The Econet Development Foundation has invested in the following areas:
Education for orphans and the under privileged children
Entrepreneurial development
Environmental protection
Business Leadership
Agricultural Development
HIV and Aids
eHealth
All programs are run at the sole discretion of the Group Chairman Mr. Strive Masiyiwa.
Capernaum Trust caters for the educational, health, nutritional and psycho-social well being of orphaned children in Africa. Once the orphaned children are on the Capernaum Trust program they are known as History Makers. Founded on a vision to raise “History Makers with a leadership mind-set for global impact”, Capernaum Trust presently supports over 40 000 History Makers.
Our Entrepreneurship development model seeks to create a new generation of entrepreneurs who are innovative, strategic and committed to the restoration and development of Africa. Consequently, these new ‘Entrepreneurial Beneficiaries’ will create businesses that will become the engine that drives the economy, increasing productivity in industries such as IT, Engineering, Agriculture; resulting in wealth creation, generation of employment and economic development and growth and thus as a whole, improve the standard of living in Africa.
As part of our ongoing response to environmental and sustainability issues we started looking for a solution from the traditional suppliers of energy and we concluded that the solution was in the natural resources that are readily available. Econet Energy was launched during 2010 and 2011 as a representation of our commitment to take leadership in encouraging the use of renewable and eco-friendly energies, securing a sustainable future for business and our environment. As a proactive response to environmental issues and we have started installing ‘green’ base stations.
In addition to powering the core network infrastructure, we are also distributing solar chargers, solar lanterns, solar powered mobile handsets, solar panels, and will assist in the ongoing changeover to solar powered traffic lights nationally.
As one of a small, but rapidly growing number of global companies from Africa, Econet Wireless is at the forefront of ensuring that the voice of African business is heard at major international gatherings.
The company not only participates in such events, but has also actively sponsored, hosted, and supported meetings and dialogues, to promote better understanding concerning African economic issues, as well as social development issues, health and the environment.
Agriculture is a crucial economic activity, providing employment and livelihood for many and serving as the basis for many industries in African countries. Our current strategic plan and structure is to target Agricultural Development as an entrepreneurial arm that is expected to provide beneficiaries with a platform to be productive in the agricultural domain.
Making this dream a reality, through Capernaum Trust we have conducted research on Agricultural Education and Farmer Training in colleges that offer the skills. The aim is to finance the studies of History Makers to attend Agricultural Colleges periodically over the next few years and in turn facilitate the History Makers in setting up viable agricultural initiatives and agricultural training program.
An improvement in agricultural skills and infrastructure is likely to have a social and economic ripple effect. Empowering individuals through sustainable agricultural skills has a direct effect on food security, nutrition, and income levels, enabling rural men and women to overcome poverty. By offering new opportunities through Agricultural Development we envision sustainable initiatives that will be applied across Africa and that will eventually lead to the development of African communities.
Econet is aware of the devastation HIV/AIDS has inflicted on families around the world, and stresses the importance of supporting the bread winner, struggling with HIV/AIDS. We provide anti-retroviral drugs to infected employees and other members of their immediate family. Through the Live 2 Love Program, the Group continues to encourage open dialogue among staff on HIV/AIDS.
e Health Centres
e Health Centres are providing a solution that connects doctors to their patients in remote locations via nurses, thus lowering the cost of consultation and transportation. This project is currently in pilot phase.
Econet Vaccine Storage Centres
Energize the Chain TV advert
Econet Wireless- through its participation in; GSMA, Green Power for Mobile, Community Power Working Groups and in conjunction with the NGO Energize the Chain -is involved in extending the ‘Vaccine Cold Chain’. A pilot program has been deployed in Zimbabwe with the aim to extend it to its other Operations. This program will help take vaccines further out and to the rural populations. The target is to vaccinate as many infants as possible against preventable diseases by using some of its ‘excess power at its cell sites to power vaccine refrigerators.
