PARTNERSHIP FOR DIGITAL ACCESS IN AFRICA INC

THE FIRST PROGRAM SERVICE AIMS TO EXPAND INTERNET AND BROADBAND ACCESS ACROSS AFRICA BY COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS TO MAKE HIGH-PERFORMANCE, LOW-COST BROADBAND WIDELY AVAILABLE. PDAA IS WORKING WITH A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY TO DEPLOY SATELLITE INTERNET THROUGH COMMUNITY WI-FI STATIONS. ARRANGED BY PDAA, THIS TECHNOLOGY COMPANY HAS ALREADY LAUNCHED FOUR DEMONSTRATION SITES THROUGHOUT RWANDA AND IS EXPANDING TO MORE LOCATIONS. PDAA HAS ALSO PARTNERED WITH A COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY TO FOCUS ON INCREASING SUBSEA CABLE CAPACITY, EXPANDING COVERAGE FOR TAILORED RURAL MOBILE AND FIXED NETWORKS, AND ADVOCATING FOR FAVORABLE POLICIES TO FACILITATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT OF 5G, FIBER TO THE HOME, PRIVATE WIRELESS, AND INDUSTRIAL NETWORKS.

PDAAS SECOND PROGRAM SERVICE FOCUSES ON LOWERING THE COST OF DEVICES. BY COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS ACROSS THE DEVICE SUPPLY CHAIN, PDAA IS WORKING TO CREATE A LOW-COST DEVICE WITH SMART FUNCTIONALITY. A DEVICE MANUFACTURING COMPANY HAS PARTNERED WITH PDAA TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE COST OF DEVICES AFRICANS USE TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET. BY ITERATING ON INTERNET-ENABLED FEATURE PHONES AND WORKING TO REDUCE THE COST OF SMARTPHONES, THESE PARTNERS ARE WORKING ACROSS THE DEVICE SUPPLY CHAIN TO MAKE DEVICES MORE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE THROUGHOUT AFRICA. PDAA IS ALSO WORKING WITH FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPLORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL BRING THE COST OF THE DEVICE DOWN. LEVERAGING NOVEL LEASING STRATEGIES WITH TELCOS AND FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES, PDAA, AND PARTNERS ARE WORKING TO DEMOCRATIZE DEVICE FINANCING, ALLOWING USERS TO ACCESS DEVICES WITHOUT NEEDING TO PAY AN EXORBITANT UPFRONT COST.