The award celebrates Airtel’s continued success with its Re-imagine Education Initiative, a ground-breaking collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) aimed at transforming education in Nigeria through technology.

Airtel’s consistent focus on creating social value through strategic partnerships reflects its position as a key enabler of progress in the Nigerian education sector.

Commenting on the award, Femi Adeniran, the director, Corporate Communications and CSR, highlighted the significance of the winning the Partnership of the Year award for the second time with the Airtel collaboration with UNICEF to provide digital access to quality educational resources for more than 1,200 schools in Nigeria.

“Winning this award for the second consecutive year is a reflection of our enduring belief in the transformative power of technology in education. We are deeply committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of Nigerians, and this recognition fuels our resolve to do even more,” he said.

The SERAS Awards, widely regarded as Africa’s most prestigious platform for celebrating sustainability and corporate social responsibility, brought together leaders from various industries to honour organizations driving impactful change.

Airtel Nigeria remains steadfast in its mission to foster inclusive growth, empower communities, and champion a sustainable future for its stakeholders and the environment.

HIS Nigeria is part of the IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) (“IHS Towers”) group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count.

The awards received were ‘Most Responsible Organization’, ‘Best Company in Environmental Stewardship’, ‘Best Company in Circular Economy’, ‘Best Company in Workplace Practices’ and ‘CEO of the Year’ for Mohamad Darwish, and were presented to IHS Nigeria in Lagos, on Friday, December 15, 2023.

Commenting on the award, Mohamad Darwish, IHS Nigeria CEO, said,

“IHS Nigeria’s sustainability initiatives are designed to help further the UNSDGs and address specific community needs. Through targeted programs, we aim to deliver positive transformations in critical areas such as education, employment, and enhanced health and wellbeing. In addition, we have delivered campaigns relating to a safer and cleaner environment, sought to increase community access to and awareness of renewable energy sources, focused on youth development and women’s empowerment, and supported the growth of the small and medium enterprise sector.”

Highlighting other impactful sustainability initiatives led by IHS Nigeria, he said:

“Building sustainable connections and improving lives in emerging markets is at the core of our business. However, for mobile connectivity to truly thrive, responsible development is pivotal, and we’re actively contributing to this vision. We’re dedicated to using our resources and partnerships to make real, long-lasting changes that support a sustainable future for Nigeria. Our partnership with the Telecommunications and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG), for instance, has enabled us to reach over 200,000 individuals through TTSWG initiatives, promoting sustainable practices that benefit both the ICT sector and the country as a whole.”

In addition to SERAs, IHS Nigeria’s sustainability programs were recognized at the 2023 Africa Public Sector Conference and Awards; Top 50 Brands on Sustainability in Africa; 2023 World Sustainability Awards; Best External Partnership; 2023 Tech Innovation Award as Best Sustainable Tower Company; 2023 CSR Reporters’ Award for Sustainability Company of the Year; CAHR Awards for Josephine Nkemdilim Equal Rights; and the SOS Children’s Villages International (SOSCVI) Donor Award.

The accolade was in recognition of Airtel’s the Re-imagine Education initiative, a consequential collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

According to the SERAS organizers, the jury’s selection of Airtel is in recognition of the benchmark set by the telecom giant in synergy, impact, and innovation through its visionary collaborations, noting that Airtel’s partnership with UNICEF has delivered commendable improvement to the education system of Nigeria.

The Airtel/UNICEF Re-imagine Education program, which officially kicked off in Nigeria in December 2022, aims to transform education, leveraging the power of technology to enhance teaching and learning experiences for children across the country.

Currently, working with UNICEF, Airtel has helped to equip more than 620 Nigerian primary schools with data and digital devices to enable them access educational content related to their classwork on government approved platforms on the Web.

In September, Airtel announced plans to increase the number of beneficiary schools by 600.

Speaking during the award ceremony, Director, Corporate Communications and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran, said;

“Transforming communities is not just a catchphrase for Airtel and CSR is not just something we do occasionally; we understand the importance of earning our social license by making CSR a way of life, hence we constantly do all we can to touch the lives of people.”

The SERAS Awards is the foremost event recognizing achievement in CSR in Africa, and for 17 years has raised awareness on the roles that organizations play in community development and sustainability across the continent.

SERAS has said its purpose is to substantiate the case that socially responsible corporations stand to gain considerable economic, social, and environmental capital.

The 2023 edition of the awards gala brought together renowned sustainability experts, public relations practitioners, brand custodians, and government officials.

The telecom company was awarded the Deborah Leipziger Africa Prize for Innovation for consistently initiating projects that impact the beneficiaries and society.

This year’s award was based on the 9mobile Future CEO initiative for secondary school students, aimed at inspiring future leaders by stirring up their interest in business and leadership. This initiative provides promising future leaders the opportunity to walk in the shoes of senior business leaders.

Commenting on the award, Chineze Amanfo, PR Lead, 9mobile, commended the award’s organizers for the recognition, stating that it was a well-deserved recognition of service to the brand for its consistency.

She said, “At 9mobile, we are glad that our sustained efforts in the past eleven months are attracting attention and recognition from reputable organizations like the SERAS. Our initiatives and projects are designed to impact society, particularly in education and youth empowerment.”

“What we are doing with the 9mobile Future-CEO initiative is to help build students’ morale, confidence, and leadership capacity in preparation for the future. This award will undoubtedly motivate us as a company to intensify our efforts in executing projects that will have long-lasting impacts on society through well-thought-out CSR interventions”. Amanfo added

Last year, the brand also won the same award for powering the Bichi Emirate Digital Skills Project, an initiative that empowered youths in the Bichi emirate area council of Kano state with the requisite digital skills needed to compete effectively on the global scene.

The Deborah Leipziger Africa Prize for Innovation is a pan-African recognition for innovation that addresses crucial problems in society in a sustainable way.

Over the years, the SERAS awards have become the most prestigious and coveted recognition in the corporate space across Africa, attracting over 1500 entries from more than 350 organizations.

The telecom company was awarded the Education Intervention Award for its ‘Adopt-A-School’ CSR programme, an initiative aimed at impacting the education sector, at the 2022 SERAS Awards, which took place at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos recently.

Over the years, the award has focused on promoting and measuring Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in Africa, and it was designed with the idea of recognizing organizations that have attained the milestones of increasing Africa’s chances of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) target.

The award has grown to become the most credible and glamourous business award in Africa for corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

According to the organisers of the SERAS  award, Airtel Nigeria has achieved a great feat in contributing to the Nigerian education sector and has always been exceptional in its corporate social responsibility duties with many flagships in education including its Adopt-A-School initiative which has given many schools respite across the country.

With Airtel’s ‘Adopt-A-School’ CSR programme across the country, the company has impacted the education sector through its interventions which span across refurbishments and other programmes that make learning conducive. It is therefore not surprising when the telecom was announced as this year’s winner of the Best Company in Education Intervention.

Airtel Nigeria is also partnering with UNICEF to provide world-class education and digital access to thousands of children in Nigeria and will continue to seek ways to make learning more conducive and smarter for Nigerian children.