Airtel Africa Foundation announces fellowship programme for students at IIT Madras Zanzibar

The fellowship aims to support deserving students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the IITM.

New Delhi: The Airtel Africa Foundation on Tuesday announced the 'Airtel Africa Fellowship Programme' for undergraduate students at IIT Madras Zanzibar, which is the first-ever foreign campus established by an IIT.

The fellowship aims to support deserving students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in Zanzibar (Tanzania).

Starting with an outlay of $500,000, this programme will benefit 10 undergraduate students, for their entire course duration of four years.

Founded in 2024 with a vision to foster a prosperous Africa, the Airtel Africa Foundation focuses on advancing digital and financial inclusion across the continent, along with key focus on education and environmental protection.

"This fellowship is the maiden initiative undertaken to enhance educational opportunities for meritorious students, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, enrolled at IIT M Zanzibar. It is designed to support students from 14 African countries, namely Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC, Niger, Chad, Congo B, Gabon, Madagascar, and Seychelles," the release said.

Speaking about the fellowship scheme, Zanzibar's Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Lela Mohamed Mussa noted that IITM Zanzibar is charting a "wonderful path" in technical education in the region.

"Providing access to this high quality education to students from Tanzania and the rest of the continent, who are topping the IITM Zanzibar screening and test processes, through financial assistance, is an important priority for us," Mussa said.

Chairman of the Airtel Africa Foundation, Olusegun Ogunsanya said the initiative aims to contribute towards creating a prosperous and sustainable continent.

"We look forward to creating even more opportunities not just in education, but also in financial and digital inclusion, and environmental protection," Ogunsanya added.