Providing them with ICT skills, access to information, innovations and global interaction is one of the major drivers to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and realize sustainable economic and social development, at an unprecedented scale.

Every one out of three people in the world is connected to the internet and 85% has access to a mobile phone. However this still leaves 4.2 billion people outside the digital revolution. Especially in Africa where 75% of the people live in remote rural communities, only 18% of the mobile phones are smart phones and only 7% of the population is connected with the internet.

According to the UN, there are currently 410 million schoolchildren in Africa and by 2050, that number will be 800 million. The vast majority, like 95% of the schools in Tanzania, have none or little access to ICT and the internet. We face the risk that some future generation will remain digitally illiterate and will miss out on future jobs, opportunities and developments and the gap.

Close the Gap has over a decade of experience in bridging the digital divide and igniting ICT entrepreneurship in Africa. We are ready to scale up and catalyse our ecosystem. The Digital Revolution of Close the Gap and partners is an innovative game-changing initiative to connect our partners in an #ICT4D ecosystem that creates access to ICT for everyone to empower the next generation of Africa.

With our online crowdfunding & partnership platform we aim to foster #ICT4D in education, learning & digital jobs. All with a focus on rural Sub Saharan Africa but with limitless opportunities to scale to a global level.

The 1%Club, one of the leading innovators in crowdfunding and CSR platforms in the world, is helping us to develop this new platform. Over the last couple of months we have been preparing the strategy for the Digital Revolution.

We have travelled to Tanzania and Kenya to also involve our ICT service partners ACTT in Tanzania & Computers for Schools Kenya to assess how the new platform could benefit them and the projects they support. This was also the opportunity to meet with different stakeholders such as the Nailab, one of the leading partners of AfriLabs, a fast growing pan-African network of 40 technology innovation hubs in 20 African countries. To partner with them and invite their ecosystem to the Digital Revolution with an innovation challenge for startup entrepreneurs with the bright ideas for on how ICT could support education, learning and job creation.

We will update you in September, stay tuned!