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GLOBACOM, has promised to use its massive telecommunications infrastructure and international partnerships to deploy internet connectivity to institutions of higher learning in West Africa. Globacom’s Enterprise Group Commercial Coordinator, Mr. Folu Aderibigbe, made the pledge at the third annual conference and fourth annual general meeting of the West and Central African Research and Educational Network (WACREN) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Aderibigbe who was addressing policy and decision makers, scientists, researchers, network managers, identity and access management experts, among others who attended the conference, said that Globacom was in the front position in providing efficient and cost-effective connectivity to organizations and higher institutions in Nigeria, Ghana and Benin Republic. According to him, with Glo 1 international submarine cable linking Europe and West African countries, Globacom, would love to support WACREN in connecting all the universities in the region seamlessly to Europe. The summit which had the theme, “Catalyzing Quality Higher Education and Research”, was attended by the head of Glo1 Ghana, Mr. Joseph Odoi, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Côte d’Ivoire, Prof. Ramata Bakayoko Ly, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Togo, Prof. Broohm, and the Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank, Dr. Jennifer Blanke, among other personalities. The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Togo, Professor Octave Nicoué Broohm, in his own comments at the summit emphasized the need for countries in the region to embrace the growing need for research in higher institutions by rapidly building digital capacities. He said the Togolese government was currently building Data Centres in state universities and restoring optic fibre cable connections to all universities in that country. He said his government planned to remove taxes to help facilitate access to ICT and boost research. Similarly, Cathrin Stöver, who represented GÉANT, Europe’s leading collaboration on e-infrastructure and services for research and education, stressed the need to drive down the cost of bandwidth in the region and added that Geant has connected 42 universities in 15 years with €100s millions in contributions from the European Union and others. Geant is responsible for connecting higher institutions in Africa to Europe to ensure students in Africa have access to knowledge bases from across the world. The Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank, Dr. Jennifer Blanke, stated that investment in research will stimulate and sustain economic growth and development.