In alignment with MTN’s strategic intent on ‘Digital Skills for Digital Jobs’, MTN Foundation has partnered with ATC Nigeria Foundation and Sightsavers IT Bridge Academy to provide digital literacy for rural communities through the “Digital Communities” project. This announcement was made on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at the MTN Nigeria headquarters in Falomo, Ikoyi.
The Digital Communities project launched by ATC Nigeria Foundation provides learning kiosks where individuals of all ages in rural communities can access the internet through digital devices with educator-led and self-guided instructions. The initiative provides healthcare, financial, educational and career development services based on the needs of each community, with a goal of improving quality of life through connectivity. To facilitate learning, MTN Foundation will supply routers and data for one year, for learning kiosks in the 78 target locations.
Speaking on the importance of the partnership, the Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, said “The most important thing for us is that we stay true to our commitment that we have set out to do, and we will do it in the best possible way at all times. We have seen a lot of projects start and fizzle out, however for us today, we are making a commitment to use everything within our disposal – our resources, time and intellectual capability – to ensure that at the end of the day, we are pushing new frontiers.”
Also speaking on the project, Rino Lawal, Senior Manager, Programmes and Sustainability ATC Nigeria stated “For us, it’s about impact, and sometimes we talk about our impact, but we don’t understand how huge it is until you hear testimonials. For instance, we visited one of our digital communities in the outskirts of Abuja, and the head of the community invited me and told this fantastic story of his daughter who went through one of our classes and came back to teach all her siblings. We have so many stories of lives we are touching through our Digital Community project and knowing that we have partners who share our goals and are able to help is amazing.”
