Education and digital literacy are material topics
Access to education
At Airtel Africa, we are committed to transforming lives through access to quality education.
By leveraging our connectivity infrastructure and forming strategic partnerships, we aim to provide students and teachers with the tools they need to succeed in a digital world. Through The Airtel Africa Foundation’s landmark partnership with UNICEF, we continue to drive digital literacy and improve access to learning resources across our 14 markets.
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
1,028
schools connected to internet in 2025/26 through the UNICEF partnership
3,296
schools connected to the internet since the start of the UNICEF partnership
- For full details of the Airtel Africa Foundation's education programmes – see the Airtel Africa Foundation section
Millions of children across our 14 markets still lack reliable access to the internet and the digital learning tools they need to thrive. Improving that remains one of our most important responsibilities – and one of our most meaningful opportunities to transform lives.
Since we established our sustainability strategy in 2021, access to education has been a high-priority material topic, reflecting both the scale of need across the communities we serve and the unique role our connectivity infrastructure can play in meeting it.
In 2024, we established The Airtel Africa Foundation as a dedicated vehicle for delivering long-term social impact – including all of our programmes that increase access to education across the continent. The Foundation delivers key elements of this goal, including our landmark partnership with UNICEF.
Governance
The Foundation is independently governed by a Council and Committee, with financial oversight from its guardian, ensuring transparent programme delivery and partnership accountability.
- For full details of the Airtel Africa Foundation's governance – see the Airtel Africa Foundation section
Progress in 2025/26
The Airtel Africa Foundation is responsible for setting, monitoring and reporting against its own performance indicators for access to education programmes. In a collaborative approach, Airtel Africa supports the identification of communities where connectivity can unlock access to digital learning, providing the infrastructure that underpins delivery. The Foundation independently evaluates programme performance and shares insights with Airtel Africa, ensuring clear governance boundaries while maintaining a shared focus on expanding access to education.