Zimbabwe President Donates Starlink Equipment to 10 Schools in Bulilima
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa donated 10 sets of Starlink equipment and 100 computers to 10 schools in the Bulilima district as part of the national presidential internet program.
The program includes distributing Starlink kits to approximately 8,000 primary and secondary schools nationwide that lack fiber optic connections, aiming to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, enabling rural students to access online learning resources.
ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera and Education Minister Torerayi Moyo presided over the handover ceremony, emphasizing that satellite connectivity can break geographical barriers, allowing remote schools to access digital libraries, virtual classrooms, and global educational resources in real-time.
The presidential internet program has already been launched, targeting coverage of 2,400 administrative wards nationwide and deploying equipment to schools, clinics, and police stations as part of measures to achieve the 2030 middle-income economy vision.
The supply of related equipment involves local contractors, with the government also distributing laptops, projectors, and other hardware, and collaborating with organizations like UNICEF to promote the informatization of rural schools.
In the context of satellite internet access for rural education, the government is promoting connectivity construction through bulk procurement and distribution, directing funds towards satellite services and local suppliers, benefiting rural schools and students, and alleviating the isolation of areas not covered by traditional fiber optics.
The distribution work has expanded from certain provinces and is being advanced in parallel with rural infrastructure projects such as solar energy.
Source: Public Information
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The Zimbabwean government is promoting the presidential internet program starting from 2025-2026, using Starlink low-orbit satellite equipment to cover rural schools lacking ground network access. Historically, the country's educational connectivity has relied on fiber optics and mobile networks, with limited coverage; this bulk distribution of 8,000 sets of equipment is part of a national expansion.
The resource pathway involves the government procuring satellite terminals and distributing them to schools, along with computers and teaching equipment, motivated by the goal of quickly filling the rural broadband gap using low-orbit satellite technology, serving the 2030 development vision and educational digitalization goals.
This is similar to the approach taken by other African countries connecting remote schools and communities through Starlink or similar satellite solutions, and aligns with the historically government-led rural infrastructure promotion model; it is currently in the expansion phase from pilot projects to nationwide school coverage.
Essentially, this represents a technological substitution: low-orbit satellite connectivity replaces or supplements the absence of ground fiber optics and mobile networks in remote areas, driven by the satellite coverage capability and government bulk procurement, extending digital access from urban to rural areas.
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