By: Mohamed Sahr
UNICEF Chief Information Officer, Kaan Çentintürk, has announced a major initiative aimed at bringing greater structure and predictability to school connectivity markets across Africa. The programme seeks to support connectivity for up to 500,000 schools and other child-serving institutions in 54 countries.
According to Çentintürk, the goal is to move away from fragmented, country-by-country procurement toward a more coordinated and sustainable approach.
“By defining service expectations upfront and aligning demand across countries, we can move from fragmented procurement toward managed connectivity that is reliable, measurable, and sustainable,” he said.
The initiative begins with a public Request for Expression of Interest (REOI), inviting internet service providers to demonstrate their capacity to deliver managed connectivity solutions at scale. These may include terrestrial, wireless, satellite, or hybrid models. A competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process is expected to follow in the second quarter of 2026.
The move represents a significant shift from isolated national procurement efforts to a coordinated continental market strategy. By aggregating government demand and standardising service-level expectations, UNICEF aims to create a predictable framework capable of delivering reliable connectivity across education and health systems.
Globally, an estimated 2.6 billion people remain offline, with children in rural and low-income African communities disproportionately affected. UNICEF warns that without structural reform in how connectivity is financed and delivered, existing digital gaps could further deepen inequalities in education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
As artificial intelligence and digital technologies continue to reshape classrooms, labour markets, and public services worldwide, millions of African children still lack basic internet access. UNICEF maintains that connectivity is no longer optional infrastructure but a foundational requirement for children’s rights to education, information, participation, and protection.
Under the new model, UNICEF will act as a procurement agent for participating governments. The framework includes clearly defined service standards focused on uptime and performance, data-driven monitoring systems, and longer-term contracting pathways designed to reduce uncertainty for both governments and service providers.
UNICEF will collaborate with financing institutions such as the World Bank and partners including Smart Africa and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to align funding and implementation support. The agency will leverage its global procurement experience spanning more than 160 countries.
The Request for Expression of Interest remains open until 27 March 2026. Prequalified providers will subsequently be invited to participate in the competitive Request for Proposals process.