My scam senses were tingling before I got to the comments. Most likely this is a routine NGO/EDU/Gov scam backed by an aggressive and shiny sales approach.
This reminds of the massive deductions the govt have for commercial trucks. They weren't very specific about what the usage was so everyone bought an expensive H2 Hummer and slapped a business sticker on the back gate. Usually realtors, appraisers, or some mobile DJs.
We have a fringe benefits tax, which applies if you drive company vehicles for personal use (since you are gaining something by not having to use your own vehicle).
This tax doesn't apply to pickup trucks with business markings of a certain size (and I think they have to be on the side?) that are permanently affixed (so no magnetic stickers).
The result is that there's quite a few companies with Toyota Hiluxes and other trucks that don't actually need trucks at all, since they're a service company that has literally nothing to haul.
I think that pickup trucks depreciate differently as well, with tax benefits to using them over a sedan.
It probably takes many different forms, but the ones I know about go something like this:
1) Government identifies some area that needs focus, usually so they can say they're doing something.
2) A fund is created with whatever the government thinks is enough to sound like they're doing something.
3) Request for proposals on how to spend the money within said area is sent out.
4) Interested parties figure out how to get their hands on the money in the fund.
Examples of who will apply:
a) Existing companies who try to spin something they already have into something that can give them free money for whatever they were already doing.
b) Scammers who have no intention of doing anything of value and simply try to do the minimum to say they tried (like some Kickstarter scams).
In best cases the winners are picked based on superficial evaluation of who lives up the criteria and who can bullshit most on paperwork. In worst case winners are picked based on who can provide the best kickbacks, ranging from just professional relations or dinners to actual kickbacks.
There is also the well meaning scam where they try to do something good, but have very little ability to actually execute and/or are trying to solve a problem without running the numbers (eg: gravity lights). They can end up going full scam when they refuse to pivot to techniques that would work better when the numbers come in and say their idea doesn't work.
These guys don't seem to qualify for this and fall into standard NGO scam, as the wifi/computers/etc in a farm that is destined for the 3rd world just seems to be there to generate buzz and justify their outrageous price tag. It seems like another box of stuff that will break in a year that gets dumped on the third world.
