• MTN SA has launched 20 free online digital skills courses aimed at improving access to coding, programming and financial planning education for young Africans.
• Eight African nations can take advantage of the online courses, which can be accessed via smartphone and are low-data.
• The courses are from educators Coursera and PACE, with the academy serving as a hosting site of sorts.

In a continued bid to increase access to digital skills, MTN South Africa has announced today the launch of its MTN Skills Academy, which is opening its doors to young people across Africa, specifically eight different African nations, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia and more.

According to MTN, the academy marks a milestone in its strategies towards 2025, and offers a range of courses and training programmes in areas such as coding, web development, digital marketing, and data analytics to name a few.

This initiative differs from the MTN Online School, launched near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it seeks to educate young adults, and not school age children.

MTN South Africa, and its CEO Charles Molapisi, have long been proponents for the increase and uptake of digital skills in the country, especially as a means to uplift communities from poverty. Seeing as Molapisi’s personal warcry is “one household, one developer” it is no wonder why MTN has invested millions of Rands in providing equipment to special needs schools, teaching young entrepreneurs how to run digital enterprises, and opening multimedia centres in rural communities.

According to the announcement, the MTN Skills Academy’s curriculum has been developed in collaboration with educators such as PACE and Coursera, and will focus on targeting the acquisition of practical, in-demand skills that directly translate into employability.

“The curriculum is tailored to meet industry demands, ensuring that learners who complete the courses on the platform, are well-equipped to contribute meaningfully to the workforce,” the company adds.

“The Academy is a cornerstone of MTN’s Ambition 2025, which is our commitment to the development of a digital future for the benefit of all. Not only will the Academy play a pivotal role in enhancing digital and financial skills, but it will also foster digital inclusion, innovation, and long-term career prospects for participants,” said Arthur Mukhuvha, General Manager of the MTN SA Foundation.  

Interested students will be able to engage with the academy over a web-based platform, also available on mobile. The over 20 digital and financial courses, as well as the career guidance and entrepreneurial skill development courses, are all completely free. Enrolling in a course will redirect users to the module either on Coursera or PACE. You will have to sign up individually for these platforms.

Courses include Financial Planning, Excel, Google Docs, Intro to Programming, Information Literacy, Cloud Computing and many more.

MTN has made sure that the platform uses low-data, and has improved accessibility features, as inclusivity is a cornerstone of its design. MTN hopes to reach 75 000 young people with the academy’s courses, and offer career guidance to 500 000.

The academy can be accessed here.