Lagos, Nigeria – In a recent visit to the 2023 Fellows of the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Odunayo Sanya, Executive Secretary of MTN Foundation, reaffirmed the foundation’s dedication to fostering meaningful and sustainable social investments in Nigeria. During her visit, Sanya highlighted the foundation’s remarkable achievements, including its substantial financial investments, the scope of projects initiated, and the numerous communities positively impacted.
Sanya proudly announced that since its inception in 2004, the MTN Foundation had poured more than 25 billion Naira into a diverse range of initiatives designed to benefit Nigerian society.
She emphasized the pivotal role of the MTN Foundation as MTN Nigeria’s social impact vehicle, emphasizing that it showcased the company’s deep-rooted commitment to Nigeria and its identity as a corporation that prioritizes more than just profits.
One of the foundation’s significant educational initiatives has been its scholarship programs. Sanya revealed, “Till date, MTN Foundation has given over 12,000 scholarships to students across public tertiary institutions in all the 36 states in Nigeria.” These scholarships cater to blind students and outstanding students in STEM fields, such as Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Chemistry, and more. To qualify, students must maintain a CGPA of 3.5. Additionally, the foundation offers approximately 400 scholarships for visually impaired Nigerian students, extending support beyond STEM programs.
During the challenging times of COVID-19, the foundation introduced a special scholarship program for the top 10 UTME students in public tertiary institutions of their choice, provided they also maintained a CGPA of 3.5.
Sanya also shed light on the MTN Foundation’s ICT and Business Skills Training Programme, which targets unemployed youth. She explained, “About 3,000 people are trained every year,” with the added incentive of rewarding the top 300 youths with equipment worth $300,000 this year, in collaboration with Meta, Microsoft, and Google.
In the realm of education, the MTN Foundation has been instrumental in upgrading secondary schools by remodeling ICT and science laboratories. So far, the foundation has established 102 ICT labs and distributed over 600 computer devices.
Turning her attention to the healthcare sector, Sanya discussed the MTN Foundation’s response to the challenges faced by primary healthcare in Nigeria. She proudly stated, “MTN has upgraded 178 primary health care centers across all the states in Nigeria, including the FCT.” These upgrades encompass civil works, the installation of solar-powered boreholes, alternative power solutions, and the provision of essential medical equipment.
Lastly, Odunayo Sanya highlighted MTN Foundation’s partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre to create a curriculum, fully funded by MTN, aimed at training female entrepreneurs. This program equips women with the skills to develop business plans suitable for presentation to potential investors.
The MTN Foundation’s unwavering commitment to social investment continues to make a substantial impact on the Nigerian community, spanning education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, thereby contributing to the nation’s development.
