Governments across sub-Saharan Africa do not rewrite education law for a connectivity grant. Yet that is precisely what happened.
Through the Airtel Africa Foundation’s flagship $57 million partnership with UNICEF, two countries moved from receiving infrastructure support to embedding digital education permanently into national legislation. The Foundation’s 2025/2026 Annual Report documents that shift in detail, alongside the numbers behind a first full year of scaled delivery.
From pledge to law: the $57 million UNICEF alliance
The five-year partnership with UNICEF, launched in 2021, now stands as one of the most consequential digital learning alliances on the continent. In this reporting period alone (April 2025 to March 2026), the Foundation connected 1,028 additional schools, bringing the cumulative total to 3,296 across 13 markets. More than 2 million learners and 38,868 teachers now sit inside that network.
Three countries moved beyond programme participation to institutional change:
Zambia adopted a new Education Sector Digitalization Strategy covering 2025 to 2026, establishing a phased national roadmap. Gabon passed Ordinance No. 007/2025, legally cementing digital education inside its national framework. The Republic of the Congo developed a Digital Pedagogy Roadmap, and Uganda advanced formal Digital Education Standards and Guidelines.
“This isn’t temporary charity. It is a permanent rewrite of how African children will learn for generations,”Segun Ogunsanya, Chair, Airtel Africa Foundation.
Sixty-four educational platforms now operate on a zero-rated basis across thirteen countries, meaning students access learning content without data costs. Over 11 million users reached those platforms during the year.
Scaled impact: FY26 results and 2027 targets
| Initiative | FY26 result | Target by March 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| School connectivity | 3,296 schools across 13 countries | 5,000+ connected schools |
| Zero-rated platforms | 64 platforms, 11M+ users | Continued scaling |
| Digital skills training | 30,530 youth and women trained | 70+ digital communities supported |
| Tech fellowships | 257 full STEM scholarships across 5 countries | 600+ scholarships |
| School adoption | 50 schools adopted; 7 fully renovated | 80+ adopted schools |
| Financial inclusion | 2,450 trained; 510 received enterprise grants | 3,500 entrepreneurs supported |
| Women in tech | 8,497 women trained in advanced digital skills | Expanded rural and low-income reach |
Tupokigwe Simon, age 17: what infrastructure actually produces
Numbers tell the structural story. People tell the real one.
Tupokigwe Gwamaka Simon graduated from Kijitonyama Secondary School in Tanzania in 2025. By then she had already won the head-girl election in her first year, taken national ICT competition titles including the SmartGirls challenge, and built practical solutions covering solar-powered cookers and assistive technologies for learners with disabilities. She is now an official UNICEF digital inclusion ambassador.
Her route ran through the Airtel Fursa Lab, a collaboration between Airtel Tanzania, the Dar Teknohama Business Incubator, and COSTECH, operating at Kijitonyama since 2017. The lab has trained more than 4,000 people since its founding. In 2025, 1,616 people trained there, including 1,259 women.
“By combining early exposure to ICT, hands-on innovation and strong mentorship, the programme is helping close gender gaps in technology while nurturing Tanzania’s next generation of digital talent.”Airtel Africa Foundation Annual Report 2025/2026
Tupokigwe’s trajectory is not exceptional by accident. It is what happens when the right infrastructure meets committed educators and open community access at no cost.
Tech for Her: closing the rural gap by design
The Foundation launched Tech for Her in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia during the reporting period. The free five-week online programme trains women aged 18 to 35 in cybersecurity, data analytics and Linux administration. The first cohort targets 300 participants.
Two structural rules govern its design: 30% of seats go to women in rural areas; 40% go to applicants from low-income households. Those numbers are not aspirational targets. They are admission rules. The people furthest from opportunity do not compete for the remaining seats. They fill a defined share of every cohort.
The Foundation trained 8,497 women in advanced digital skills across all its programming during this reporting period.
The Tech Fellowship: building Africa’s STEM pipeline
The Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship awarded 257 full scholarships across Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, the DRC and Uganda by 31 March 2026. Each award covers tuition, accommodation, a monthly stipend, a laptop, data packages and access to a mentorship programme with industry leaders.
In Uganda alone, 20 students secured four-year scholarships representing a total investment exceeding 3.85 billion Ugandan shillings, equivalent to approximately $1 million, after a selection process that drew over 300 applications. Nigeria accounted for 75 scholarships; the DRC received 100.
“Being selected as an Airtel Africa Foundation Fellow means more than just financial support to me. Coming from a modest background, this scholarship has lifted a major burden off my shoulders and allowed me to focus fully on building my future in technology.”Abdullah Abdulgafar Amuda, Computer Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University
The Foundation targets 600 or more scholarships by March 2027.
School adoption: renovating classrooms across ten countries
The School Adoption Programme operated with a budget of approximately $3 million in 2025/2026. It approved renovation of more than 50 schools, with 7 fully completed and 43 in progress across 10 countries. Work integrates physical upgrades with digital infrastructure and teacher support.
In Zambia, the Foundation broke ground in December 2025 on a $500,000 investment to upgrade five schools across five provinces, Mongu, Chipata, Mufulira, Solwezi and Mansa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Zambia Open Community Schools.
The Foundation also partnered with the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) as platinum sponsor of the ZICTA Innovation Programme, which brought together 100 young Zambian innovators. The 2025/26 top prize went to Siphiwe Sowi Munsaka for KOLOSO, a real-time learning assessment platform designed to address foundational literacy and numeracy gaps.
Financial inclusion: early stage, measured steps
Financial inclusion remains an earlier-stage pillar. The Foundation reached 2,450 participants through community-level financial literacy workshops and entrepreneurship training, primarily targeting women and youth. Enterprise grants went to 510 beneficiaries. Nigeria led activity with 2,050 people trained; Chad supported 500.
The Foundation targets 3,500 entrepreneurs supported by March 2027 and will scale literacy programming and enterprise support accordingly.
The 2030 targets: where this is heading
The Foundation published its 2030 strategic plan during this reporting period. Four commitments anchor it: improve access to quality education and digital learning for 10 million children; equip 1 million youth and entrepreneurs with digital and IT skills; empower 100,000 individuals with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills while supporting 1,000 early-career innovators; and champion environmental stewardship across operating countries.
The Foundation enters the next phase from a position of measured progress. Schools are connected. Laws have changed. Scholars are enrolled. Women are coding in disciplines previously closed to them. The 2030 goals are large. The infrastructure to reach them exists. What follows now is execution at scale.
