Tanzania: World Bank grants $ 150 million in financing to Tanzania to improve broadband access
May 31st 2021
The Covid-19 has revealed to African countries how essential ICTs have become. Tanzania, whose level of digital readiness was among the last on the continent in 2020, is determined to negotiate more seriously its entry into the fourth industrial revolution.
The World Bank announced Thursday, May 27, the granting of funding worth USD 150 million to Tanzania for the implementation of the Digital Tanzania Project (DTP), one of three national projects for which the international financial institution has released a total envelope of 850 million USD. The money received for the DTP will be used to increase the access of government, businesses and citizens to quality broadband Internet services, and to improve the state’s ability to provide digital public services.
According to the World Bank, three components will have to be brought together for the success of the project. These are the strengthening of the digital ecosystem through laws, policies, regulations that promote investments in ICT infrastructure, market competitiveness, digital engagement, job creation and innovation; ensure universal access to affordable and high-quality Internet services, including in rural areas; develop public digital platforms and services for the government to provide services to citizens and conduct its own activities digitally.
Like several African countries, Tanzania has learned from the Covid-19 crisis and wants to improve its economic resilience and succeed in its digital transformation. In the edition 2020 Network Readiness Index Portulans Institute, which evaluates the digital preparation of the world, the country ranks 110 th out of 134. The government is more than ever committed to increasing the nation from an agricultural economy to low productivity to a knowledge-based semi-industrialized middle-income economy, in line with the national development vision by 2025.
After the implementation of the DTP, the World Bank hopes to record several notable changes, including the access of more than 75% of the Tanzanian population to a high-speed mobile network signal; some 425 ministries, departments and agencies connected to broadband; the increase in the number of monthly online connections for a public service from 200,000 to at least 500,000.
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