From Biz Tech Africa

Samsung Electronics Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, handed over a Solar Powered Internet School (SPIS) at E.P.A 1&2 Limete School in Kinshasa.

This forms part of Samsung’s efforts to improve learning and education through the use of new information and communication technologies in rural areas in Africa. It is also part of a government initiative to modernise the national education system through the acquisition of appropriate materials and tools.

“We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves in Africa: to positively impact five million lives by 2015,” says Thierry Boulanger, B2B Africa Director at Samsung Electronics Africa. “We believe that this can most effectively be achieved if we connect our CSR initiatives with our history and core business. With the goal to grow our business on the continent, we also know that we have to sustain our level of innovation. This can only be achieved if we invest in education to facilitate African thought-leadership. The Solar Powered Internet School is a great example of this strategy at play.”

First launched in 2011, with installations in many countries throughout Africa, the mobile Internet schools are completely independent classrooms that aim to increase accessibility to education and connectivity in remote areas of Africa.

Less than 25% of the continent’s rural areas have access to reliable electricity supplies, leaving many isolated and disconnected– not only in terms of electrification, but also when it comes to basic services, such as education, connectivity and healthcare.

Each SPIS is built in a 40-foot (12-metre) long repurposed shipping container, making them easily transportable via truck to remote areas.

Read more at Biz Tech Africa