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Program Overview

Airtel–UNICEF Partnership

Across Africa, millions of children and young people are being locked out of opportunity not because they lack talent or ambition, but because they lack access to affordable connectivity, trusted digital learning platforms, and teachers equipped to navigate a digital future. In partnership with UNICEF, we are working to change that.

Launched in 2021, this pan‑African partnership is accelerating digital learning as a public good, ensuring that connectivity, digital content, and teacher support translate into real learning outcomes for children and adolescents, especially those in underserved communities. Through a combination of school connectivity, zero‑rated learning platforms, teacher empowerment, and systems‑level advocacy, the program is helping governments move from pilots to scale and from access to impact.

By the end of 2025, the partnership had already reached millions of learners and teachers across 13 countries and is now entering a new phase with a sharper focus on equity, learning outcomes, and sustainability.

The Partnership tackles the digital education challenge through a systems‑strengthening, government‑aligned approach built around three mutually reinforcing pillars:

Our Approach

Championing Digital Education for Africa’s Children

Championing Digital Education for Africa’s Children

We work with governments, regulators, and regional bodies to strengthen the policy and enabling environment for digital education, supporting national strategies, standards, and investment frameworks that embed digital learning in education systems for the long term.
Making Digital Learning Platforms Accessible to All

Making Digital Learning Platforms Accessible to All

By zero‑rating trusted, curriculum‑aligned learning platforms, the program removes data costs as a barrier, allowing learners and teachers to access high‑quality digital content free of charge. This is paired with behavioral and awareness campaigns to drive sustained usage and learning engagement.
Connecting Schools and Empowering Teachers

Connecting Schools and Empowering Teachers

We connect schools to the internet and invest in the conditions that make connectivity meaningful; devices, power solutions, real‑time monitoring, and teacher training focused on practical digital pedagogy, troubleshooting, and classroom integration.
Across all pillars, the partnership uses real‑time data, evidence, and learning, including UNICEF‑ITU’s Giga initiative, to guide decision‑making, improve quality, and unlock innovative financing for scale. 
Since its launch, the partnership has delivered results at scale:

Impact to Date

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schools connected across 13 African countries
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additional children reached through connected schools in 2025 alone
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teachers supported to integrate digital tools into teaching
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zero‑rated learning platforms available at no data cost

Surge levels of engagement, including

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10‑fold growth in monthly platform users in Malawi

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Over 20 million monthly logins on zero‑rated platforms in Nigeria

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243% increase in course completion on Learning Passport in Gabon

What Makes This Program Different

From access to outcomes: Connectivity is paired with content quality, teacher confidence, and curriculum alignment.
Government‑led, market‑shaping: National ownership and Giga‑powered data help stimulate sustainable connectivity markets.
Equity at the core: The program prioritizes rural schools, low‑income communities, girls, and learners with disabilities.

Where We Work

The program is currently implemented across 13 African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Niger, Chad, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reaching both schools and youth learning centres