MTN Bright Scholarship beneficiaries in a group photo
The MTN Foundation, the charitable arm of the MTN Ghana group has awarded scholarships to some 120 needy and brilliant students including persons with disability in 17 public tertiary institutions.
These beneficiaries were selected from all 16 regions of the country.
MTN Bright Scholarship, launched in 2018 is a scheme that aims to assist students with their financial commitments. The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, accommodation, a stipend, and a laptop.
Addressing some of the beneficiaries in Accra, Selorm Adadevoh indicated that over the last five years, some 400 students have benefited from the initiative of which 300 have graduated, contributing to the social economic development of the country.
According to him, the bright scholarship cannot be underestimated, especially in a country where access to quality education becomes a challenge to many students, “MTN is bent in making a difference through its scholarship scheme making an impact in the lives of students and this is in fulfillment of MTN’s commitment to Ghanaians at it 20th and 25th anniversary in enriching lives of its customers”.
To this, the management of the MTN Bright scholarship has increased the current enrollment from 100 to 120 beneficiaries in this year’s initiatives due to the competitiveness of applicants and the company’s desire to reach a number of needy students across the various institutions.
Additionally, Mr. Adadevoh indicated that in their effort to nurture home-grown graduates and talents across different sectors and harness the power of innovation and technology for opportunity in the global economy, beyond the Bright Scholarship MTN Ghana has undertaken other projects such as the construction of the $25 million ICT hub in Accra aimed at creating jobs and driving socio-economic development in West Africa.
MTN has also launched the digital skills for the digital job programme expected to train 1 million youth in Africa by 2025.
Mr. Adadevoh also urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity provided to help influence society.
Chief Corporate Service and Sustainability, Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe on his part revealed that MTN Ghana has committed GH¢13.5m to the scholarship scheme and GH¢2.2m earmarked for this year’s cohort of awardees.
The final set of awardees is scheduled for next year to complete the 25th anniversary of the bright scholarship reloaded.
Madam Waife further noted that the scholarship focuses on STEM and ICT-related courses in line with MTN’s Digital Skills Development Strategy and government digitalization agenda.
“We believe that the future is a technology and it is in our common interest to facilitate the skills 80 percent of the awards were given to students in the field of engineering, computer science, ICT, and other related courses,” she added.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Eugenia Okra expressed gratitude to the MTN Ghana foundation for their bright scholarship initiatives aimed at enriching the lives of needy and deprived students in the country.
“I want to use this opportunity to also appeal to other organizations to emulate this interventions by MTN to change lives,” she said.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke