Microsoft has announced the launch of an initiative in Africa called Spark a Childs Digital Future into which it will invest US$75mn
The US technology giant said that the programme, which it launched in association with World Vision and the British Council, will aim at increasing digital access to educational materials throughout the continent.
As part of the agreement between Microsoft, World Vision and the British Council, the organisations will implement an investment of US$75mn with NGOs to give digital access to children throughout developing African nations.
Microsoft said that it has already opened more than 100 digital hubs in Africa to train people on how to use digital content.
World Vision executive David Owens said, “We are finally closing the opportunity gap. With this, we can put the power of technology into the hands of eager young minds.
“Once a child’s basic needs have been met, developing digital skills leads to better jobs. These jobs have a poverty-fighting ripple effect, improved family income, community contribution, and less dependency on services. This is why World Vision, Microsoft, Intel, and British Council are teaming up to improve digital access and education for African students.”
Microsoft revealed that the initiative’s aim was to achieve goals, which will see it bringing technology advancements to African schools, bringing holistic digital access to classrooms with devices, infrastructure, and teacher training, and improving learning outcomes for students in academics and life skills.
A British Council statement read, “We need to scale and only way to do that is by getting other partnerships. We found a huge interest alignment with others to better skills, and it’s all being driven by improving employability.”
