Bill Gates’ Microsoft, has partnered with Strive Masiyiwa‘s Liquid Intelligent Technologies, to provide Internet access to 20 million underserved people in Africa by 2025.
The collaboration will make use of Microsoft’s Airband project to focus on places like Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Billionaires Africa reports.
The objective of the partnership between Bill Gates’ Microsoft and Masiyiwa’s Liquid is to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to previously unconnected communities while bridging the digital divide.
The partnership seeks to extend high-speed internet to rural areas in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, as well as to underserved communities throughout Africa.
Liquid’s most recent action is a continuation of prior endeavours, such as the November 2022 announcement of a ground-breaking investment of over R350 million ($19.7 million) in a Software Defined Network (SDN) solution called Dataport Across Africa.
This SDN offering will be the first of its kind on the continent.
Liquid, a division of Cassava Technologies, has invested more than $1.5 billion in network infrastructure to become the first provider of Dataport services in Africa.
Under Masiyiwa’s leadership, Liquid’s cloud solutions have seen tremendous growth with a presence in more than 20 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Masiyiwa is a Zimbabwean billionaire who sits on the boards of Unilever Plc, Netflix, Bank of America, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.