In its efforts to reduce inequalities and provide access to education for all, Telenor Pakistan has signed an agreement to scale Orenda’s Taleemabad project.
This step is in line with the organisation’s focus on building skills for an accelerated digital future under its sustainability agenda and aims to provide high-quality digital educational services to underserved students and schools in Pakistan while building a sustainable business model.
Chief guest of the occasion, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications, Syed Amin ul Haque, said that, “A key goal of the Digital Pakistan Policy is to create a digital ecosystem with infrastructure and institutional frameworks for the rapid delivery of innovative digital services, applications and content. Collaboration towards achieving joint ambitions is key for us to truly prosper digitally. A philosophy which we have adhered to while designing the Digital Pakistan Policy 2021. I look forward to supporting Telenor Pakistan, Orenda and GSMA in helping us achieve essential milestones in our journey towards digitalisation.” Federal Minister further stated that, this initiative is a true example of how an innovative idea, leveraged with technology and partnerships, can be taken to scale and how technology can contribute to addressing key developmental challenges in our society. “I appreciate that Telenor Pakistan has always been at the forefront of developing sustainable partnerships supported by the latest technologies for the betterment of people of Pakistan”, he added.
Via a video message, Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood appreciated Telenor Pakistan and its partners for championing digital education and enabling Pakistan’s journey towards digital transformation and empowering students to learn new skills through emerging technologies.
In his welcome address, Irfan Wahab Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor, said, “Telenor Pakistan has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to make a meaningful impact in society. We are committed to introducing innovative solutions, bridging the digital skills gap and contributing to the EdTech ecosystem, while empowering Pakistan in its journey towards digitalisation. With this partnership we aim to enrich young minds by enabling them with the resources to realise their full potential.”
Haroon Yasin, CEO Orenda Welfare Trust said, “When Telenor Pakistan first partnered with us five years ago, we had reached 1000 children. Since then, we’ve used technology in all its forms - smartphones, feature phones, desktops, even broadcast radio and television – and now are impacting the lives of 10 million children through Taleemabad.” He added, “But our journey doesn’t end here - by deepening our technology infrastructure and extending our services to schools with the help of Telenor Pakistan and GSMA, we are moving towards realizing our vision of making world class digital learning accessible to all 71 million children across Pakistan.”
Telenor Pakistan has consistently showcased its commitment towards the empowerment of youth especially through affordable and accessible means of education. At the onset of COVID leading through its Velocity Accelerator Program, after sudden closure of educational institutions Telenor Pakistan decided to bring in partners in the digital educational domain to leverage on its already active digital subscriber base. The uptake of digital education products in remote and developing areas was highly encouraging, with 49% uptake. Telenor Create, organisation’s design academy, in partnership with World Bank’s Girls Learn Women Earn (GLWE) initiative, developed a comprehensive curriculum to train and enable aspiring women entrepreneurs on digital skills. Under this initiative, Telenor Pakistan trained over a thousand women in digital skills and enabled female entrepreneurs in utilising digital tools to help scale their business. Aligned with Telenor Pakistan’s inclusion goals, this latest partnership also enables the youth to build the right skills for a digital future.