Wananchi Group, the leading organization in terms of providing connectivity for the middle class in East Africa, is helping to install high-speed Internet at schools in Kenya.

Partnering with the Kenya Education Network, or KENET, and the County Government of Nairobi, the group is helping to give over 2,700 schools in Nairobi County unlimited access to the outside world at no cost.

The 15-month pilot program began in April 2014, with 245 schools receiving access to the network. Wananchi Group used the first three months to install the high-speed Internet at schools in Kenya, with the next 12 months being used to evaluate the progress of the program.

The group invested $2 million to provide Internet to the schools, most of which are private. The expectation is that students will be able to use the network to retrieve information from different parts of the world.

Wananchi Group will also provide a digital set top box to each school, which can be connected to a television that can deliver audio content to students. Pre-primary kindergartens will also be provided with a television to go with the digital set top box.

The initiative came after the Kenyan Government launched the National Broadband Strategy with the hope of making a “digital Kenya.” The strategy is helping to create a knowledge-based economy in the East African nation.

– Matt Wotus

Sources: IT News Africa, Wananchi Group
Photo: OPIC