Nairobi-based employees of Airtel Africa plc have come together and contributed a donation of 12.7 million shillings to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, in support of the Government’s initiatives. The donation is comprised of voluntary employee contributions, which were matched by a corporate donation from Airtel Africa plc.
This is over and above various initiatives, some indicated below, that the organization has put in place to cushion the impact of the pandemic since the announcement of the Coronavirus pandemic in Kenya. Airtel has made it a priority to mitigate the impact of the virus by helping its customer’s access services, keep the communities going and ensuring that all the employees remain safe. Nairobi is the headquarters for Airtel Africa plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Airtel Africa plc is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with operations in 14 countries across Africa and over 110 million customers.
The donation is comprised of voluntary employee contributions, which were matched by Airtel Africa plc. This employee-led voluntary donation is in addition to corporate-level donations of over $2.6 million, committed towards protective equipment for health workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic across Africa. Today’s employee-led hand over was made to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund Chairperson, Ms. Jane Karuku.
Raghunath Mandava, CEO, Airtel Africa:
Airtel and each of its employees are committed to supporting the government in the fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Along with following all the safety measures and instructions provided by the Government, we believe we should lend our support in every possible way. Airtel Africa has provided various free services in the countries it operates in and also made donations, in cash and in kind, across the 14 countries within its operations.
At a personal level, the employees have taken a voluntary deduction of salaries over the next few months that will be matched by the Company and donated towards this fight in each country. Each and every member of our team in Nairobi reiterates their individual support for the Kenya COVID-19 response through this collective contribution.
Ms. Jane Karuku, COVID-19 Emergency Fund Chairperson:
This is an important partnership with Airtel Africa plc in Kenya and demonstrates a real commitment to further support us, whilst we all work each day to defeat this pandemic. Private sector interventions can mitigate the social and economic impacts of the Coronavirus, stimulate economic recovery and create resilience to future outbreaks.
Airtel has already taken several steps to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, including …
- Free access to Educational sites: Responded positively to the government’s directive to suspend learning in all educational institutions all over the country by partnering with Longhorn Publishers to offer free internet access to students accessing the Longhorn e-learning Platform.
- Airtel Money Charges: Following consultations with key government agencies, Airtel removed all transaction fees making it possible for Kenyans to send and receive money for free on the Airtel Money platform. Airtel also revised the transaction limits for mobile money transaction to boost and support the SME and micro business enterprises.
- Customer Communication: Airtel have been running a digital awareness campaign on their social media platforms to share information and prevention tips for COVID-19.