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Giga school connectivity

Giga, a joint initiative of UNICEF and ITU, worked with the Government of Rwanda to test whether Ethereum staking rewards could provide a recurring source of financing for school connectivity.

~$5.6k in school internet fees funded by Ethereum staking rewards

Digital connectivity · Rwanda

Institutional context

Reliable school connectivity requires sustainable financing for recurring service costs, not only upfront infrastructure investment. In Rwanda, Giga worked with the government to test whether Ethereum staking rewards could help meet these ongoing costs. The model was intended to complement established sources of financing rather than replace them.

System design

Staking involves committing ETH to help secure the Ethereum network and receiving rewards in return. The Ethereum Foundation donated 32 ETH for the Rwanda pilot, enabling Giga and Launchnodes to operate a validator, which helps the network verify transactions and agree on updates. The staking rewards were periodically converted into conventional currency and used to cover internet-service fees. The original 32 ETH remained intact and later became part of Giga’s broader funding initiative.

Following the Rwanda pilot, the model expanded into a broader impact-staking initiative through Lido Impact Staking. Giga’s public staking interface allows contributors to stake ETH and direct a share of the resulting rewards to Giga without operating their own validator. In April 2025, Giga announced that these rewards would be converted into conventional currency each quarter and added to its pooled fund for school connectivity worldwide.

Ethereum’s role

Ethereum enabled the original 32 ETH to generate staking rewards without drawing down the principal. These rewards provided an additional recurring source of financing for connectivity costs.

Staking rewards and transfers are also recorded on Ethereum, providing a public record of the onchain transactions that Giga, funders, and other institutions can independently verify.

Status and milestones

  1. 10 April 2025

    Giga announced its broader pooled staking initiative to support school connectivity worldwide, incorporating the original 32 ETH.

  2. 9 April 2025

    Giga reported that the Rwanda pilot had concluded and responsibility for the internet-service contracts had transferred from UNICEF Rwanda to a government-financed arrangement.

  3. 2022–2024

    Giga reported that staking rewards covered approximately $5,600 in internet-service fees over the pilot, enough to support connectivity for one school. This was a cumulative pilot result, not an annual return or the scale of Giga’s wider Rwanda program.

  4. May 2022

    The validator began operating using the 32 ETH contribution from the Ethereum Foundation.

Implementation considerations

Institutions considering a similar model would need clear arrangements for asset management, accounting, currency conversion, staking operations, and oversight of service providers. Because staking rewards and asset values can fluctuate, this type of financing is better considered alongside more predictable sources of funding for essential services. Independent checks are also needed to confirm that the connectivity being funded is actually delivered.

Sources