Nairobi-based employees of Airtel Africa plc on Thursday, April 30, donated Ksh 12.7 million shillings to the Covid-19 Emergency Fund.
The donations, which are meant to support the government’s initiatives, are comprised of voluntary employee contributions, which were matched by a Corporate donation from Airtel Africa plc.
"This employee-led voluntary donation is in addition to corporate-level donations of over $2.6 million (Ksh278 million), committed towards protective equipment for health workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic across Africa," reads an excerpt from the company's statement.
Airtel Africa CEO Raghunath Mandava stated that the employees were committed to supporting the government in the fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
He added that Airtel Africa had provided various free services in the countries it operated 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," Mandava informed.
On her part Covid-19 Emergency Fund Chairperson Jane Karuku acknowledged that the partnership between the telecommunication company and the government was very important.
Additionally, she stated that private sector interventions could mitigate the social and economic impacts of the Coronavirus, stimulate economic recovery and create resilience to future outbreaks.
She applauded Airtel for taking several steps to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
"Airtel 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," she continued.
In addition, Karuku lauded Airtel for revising 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 transactions to boost and support the SME and micro-business enterprises," Karuku stated.
She added that the company had helped the government in running a digital awareness campaign on their social media platforms to share information and prevention tips for Covid-19.
