Microsoft MSFT has reached an agreement with Africa’s biggest independent fiber network, Liquid Intelligent Technologies. It is a huge step toward its goal of providing Internet across the continent.

This agreement aims to provide connectivity to 20 million people in countries like Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo by the year 2025. This plan would help in accomplishing Microsoft’s previously announced plan of providing connectivity to 100 million people.

Management’s aim is to use technology and investment to create more economic opportunities for the people of Africa. This would help in creating a new cloud-computing and artificial intelligence market in the long term.

Microsoft’s Airband initiative aims to bring together telecoms and electricity providers, governments and non-profit organisations to expand internet access.

Microsoft will also work to boost food production in Africa with various partnerships and by applying artificial intelligence to monitor crops.

Microsoft Corporation Price and Consensus

Microsoft Corporation price-consensus-chart | Microsoft Corporation Quote

Microsoft Airband’s Initiative to Provide Meaningful Connectivity

Airband is an initiative of Microsoft to provide affordable Internet access as a fundamental right to everyone and bridge the digital gap between communities. The company provides connectivity to unconnected communities around the world.

Approximately 2.7 billion people or one third of the world’s population does not have access to the Internet. Most of the people are from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and Caribbean.

Microsoft believes that technology can change lives if people have the access to it. Till date Airband initiative has helped 51 million people globally. This includes nine million people in Africa and four million people in the United States. Airband  also provided connectivity for people in Puerto Rico, Colombia, India, Ghana and many more such places.

Management identifies Africa as one of the most important markets in the world. It has a median age of under 20 and more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25. But to make use of this opportunity management would need digital access.

Only 40% people in Africa have access to electricity, which means around 600 million people do not have access to the internet. This is seen as a huge opportunity by the company. Africa, being a large and diverse continent, has diverse problems and therefore, a holistic approach is required.

Microsoft, with its local partnerships, is trying to solve different problems for different locations. The company realises that the only providing affordable connectivity would not solve the issue alone. Therefore, the company also partners with community organizations to teach digital skills for better education.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some top-ranked stocks in the Computer and Technology sector are Agilent Technologies A, Etsy ETSY and Criteo CRTO. While Agilent Technologies and Etsy carry a Zacks rank #2 (Buy), Criteo sports a Zacks rank #1 at present.

Shares of Agilent Technologies have risen 3.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for A’s earnings is pegged at $1.28 per share, which has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.

Shares of Etsy have fallen 27% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETSY’s earnings is pegged at 60 cents per share, which has risen from 52 cents over the past 30 days.

Shares of Criteo have declined 0.70% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRTO’s earnings is pegged at 27 cents per share, which has fallen from 53 cents per share over the past 30 days.

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