Rwanda’s Minister for ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire has announced that the country plans to connect 3,000 schools to the internet by 2024.
The 3,000 unconnected school constitute 44.4% of Rwanda’s 6,756 schools. The rest are connected.
They will be to the internet under the Smart Education Project, to be financed by the China Exim Bank and the World Bank.
“We have Smart Education Project, through the $30 million financing we got from China Exim Bank, under which we will connect at least 1,500 schools,” the minister said, noting that the project is already underway.
By using the funds from the China Exim Bank, and those from the World Bank, she said, it was observed that about 3,000 schools that are not connected to the internet will have access to it by 2024.
With over 3.54 million internet users, Rwanda’s internet penetration stands at 31%. Once the 3,000 schools are connected, internet penetration is expected to improve, and see more Rwandans gaining access to the internet.
Rwanda is also in the process of making last-mile internet connectivity through the Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project. The project is funded by the World Bank to the tune of $200 million project, Ingabire said.
