Monrovia — President Joe Biden has disclosed that through the United States' Digital Investment blended finance program, his government is working with Kenya partner CSquared to establish a nationwide fiber network in Liberia that's going to help connect one million Liberians to the web.
"And so, creating real opportunity, greater equality, and a more secure, healthy, and prosperous world is what we're all about. Moving forward, we have to continue to invest together and invest stronger. And we welcome all who share this vision to join this partnership," said Biden, who made the remarks at the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) Meeting on 15 November.
"We've seen over the last few years, strengthening health security must be -- must be a priority for all of us. We just went through a long discussion on that.
The US president said his government will continue to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa and Asia and investing $15 million through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in India's health infrastructure, as just a few examples.
"And finally, gender equity and gender equality. When we invest in equal opportunity for women, we can deliver greater prosperity for everyone -- for everyone," he said.
This is the second time Liberia will benefit from partnering with infrastructure CSquared and the United States Agency for International Development to bring best-in-class, reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure to Monrovia.
In 2014 under the leadership of former president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, CSquared Liberia entered into a tripartite partnership with the Government of Liberia and USAID to connect 51 Government Institutions to high speed reliable networks.
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This partnership was created after the Ebola virus outbreak in Liberia and the need for infrastructure, digitization initiatives, and economic development in the capital Monrovia was realized.
Services available in Liberia included Leased Capacity and Dark Fiber which are mostly used by MNOs to connect their base stations. Managed Ethernet and Capacity Pool are targeted at enterprise connections like banks and small to medium businesses.
Former President Sirleaf described the partnership at the time. "ICT is an integral part of economic development that is often overlooked and undervalued. By expanding our connectivity through this initiative, we will strengthen the support for more ICT-based projects and programs in Education, Health, and Infrastructure."
