Botswana Fibre Networks Work To Enhance Internet Accessibility In Schools

Gaborone Senior Secondary School benefit from state-of-the-art ICT equipment powered by Huawei

BOFINET, HUAWEI PROPEL GOVERNMENT’S MAITLAMO ICT POLICY

In an endeavor to help bridge the digital divide in the nation’s education sector, Botswana Fibre Networks (BOFINET) and Huawei Botswana recently partnered to enhance internet access at Gaborone Senior Secondary School (GSS).

In a noble gesture that witnessed BOFINET and Huawei coming together to connect internet at Gaborone Secondary School, the two giant local Information and Technology (ICT) providers also proceeded to donate a colossal Audio-Visual Lab of 10 desktops and 20 equipped for use by special needs students.

“The company’s CSR initiatives include ensuring connectivity within schools in a bid to maintain a conducive, ICT-driven learning environment,” said Ms. Pelana Siwawa-Ndai, the Board Chairperson of BOFINET.

Gaborone Senior Secondary School Head teacher Lesego Tshabangu expressed gratitude for the massive internet connectivity and donation of ICT by BOFINET and Huawei Botswana, citing confidence that this would yield significant results in enhancing the student educational experience. Supporting schools and enabling socioeconomic growth BOFINET underscores its contractual corporate social responsibilities obligation which

compels all its partners to contribute towards the communities they work within, and this is done through various initiatives that support ICT development.

“Since 2014, BOFINET has provided 78 schools across the country with internet connectivity. Because supporting education is a key pillar within our CSR frameworks, we aim to also recognize exceptional academic performance in the schools, particularly during prize giving ceremonies,” cites Siwawa-Ndai.

BOFINET has also implemented deliberate and strategic CSR initiatives that are aligned with driving transformational and sustainable outcomes within the communities it operates, and as a wholesale provider of telecommunications infrastructure, BOFINET’s core mandate is to facilitate the growth of the ICT environment in Botswana and to improve access to knowledge. The company’s mandate is core to enabling economic and social growth in Botswana, having executed a total of over 23 corporate social responsibility projects across the country in areas such as Gudigwa, Sehithwa, Kasane, Hukuntsi, Kachikau, Bobonong, Selebi Phikwe, Tsabong, Maun and Mogoditshane.

“Our CSR strategy is designed to ensure that as BOFINET, we remain a part of the thread that drives social transformation in Botswana. Our value proposition around corporate social responsibility is more towards social investment and we view our CSR initiatives as investments in better and progressive future,” asserts Siwawa-Ndai.

The BOFINET-Huawei partnership Commenting on Huawei’s partnership with BOFINET, Managing Director of Huawei Botswana, Mr. Ye Hui Hui says the company is keen to connect schools, noting that internet connectivity is critical in equipping students with much needed resources to enable effective, real-time access to information.

BOFINET engaged Huawei Botswana as a technical partner to install and commission an optic fibre cable network that provided high quality and high internet bandwidth in Extensions 9, 11, 5, 3 and 39 for the comprehensive “Fibre to the Home Project” that was officially launched in 2019.

Minister of Transport and Communications Mr. Thulagano Segokgo said the ongoing support from BOFINET and Huawei is a notable gesture towards bridging the digital divide as well as fulfilling the Maitlamo Policy, which sets to make Botswana a globally competitive and information-based nation.

Applauding BOFINET and Huawei for assisting government through their partnership, Minister Segokgo said: “The Maitlamo policy highlights the mandate of ThutoNet, a programme that aims to increase literacy, skills and knowledge required for both formal and non-formal learners in a networked world by providing all schools in Botswana with modern computers and access to the internet at all times.”

According to Segokgo, government can only succeed to execute the Maitlamo ICT connectivity mandate with the assistance of the private sector, investors, and state-owned enterprises too.