Women face critical barriers to accessing the Internet including poor connectivity, high connection costs,
and a lack of awareness about the benefits of joining the digital world. Kenyan company Mawingu Networks is addressing these barriers by providing Internet connectivity to the most underserved areas in Africa. They are providing over 300,000 users in Central and Northern Kenya with affordable and reliable Internet access for as little as $0.04 a month.
Mawingu is expanding inclusive service offerings to women across areas of coverage. These interventions include dramatically reducing costs for access, providing appropriate digital content adapted to specific local needs, and creating safe “women only” online forums to share digital experiences and build digital skills. Now, Mawingu has partnered with the USAID/Microsoft Airband Initiative to bring these learnings to the Rift Valley region of Kenya, specifically the towns of Naivasha and Narok, densely populated areas which could benefit from Mawingu’s services.
