Division: Foundation

MTN Eswatini, Swaziland Empowerment Limited (SEL), and Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprises (ESWADE) have joined forces to launch a tunnel farming project for young people from Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu in Siphofaneni.

About 40 young people will benefit from this project: 20 youth from Maphilingo and 20 from Ntsabankhulu. These are young people from families relocated during the construction of the Lubovane Dam. Each group of 20 was allocated two tunnels and they are now well poised to make profits worth at least E15 000 per farming cycle per group.

MTN invested E232 000 into this project, SEL provided E125 000, and ESWADE’s role is to provide technical support. Amongst other key activities, ESWADE is expected to provide field training, and ensure constant water supply in the tunnels.

Through the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard), the youth has already secured a sustainable market for their produce. Once their produce is ready for sale, NAMBoard will collect it in readiness to send to relevant markets.

Minister of Agriculture, Jabulani Mabuza, launched this empowerment project last week Friday alongside MTN Chief Executive Officer Wandile Mtshali, SEL Corporate Social Responsibility Chairman Shaka Ndlangamandla, and ESWADE Chief Executive Officer Samson Sithole. Minister Mabuza planted the first tomato plants in the tunnels to mark the official launch of the project.

The minister commended MTN, SEL, and ESWADE for joining forces, and engaging young people in agriculture.

“We need more of such partnerships to turn the economy around and to provide opportunities for our young people,” he remarked.

He also pleaded with the youth to pull all stops to make the project a success, saying “If you do it with your heart, you will prosper.”

Mabuza said it was high time for young people to put their hands on deck and help the country to cut the importation of agricultural produce and reduce capital outflow.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Wandile Mtshali said although the company has not been able to implement its annual flagship Corporate Social Investment (CSI) program known as the 21 Days of Y’ello Care in the past two years, they have refused to stand back and not support young people.

“Against all odds, MTN Eswatini, alongside ESWADE, Ministry of Agriculture, and SEL is happy to deliver this innovative agricultural project which will be run by young people, and whose capacity will be enhanced,” he said.

He further disclosed that the company, alongside these partners, will deliver other sustainable projects to benefit more young people and broader communities.

SEL CSR Chairman Shaka Ndlangamandla said they were also happy to be part of this partnership to empower young people because they believe that the aspirations and achievements of young people will shape the future.

The youth representative Bongiwe Gwebu dearly thanked the partners for supporting them, “We will make sure that the project succeeds.”

MTN in partnership with SEL and NAMBoard recently implemented almost a similar innovative agricultural project valued slightly over E1.2 million at Lundzi, wherein the youth have started enjoying its dividends.

MTN Eswatini, Swaziland Empowerment Limited (SEL), and the National Agricultural Board (NAMBoard) have handed over three horticulture tunnels and a mini-pack house to Lundzi Youth Farmers.

The project was started last July under the MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care banner and it costed about E1.2 million in total. The group of 18 young farmers has already planted 840 tomato plants in the first tunnel, 840 green pepper plants in the second tunnel, and 840 yellow pepper plants in the third tunnel. They are expecting to make at least E210 000 from all three tunnels.

This will be their second harvest after making close to E40 000 from their initial harvest of 5.73 tons of tomatoes. This was a 70 percent achievement as they were targeting 7.5 tons. Since they were still learning the system during their first harvest, they are expecting their yields to shoot up now that they have mastered it.

They also have a mini-pack house on site that can take up to 3.5 tons of produce or 60 crates. NAMBoard has committed to continue working with the youth for two years to safeguard the projects’ sustainability.

Representing the young farmers, Sandile Dlamini said they do not have enough words to express their gratitude to MTN, SEL, and NAMBoard for the project that has already changed their lives, as it remains their only source of income.

“From the first harvest, we were able to open bank accounts, buy protective clothing, and shared E16 000 as profit. We saved the rest of the money and we have later used it for planting,” he said.

They are currently selling their produce to NAMBoard and they will be packaging it onsite to get the best price in the market. They sell the produce that do not meet the NAMBoard market standards within their community. They are also considering adding three more tunnels.

The handover event was attended by Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza, MTN Chief Executive Officer Wandile Mtshali, SEL Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Chairman Shaka Ndlangamandla, NAMBoard Chief Executive Officer Siphephiso Dlamini, Manzini Region Senior Regional Officer, and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and NAMBoard.

Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza dearly thanked MTN, SEL, and NAMBoard for investing in these young people.

“This project is aligned to the intended results of the Strategic Roadmap that His Majesty’s Government adopted. The Roadmap regards Agriculture as a major pillar to propel the country’s economy into a better space,” he said.

He asked the youth to put their best foot forward so that their project could be a model for other young people in other areas.

“I encourage you to be a beacon of hope that there is a space for youth in agriculture,” he said.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Wandile Mtshali said the company invested in the project because they saw that it meets the needs of young people at Lundzi.

“From our interaction with these young people, we believe they have grown in this trade, and they can run with this project with minimal support from MTN,” he said.

NAMBoard CEO Siphephiso Dlamini said what they have seen at Lundzi is excellence that needs to be replicated in other areas.

“We have learned a lot from this partnership and have seen that technology excites the youth,” he said.

SEL CSR Chairman Shaka Ndlangamandla said that by investing in the project, they are expecting these young people to be a catalyst for change in their community.

Manzini Senior Regional Officer Gcina Dlamini pleaded with the young people to take care of the project.

Lundzi Chief Mancibane thanked MTN, SEL, and NAMBoard for creating opportunities for these young people.

“We do not have enough words to thank MTN, SEL, and NAMBoard for what they have done for our youth,” he said.

MTN Eswatini has funded the Mpaka Vocational Skills Centre 2020 intake to the tune of E100 000.

This financial boost has enabled 45 young people to begin their training at the Mpaka Vocational Education and Training Centre on July 28, 2020. The training is run by Junior Achievement (JA) Eswatini, under their Out of School Youth Programme. MTN has been funding the programme since 2016. 

The objective of this year’s training is to; ‘contribute towards the reduction of the unemployment rate for out of school youth through entrepreneurship skills development by December 2020.’  

MTN Eswatini Corporate Affairs Manager Mandla Luphondvo said the training will empower students with practical business and entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to start or scale up their businesses at community level by November 2020, and provide mentorship to the students at the vocational institution by November 2020.

Luphondvo said the student recruitment was conducted at the vocational centre on July 15, 2020 in compliance with the COVID-19 Guidelines.  

For instance, he said the recruitment was attended by 54 young people. Therefore, they were divided into two groups to maintain the required one-meter social distance. It was also kept very short.

“The training will also be conducted in compliance with the COVID-19 Guidelines, because the safety and health of the students is our priority,” he said.

Asked why the company prioritized funding the programme amid the ongoing health crisis, Luphondvo said while older adults suffer disproportionately from COVID-19’s health impacts, young adults are likely to bear the brunt of economic and social crises unleashed by the coronavirus.    

“Addressing this crisis cannot wait until after the virus has receded. And young people themselves should be at the center of the pandemic recovery plans. They are not just victims of these interlocking crisis. They can be a cost-effective response to lead and contribute to mitigating the long term economic and social costs that their generation may experience most profoundly,” he said. 

Luphondvo said the training will run every Wednesday for nine days. It will cover business basics; organizing and planning a business. The students will then be mentored by JA for four months, from August to November.  He said a mentor will be linked with the students to help them as they work on their business plans.  

“Thereafter, the students will present their business plans in front of judges and five winners will be chosen to receive E50 000 seed capital,” he said.

Luphondo explained that winners will not receive cash but material will be purchased for them to start their businesses. 

“MTN believes that the youth will be on the front line of economic recovery. They will define how we revive and thrive in the new normal,” said Luphondvo.

The Education Portfolio

Core Principles

• To work in consultation with the Department of Education
• To give regular feedback on progress to the Ministry
• To create strategic alliances with specialist organizations who will assist in the delivery

Objectives of the Education Portfolio are;

• To help increase the percentage of kids who complete 12 years of schooling
• To help increase interest and enrollment in science and technology studies
• Assist in bridging the digital divide by providing ICT in schools Assist national efforts in improving the quality of education
• To create partnerships for effective learning

Health portfolios

Core Objectives

• To Promote educational awareness
• To facilitate creative dialogue on HIV/Aids
• To support voluntary testing and counselling initiatives
• To support the initiative on reducing mother to child transmission
• To promote access to ARV’S
• To support job creation for people living with HIV
• To provide clean water

The arts and culture portfolio

Core Objectives

• To promote art, culture and heritage for national development
• To use art as a tool for educational purposes
• To support and profile emerging Swazi artists

Why Arts and Culture

• Arts and Culture as a tool for Development encompasses a wide range of arts projects that aim to change attitudes and behaviours in society.
• Empower excluded groups to participate in society,
• Facilitate dialogue between different groups and affect policy and practice at the highest levels of government.
• Address key developmental goals through directly exploring issues such as health, science and the environment, education, human rights, good governance, participation in democracy, race, gender and disability.

PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA

MTN will consider projects that have the following factors

• Projects that facilitate the successful implementation of MTN’s corporate strategy while enhancing the company’s brand positioning as a committed corporate citizen.
• Projects that must have a wide-reaching impact of the community as a whole and result in elevating
• MTN’s status as a concerned and involved member of society.
• Projects that will position MTN to be seen as a company that achieves commercial success in ways that honour ethical values and respect people and communities.
• Projects that are driven by national and societal needs; and regulatory requirements where such license obligations exist
• Projects that Facilitate partnerships and sharing of resources. The project should foster local and international partnerships wherever possible and appropriate 
• A project that is in line with foundation portfolios 
• A project that can be accomplished within a specific time frame. Are of a long-term and sustainable nature to achieve the desired level of impact, not one-off sponsorships.
•  Projects that have done preliminary feasibility studies in support
• Projects that will be favorably received by the beneficiaries
• Projects that are Not for profit
• Support national priorities (MDGs and Poverty Reduction Strategy)

MTN will NOT provide sponsorship for: 

• Start-up and general organizational costs Buildings, physical infrastructure and equipment that are not part of the Foundation projects
• Individuals
• Political projects
• Raffles and competitions
• Tours, overseas trips, transport, conferences, seminars, cocktail parties, dinners, award ceremonies
• Projects benefiting commercial organizations
• Projects whose beneficiaries are outside Swaziland

Who qualifies to partner with the MTN Foundation

PARTNERSHIPS

Are you willing to partner with MTN in delivering this noble service to communities? Qualities for companies that may partner with MTN in its CSR drive are listed below.

CSI Partnerships

•  The right partnerships will add credibility & allow for a collective effort
• The partnership must be a win/win situation so that we get value for money
• Always have media partners to create awareness 
• Good public image 
• Influence with customers
• Good reputation with employees
• Respect in the community
• Sound financial practices
•  Non-political
• Non-controversial
• History of positive media relations
• A solid structure to assist in executing the event 

Since the launch of the MTN Foundation in 2006, MTN has invested E30 million in various corporate social investment initiatives covering education, health, enterprise development and national priorities.

About 60 per cent of the MTN Foundation resources focus on digitization of education and improving infrastructure in schools and tertiary institutions.

The MTN Foundation has also invested in ambulances, cataract project, and medical equipment in support of government efforts to improve the health system in the country.

“Beyond creating jobs directly through formal employment and indirectly by empowering business people to seek MTN products-dealers, airtime and MoMo vendors and suppliers, the MTN Foundation also collaborates with partners including JA, Enactus, and Technoserve to empower young people to venture into business,” says Head of Corporate Services Sibusiso Nhleko.

The MTN Foundation also supports Imbali through Imbali Foundation, MTN Bushfire Schools’ Festival and Esicojeni Foundation.

After focusing on the improvement of education for over a decade, on the 20th Anniversary, the MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative has shifted towards addressing youth empowerment.

This comes from an observation that there is a simmering socio-economic challenge of youth unemployment in the Kingdom.

In 2016, the MTN Foundation availed E200 000 to support young people pursuing vocational skills training in partnership with Young Heroes, Skills Training Centres (STC) and the Ministry of Education and Training.

When a precious gemstone is worn out, it should be picked up, and re-polished to give it another round of a brighter life This illustration gives a true reflection of what Swazi MTN and Junior Achievement Swaziland (JAS) have pursued and hope to consistently achieve through a Vocational Entrepreneurship Programme started in 2017.

The programme targets the unemployed and less privileged youth, some of which who couldn’t even complete their high school education. Its aim is to empower them to use their vocational skills to start and run sustainable businesses.

Swazi MTN, through the MTN Foundation, pumped E300 000 in the programme last year to support the training of 44 students. The beneficiaries were from the Manzini Industrial Training Centre (MITC), Siteki Industrial Training Centre (SITC), and Nhlangano Agricultural Skills Training Centre (NASTC).

JA Swaziland Executive Director Siboniso Madlopha says as Swazi MTN turns 20, they are delighted to have partnered with the company to rework the future of young people and enable them to dust themselves off, and live brighter lives.

Some of them are mechanics, plumbers, electricians, tailors, and construction experts. “We want to support young people to start their own businesses instead of relying entirely on formal employment,” he said.

This programme also offers seed capital for the students. Last year, Swazi MTN gave out seed capital worth E50 000 for five best businesses. Each business received E10 000. After successful completion of training, the different businesses received seed capital and the young people were further mentored by Junior Achievement.

Through the support of Swazi MTN, the programme also provides the students with a portal to advertise their products, or services online.

“This development came in handy as these young people have no sustainable marketing and advertising budgets and the results are incredible,” says Madlopha.

About 44 young people graduated from last year’s programme.

The partners are currently working on a vetting process for the new intake.

“Our aspiration is to remain partners of Swazi MTN even in the next 20 years. We look forward to celebrating 40 years with Swazi MTN because we want this partnership to benefit more young people,” said Madlopha.

The Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) thanks to Swazi MTN’s contribution to the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the past 20 years.

SEDCO Managing Director Dorrington Matiwane said over the years, MTN has been and continues to be, a dependable partner in the promotion of entrepreneurship to enhance job creation and poverty alleviation.

“We congratulate the leadership and staff of the company for achieving such a milestone and we further wish them greater success in future,” he said. Last year, Swazi MTN and SEDCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable SMEs to have access to MTN Business solution packages and scale up their competitiveness.

One of the areas of cooperation between Swazi MTN and SEDCO include export promotion. Both parties also agreed to provide information on opportunities for Joint Venture partnerships between their clients.

“We also agreed to collaborate on legislative and policy reforms affecting our clients, by inviting each other in forums that address legislative and policy reforms. We also work with each other on appropriate operational training and technical assistance to enterprises which are our clients,” said Matiwane.

The parties also cooperate on information sharing, research and work together to undertake demand-driven research and analysis in areas like market surveys on regional and international markets for those involved in mutual business relationships.

Last year, MTN also pumped E60 000 to the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA). Matiwane said this contributed immensely towards the success of the event.

Swazi MTN through its corporate social responsibility wing, MTN Foundation, has partnered with Enactus to enable over 600 tertiary students to tap into the use of technology for the creation of employment for themselves, and for people in their project communities.

Through this project, Swazi MTN has availed E150 000 to be won by students who will develop two feasible, sustainable and profit-making ICT related projects. Further, these projects were to be developed using available infrastructure and with concrete social and economic impact.

Enactus Country Director Wonderboy Khumalo said as Swazi MTN celebrates 20 years of existence in the Kingdom, they are proud to have partnered with the company for the innovation programme.

All along, he said technology had been the missing link from the students’ projects

That is why we really value our marriage with Swazi MTN,” explains Khumalo.

Khumalo said no one is better positioned than the youth to unlock the country’s ICT potential, hence they remain indebted to Swazi MTN for investing in youth development.

Khumalo said about 18% of students who have graduated from the programme have proceeded to start their own businesses. At least 8% of them solely depend on their businesses as the primary source of income.

“At this stage of our cooperation, we are creating solutions. But, three or four years down the line, I believe that we will reach a stage where we will have an incubation programme and set up small industries from these projects.”