Vodafone Egypt and Vodafone Egypt Foundation signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) for enhancing students’ digital skills, according to a statement by Vodafone.
These MoUs aim to strengthen endeavours for equipping students with digital skills and fostering expertise in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, according to the statement.
The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, along with other prominent figures.
The first MoU entailed the involvement of Vodafone's cybersecurity team in the Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI), which seeks to support students from public Egyptian universities by assisting them in implementing their graduation project ideas.
Vodafone's team will evaluate these projects and provide sponsorship to ensure their alignment with the current and future demands of the job market, the statement added.
Furthermore, Vodafone Egypt will conduct specialized seminars covering a wide range of technological topics, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and cybersecurity.
The second MOU encompassed multiple initiatives such as the Digital Egypt Marvels Initiative (DEMI) and the Digital Egypt Pioneers Initiative (DEPI).
DEMI aims to enhance the technological skills of students in fourth to sixth grades, while DEPI focuses on nurturing technological leadership in modern technologies among university students and graduates from all fields of study, the statement explained.
Additionally, students participating in these initiatives will have free access to the foundation's "Ta3limy" platform, facilitated by the Vodafone Egypt Foundation.
Notably, the DEBI was launched by MCIT in September 2020 to cultivate skilled professionals in the ICT sector, with a particular emphasis on nurturing the creative abilities of Egyptian youth.
In March, Vodacom announced that Vodafone Egypt's contribution to its revenue and profit growth since December amounted to $418.47 million, adding that Vodafone Cash services generated $20.8 million during this period.
E-wallet services like Vodafone Cash have helped improve Egypt's financial inclusion rates, which saw a 5.4 percent increase to reach 67.3 percent during the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The number of Egyptians aged 16 and above with accounts in banks, Egypt Post, mobile phone wallets, or prepaid cards rose to 44.6 million by the end of June 2023, up from 42.3 million by the end of December 2022.