UNICEF Unveils Continental Internet Procurement Plan Across 54 African Countries, RFP Set for 2026

UNICEF has launched a continent-scale procurement initiative for internet connectivity in Africa, inviting internet service providers to deliver managed connectivity services to schools, health facilities, and other essential child-serving institutions across 54 countries.

The initiative aims to accelerate connectivity for up to 500,000 schools and other facilities delivering essential services to children.

The first phase runs a public Request for Expression of Interest (REoI), designed to identify and prequalify providers capable of delivering turnkey connectivity solutions — terrestrial, wireless, satellite, or hybrid — at scale. A competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) is planned for Q2 2026.

For children, internet access underpins the rights to education, information, participation, and protection. Yet 2.6 billion people globally remain offline, with children in rural and low-income African communities disproportionately excluded. Without structural reform, connectivity gaps risk deepening inequalities in education, health, and economic opportunity.

In many countries, artificial intelligence and digital technologies are transforming classrooms, labour markets, and public services. For other countries, however, the absence of basic internet access leaves millions of children unable to participate in that transformation. As digital tools become central to how societies learn and work, connectivity is no longer optional infrastructure — it is foundational.

This launch marks a shift from fragmented, country-by-country connectivity procurement efforts toward a coordinated market approach. By aggregating government demand and standardising service expectations, UNICEF is building a procurement vehicle capable of operating at a continental scale, while providing suppliers with greater predictability and clearer demand signals.

Rather than issuing isolated tenders, UNICEF is working with governments to pool demand across national programmes. The model combines defined service-level standards focused on uptime and performance, data-driven monitoring to ensure accountability, and longer-term contracting pathways intended to reduce uncertainty for both governments and providers.

“This REoI, and the upcoming RFP, are designed to bring greater structure and predictability to school connectivity markets,” said Kaan Çentintürk, Chief Information Officer at UNICEF. “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.”

UNICEF will act as a procurement agent for participating governments and will work closely with financing institutions such as the World Bank, as well as partners including Smart Africa and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), to align funding and implementation support. UNICEF brings procurement experience from other sectors, including vaccines, worth a total US$5.2 billion each year across 162 countries. UNICEF’s established systems and market credibility also support large-scale delivery.

The current REoI does not request binding pricing or bids. Instead, it seeks information on providers’ operational capacity, geographic reach, and ability to deliver managed connectivity services with accountability. Participation in this phase will determine eligibility for invitation to the competitive RFP process.

UNICEF welcomes providers able to operate legally in-country and deliver at scale, including solutions that ensure power continuity and incorporate child-appropriate cybersecurity and safeguarding measures.

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