Digitally Connected and Resilient Samoa Project

Samoa, a Pacific island nation of roughly 200,000 people spread across the islands of Upolu and Savai'i, faces both a persistent digital divide and high exposure to cyclones and other climate hazards that repeatedly damage terrestrial and submarine communications infrastructure.

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a US$20.05 million IDA grant on 1 November 2024 for the Digitally Connected and Resilient Samoa Project, implemented by Samoa's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Office of the Regulator (OOTR), with the Ministry of Finance as executing agency.

The project comprises three components: (i) climate- and disaster-resilient fibre-optic network expansion and a secure government data centre; (ii) capacity building, public-private partnership support and cybersecurity/regulatory strengthening for MCIT and OOTR, including the Samoa National Computer Emergency Response Team; and (iii) project implementation support. The project became effective in February 2025 and was formally launched at a joint inception workshop on 25 March 2025.

The World Bank estimates the project will benefit around 215,000 Samoans - essentially the country's entire population - through improved access to affordable broadband and digitally enabled education, health and government services.

The project sits within Samoa's national Digital Transformation Strategy 2023-2030 and the wider US$72 million Pacific Digital Connectivity Program covering ten Pacific countries. Caution: the project was only approved in November 2024 and became effective in early 2025, so no independent outcome evaluation exists yet; the 215,000-beneficiary figure is a World Bank ex-ante estimate, not a measured result.