MTN focuses on youth development in SA & Zambia

Pan-African operator MTN South Africa's foundation has unveiled its Digital Skills for Digital Jobs program which aims to benefit up to 900 unemployed young people in the country.

The foundation's first-ever program targets unemployed youth and will equip participants with digital qualifications and essential life and entrepreneurship skills, the company said at the launch.

The 900 individuals that the program targets will come from all nine South African provinces, with a focus on ICT sector job-seekers, marginalized Black women, youth and people with disabilities.

"Our main aim is to ensure local skills align with the demands of the fourth industrial revolution and enable South Africans to participate meaningfully in the African digital advertising market, which is growing every day," said MTN SA Foundation General Manager Arthur Mukhuvha.

The program will equip participants with knowledge in website design, HTML, website development tools and e-commerce website management.

Furthermore, the life skills and entrepreneurship module will include soft skills development, crafting effective resumes, and a comprehensive week-long course on business startups.

"We are seeking to provide a meaningful roadmap to employment and success for the 2023 beneficiaries who started the pilot program at the beginning of June – appropriately Youth Month in South Africa," Mukhuvha continued.

"The selected participants will undertake three months of digital marketing training skills, followed by two months of life skills and entrepreneurship training," the general manager added.

PachiPanda Innovation Challenge

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia and MTN Zambia Foundation (MTNZF) have launched their second PachiPanda Innovation Challenge.

That initiative aims to encourage and support innovative solutions addressing pressing environmental and societal challenges in Southern Africa.

The challenge calls upon innovators to develop sustainable ideas that can have a meaningful impact on the environment and broader society, WWF Zambia said in a statement.

The PachiPanda Innovation Challenge aims to encourage and support innovative solutions that address pressing environmental and societal challenges.(Source: WWF Zambia)

"We are excited to launch the PachiPanda Innovation Challenge in Zambia, a country rich with natural resources, and we believe that harnessing the power of sustainable innovation can unleash its true potential," said WWF Zambia Country Director Nachilala Nkombo.

Through this challenge, PachiPanda aims to foster a culture of innovation and drive positive change in Zambia.

"We are eager to see the groundbreaking ideas that will emerge from this challenge and look forward to supporting the winning projects in making a real, positive impact," said MTNZF Chairperson Rose Sibisi.

"We believe that by promoting sustainable solutions we can unlock much needed green businesses, green jobs and green industrialization to benefit the country and its people," Sibisi continued.

The challenge will also give participants access to industry experts and mentors from partner organizations, who will provide guidance and support throughout the challenge, aiding in the development of their innovative ideas.

Furthermore, winning projects will receive funding and resources that will assist in their implementation and scalability, the WWF Zambia statement added.

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*Top image source: pikisuperstar on Freepik.