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Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar secure funds for high-speed Internet
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KENYA, Burundi and Madagascar have secured a $164.5 million loan from the World Bank to help them implement high-speed Internet networks. In a press briefing, The World Bank said that the money was being made available to boost business competitiveness in the region.
Eastern and much of southern Africa is the only region in the world not connected to the global broadband infrastructure, the World Bank said. |
Kenya will take the lion's share of the funding, with a $114.4 million loan. Madagascar is due to receive a $30 million loan, while Burundi will receive a grant worth $20.1 million.
The Washington-based lender said businesses in the three countries were being held back because of the lack of high-speed Internet networks. Currently, the region relies on satellites for connectivity, with costs among the highest in the world. But World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said Africa was becoming increasingly "plugged-in".
The head of Kenyan outsourcing firm KenCall, backed the World Bank's move. African countries are on course to build the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Broadband Network.
Currently, 12 out of 23 African countries have signed the NEPAD ICT Broadband infrastructure protocol, which commits them to building the network.
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