Airtel has merged with Chandaria Foundation and the Global Peace Foundation to support 41 schools in Kenya in the LEAP Hubs entrepreneurship program through the provision of free internet connection.
LEAP hubs are dedicated space within secondary schools where students are incubated and nurtured to be creative, innovative and be able to launch sustainable business ventures and social enterprises. The initiative is part of the Internet for schools program that aims at connecting at least 1 million students to the internet with a total of 167 connected schools across the country impacting over 250,000 students thus far.
Through the partnership, Airtel will offer free internet connection to students within the program who use the internet to access online resources and tools that help nurture and develop their business ideas. The program aims at nurturing business ideas, serving communities and reducing unemployment in the country for the mushrooming youthful population.
Through leadership and entrepreneurship training focusing on business development, financial literacy and critical 21st centuary skills will empower students participation in the LEAP Hub program to be self-reliant job creators as opposed to job seekers. The program has so far reached out to 15 schools in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos County and is expected to expand to other parts of the country in the coming months with an expected growth of 40 schools in the first year.
Globally, 75 million unemployed youth represent a sobering global crisis with consequences that include increased violence, political instability and income inequality. In Kenya, 75 percent of new post-secondary graduates fail to find jobs in the highly competitive labor market. Youth business and social entrepreneurship can be a tool for empowerment, allowing them to create jobs as well as solve real social problems in their communities
