At MWC 2022 held in Barcelona earlier this month, Safaricom, Close the Gap and Huawei received the Global Mobile GLOMO Award in recognition of the Tech4All DigiTruck project’s outstanding contribution to the UN’s sustainable development goals.
The DigiTruck project was launched in Kenya for the first time in 2019. It was launched by Huawei in collaboration with international NGO Close the Gap, Kenya’s Ministry for ICT, Computer for Schools Kenya, GSMA and operator Safaricom.
The project aims to bring digital technology to resource-poor regions and enable people to receive quality education and improve their lives. By the end of 2020, the project has provided services to 13 Kenyan rural areas, 1 300 students and teachers, clocked up to 22 000 hours for training.
DigiTruck is a mobile classroom transformed from a truck container with wireless broadband access, where students can learn digital skills and access the internet.
“This win is a remarkable recognition of our efforts together with Huawei and other partners in connecting our customers digitally,” says Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom.
DigiTruck is part of Huawei’s digital inclusion initiative Tech4All, aimed at using technology, applications and skills to empower people and organisations. In sub-Saharan Africa, Tech4All is also carried out in South Africa, Ghana and Mauritius.
In South Africa, Tech4All has benefited more than 52 000 students from over 90 primary schools both in urban and rural areas; in Mauritius, the project is using underwater cameras to monitor threatened coral reefs in real-time to protect and restore 5 hectares of the coral reef ecosystem. In Ghana, the project aims to create digital content for local teachers and students.
“Information and communication technologies ICTs can help accelerate progress towards every single United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially key SDGs including Quality Education, Gender Equality and Climate Change,” says Yang Chen, vice-president of Huawei Southern Africa Region.
“As a global ICT company operating in sub-Saharan Africa, we try to unlock the potential of ICTs together with our local and international partners for better life, better community, better environment and better future for people and future generations from the region.”