Airtel Africa Foundation has unveiled plans to impact 10 million lives by 2030, with Nigeria as the largest market in Africa a significant share of the fund is expected to flow to the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Segun Ogunsanya, chairman of Airtel Africa Foundation made this known. He stated that the foundation is a catalyst for change, changing lives, providing scholarship, and making life easier for people and communities.
“We touch lives. We touch communities. We give, we don’t expect. That’s why we made a commitment that we want to touch at least 10 million lives by 2030.”
“This foundation operates in 14 countries in Africa, from East Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, to West Africa. We are giving scholarships, connecting schools, giving free access to students to educational sites, creating levelled playgrounds for them to compete,” he said.
He highlighted that the foundation’s mission lies on four pillars – financial inclusion, education, environment protection, and digital inclusion, with current focus being on education.
By 2026 the foundation targets connecting over 2,500 schools to the internet and zero learning platforms, provide over 200 scholarships and mentorship for undergraduate students in tech related fields and also support digital inclusion through the establishment of tech hubs.
According to Ogunsanya, for Nigeria the foundation aims to train 26,000 youths by 2026, provide 100 local scholarships, connect additional 300 schools and adopt 10 schools.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, Airtel Africa highlighted that the foundation was established to go beyond providing telecom services by partnering with communities and driving transformation through key social investments, identifying the communities as key pillars in its prosperity.
“Our foundation is the embodiment to be more than a service provider and economic growth enabler, but a genuine partner in our business process. The foundation is how we accelerate that transformation by systematically investing in the pillars that underpin our resilient and dynamic society.” he stated.
