Advertorial: MTN SA Foundation
Committed to empowerment in the digital economy If South Africa is to achieve its aim of becoming an ‘e-skilled’ economy, entrepreneurs need to be empowered and ready to participate in the IT sector and growing gig economy.
While there are many ways to tackle the pressing social issues facing South Africa today, the MTN SA Foundation’s approach is to use technology to create shared value in education. As MTN’s primary vehicle for contributing to transformational social change, the MTN SA Foundation works to deliver a number of structured corporate social-investment interventions while contributing to building a more developed socio-economic environment for current and future generations.
Supporting South Africa’s developmental agenda As the Fourth Industrial Revolution deepens and the digital environment rapidly evolves, it is natural that South Africa should aspire to become an ‘e-skilled’ economy. There are, however, stumbling blocks on the path, including our lack of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates – and, where these skills do exist, the development of the entrepreneurial skills required to broaden participation in the IT field. Helping to increase the number of STEM graduates lies in educational policy and in the development of initiatives that government must implement if it aims to make South Africa an ‘e-skilled’ nation.
In support, the MTN SA Foundation has undertaken the task of empowering entrepreneurs how and when it can, understanding that this massive shift cannot be achieved by MTN alone but that its efforts could inspire others to participate in what is a significant future-building process.
Tackling the digital divide and equipping young people for the future As a major player in the telecommunications industry and employer of a large workforce, MTN believes it has an important role to play in providing youth with opportunities to enhance their ICT skills and long-term career prospects. MTN also has a role to play in enabling an environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation in the digital economy. The MTN SA Foundation fulfils this mandate through a range of community programmes designed to allow for agility and responsiveness in delivering solutions to the most disadvantaged communities across South Africa. Its interventions are underpinned by ICT and include an entrepreneurship programme that targets SMMEs, college and university students and high school learners nationally.
Accomplishing national objectives by assisting IT entrepreneurs to obtain the business skills required to energise further and expand the sector is where the private sector and its partners can make a significant contribution. Medium-sized IT companies, for example, can become role models in their communities, guiding and encouraging others to become established and competitive in the digital world.
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