01 February 2023

Airtel Nigeria and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have signed a memorandum of understanding to connect 620 primary schools in Nigeria to digital learning by the end of February 2023.

The ‘Reimagine Education’ initiative aims to provide more than 300,000 school children with the Internet and devices to access a study program for free via dedicated platforms.

The partnership is scheduled to last five years. During the first year, Airtel and UNICEF will be responsible for providing all necessary resources for digital learning to the 620 schools.

On 1 November 2021, UNICEF and Airtel Africa agreed to collaborate on the ‘Reimagine Education’ project in thirteen telecom operator markets, namely Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel agreed to invest US$57 million in this initiative.

For Airtel Africa, this new partnership is in line with the ‘Our Community’ pillar of its new sustainable development strategy unveiled in October 2021, and which prioritizes access to education. In Nigeria, the free internet connectivity that Airtel will provide under this project is worth US$1.3 million.

“With this program and partnership, we are bringing both world-class education and digital inclusion to thousands of underprivileged children and our goal is to connect, empower and transform as many children and young people as possible. Education is power, and connectivity provides the leverage to become unstoppable. At Airtel, we are confident that this investment will not only transform lives, but create a wonderful future for millions of Nigerian children and young people,” said Surendran Chemmenkotil, managing director of Airtel Nigeria.