* It aims to support deserving students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in data science and artificial intelligence
The programme is designed to support students from 14 African countries that Airtel Africa has its footprint
* Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC, Niger, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Madagascar and Seychelles
By Duncan Mlanjira
Airtel Africa Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the leading of telecommunications and mobile money services provider, has launched a prestigious undergraduate studies programme, the Airtel Africa Fellowship at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in Zanzibar.
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This is a first-ever foreign campus established by an IIT Madras and the Fellowship aims to support deserving students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in data science and artificial intelligence at the (IITM) in Zanzibar.
A statement from Airtel Africa Foundation indicates, the programme is designed to support students from 14 African countries — Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC, Niger, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Madagascar and Seychelles.
Starting with an outlay of US$500,000, the programme will benefit 10 undergraduate students, for their entire course duration of 4 years.
Founded in 2024 with a vision to foster a prosperous Africa, the Airtel Africa Foundation maintains that it is “dedicated to advancing digital and financial inclusion across the continent along with key focus on education and environmental protection”.
“This Fellowship is the maiden initiative undertaken to enhance educational opportunities for meritorious students, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, enrolled at IITM Zanzibar.
“Recipients of this scholarship will be known as ‘Airtel Africa Fellows’ [who] will receive 100% of their college fees i.e. US$12,000 as per the course fee structure of the Institute for a 4-year program.
“Additionally, to cover the living expense cost, US$500 will be given to all eligible students. This initiative will aspire to transform, shape lives and nurture future leaders who will contribute to technological innovation and economic growth of Africa.”
The statement quotes Zanzibar’s minister of education & vocational training, Lela Mohamed Mussa as describing the IITM Zanzibar as “charting a wonderful path in technical education in the region”.
“Providing access to this high quality education to students who are topping the IITM Zanzibar screening and test processes from Tanzania and the rest of the continent — through financial assistance — is an important priority for us.
“We are thankful to this support from Airtel Africa Foundation, which will enhance our own efforts in this direction,” she was quoted as saying.
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On his part, Airtel Africa Foundation chairperson, Dr. Olusegun Ogunsanya said: “We are pleased to partner with IIT Madras Zanzibar to provide opportunities for young Africans to access quality education.
“This initiative aims to contribute towards creating a prosperous and sustainable continent. We look forward to creating even more opportunities not just in education, but also in financial and digital inclusion, and environmental protection”.
Director of IIT Madras, Prof. V. Kamakoti said the institution “is committed to establishing a world class campus in Zanzibar” and he applauded Airtel Africa Foundation for its partnership towards such effort.
“We look forward to welcoming the second cohort of bright young students to the IITM Zanzibar campus this year,” he said. “We are immensely grateful to Airtel Africa Foundation for providing financial assistance for these future global leaders.”
Airtel Africa Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Airtel Africa, the leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East, Central and West Africa.
Its is a prosperous Africa for all and it is working to increase digital and literacy and skills, expand digital infrastructure in underserved areas, promote economic empowerment for women, expand access to education and address environmental degradation by advocating for and implementing sustainable practices.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance’, whose activities in various fields of science and technology are carried out in 18 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.
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The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., MSc., MBA, M.Tech., M.S., and PhD degrees in a variety of specialisations — operating as a residential institute with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students.
IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.
Recognised as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ category for the sixth consecutive year in India Ranking 2024 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same rankings for nine consecutive years – from 2016 to 2024.
It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021. ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.
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