Airtel Africa Plc has disclosed that the company has secured a five-year pan African partnership worth $57million, aimed at improving the digital learning of children in Africa.
The idea of the partnership, according to a press release filed with The Exchange is to help accelerate the roll-out of digital learning through connecting schools to the internet and ensuring free access to learning platforms across 13 countries.
The 13 beneficiary countries involved in the partnership are Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In other words, only children from these countries can benefit from the initiative.
What they are saying
This partnership is in line with UNICEF’s global initiative launched in 2020, “Reimagine Education”. The initiative calls for public and private sector investment in digital learning as an essential service for every child Airtel Africa is currently the first African private sector partner to make a multi-million dollar commitment to the initiative.
Commenting on the development, UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore said, “Hundreds of millions of children in Africa have seen their education disrupted or put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By championing digital education for children in Africa, this partnership with Airtel Africa will help put children’s learning back on track.”
In addition, Olusegun Olusanya, CEO of Airtel Africa, commended the initiative and expressed excitement about the company working with UNICEF to advance the education agenda on the continent.
He stated that, “As a business, we have focused on education as a key area of our corporate social responsibility, and we are delighted that this partnership with UNICEF will enable us to accelerate results. It also coincides with the launch of our new sustainability strategy, which lays out our commitment to education”.