Geneva Day #2 Building Connectivity to Break the Digital Divide

The last years have been marked by the acceleration of technological innovation and demonstrated how, for many of us, new technologies shape the way we live, communicate, buy or think. The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the potential of new technologies to deliver services to people. At the same time, it has laid bare and even expanded inequalities when it comes to connectivity, both within societies and between countries. There is a need to scale up infrastructure and partnerships to leave no one behind. Ensuring universal school connectivity must be at the heart of these efforts. But how to deploy the private financing infrastructure in emerging markets? How to develop a sustainable model that not only facilitates the construction of the infrastructure but also ensures its long-term viability, while setting in motion a self-sustaining cycle of revenue generation? This panel will address these important questions by focusing on the Giga initiative. It will highlight the innovation needed in tech as well as in blended finance and look into the specific role of public and private investors as well as Development Finance Institutions in this context.

Welcome speech

• Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland in Geneva 

Podium speaker

• Mondli Gungubele, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of the Republic of South Africa
• Esther Kunda, Director General in Charge of Innovation & Emerging Technologies, Ministry of ICT & Innovation of the Republic of Rwanda
• Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships, UNICEF 
• Jenny Lindqvist, Senior Vice President, Ericsson Europe and Latin America

Moderator

• Karen Wilson, Founder & CEO, GV Partners

Person for information (please note that the event is fully booked)
genevaday@eda.admin.ch

Person for media requests
Paola Ceresetti
Spokesperson
paola.ceresetti@eda.admin.ch
079 240 19 18