has partnered with African Child Projects (ACP) to provide internet connectivity as well as computing devices to schools across the country.

The agreement aims to connect 50 schools and establish the path towards a nationwide sustainable model for school connectivity in Tanzania.

The project is designed to contribute to the effort for school connectivity, mapping of all schools and will provide solutions for demands in resource constrained environments.

“Our vision at Vodacom is to lead Tanzania into the digital age and transform lives through technology,” Vodacom Tanzania Foundation Director Rosalynn Mworia said.

“We are keen to partner with the government, and other stakeholders to foster an enabling environment for rapid digitalization and speed up infrastructure investments to realize real gains as we work towards building a digital economy in Tanzania.

“We also believe very strongly in the power of education to secure the future and so we have invested heavily in the sector over the past years.”

Under this partnership, Vodacom Tanzania Foundation will provide free learning content to students through the EFahamu portal as well as connectivity through a donation of 186 desktop computers, 246 tablets together with a year’s internet connectivity to 50 secondary schools in 10 regions across the country.

The schools are in the regions of Kilimanjaro, Mara, Tabora, Katavi, Morogoro, Iringa, Ruvuma, Njombe, Kigoma and Tanga.

“The characteristics of ICT generally play an important role in national growth and development thus requiring strategic coordination for any country to realize the benefits of ICT growth,” the Director General of the ICT Samson Mwela said.

“In the current ICT driven economies, all technology driven sectors need to cope with the dynamics of ICT in the country and around the world. So, it is of great benefit to see the private sector working with CSOs to help realize national policies and priorities. We commend such initiatives.”

In today’s world, digital connectivity is becoming more important in education delivery and educational content.

Vodacom will continue to invest heavily in rural connectivity to ensure it meets targets and that every Tanzanian can reap the benefits of digitization.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Catherine Kimambo the Executive Director of African Child Projects said, Covid-19 has highlighted the need for digital inclusion and accelerated the digital uptake in unexpected ways.

However, the digital divide has increased, as those having broadband connectivity could follow remotely both education and work-related activities, while those without digital connectivity, mostly from rural areas, were left behind.

“It is our determination at ACP to work to reduce this divide as much as possible for the education sector,” she said.

This project is one of many activities that Vodacom Tanzania and the Vodacom Tanzania Foundation will be engaged in as part of their ongoing efforts with Africa.

A connected campaign that aims to bridge the digital divide on the African continent. Guests for the signing ceremony included representatives from COSTECH, TIE, TEA, DIT, CAMARA Education Tanzania and the Segal Family Foundation and journalists.

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