Telecom
TECNO, UNICEF Join Forces to Revolutionize Digital Learning for Nigerian Children
TECNO, a leading innovative technology brand, has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria to support the implementation of the Nigeria Learning Passport, a digital learning platform.
Too many children remain out of school today, and many more are not learning. In Nigeria, the challenges in the field of education are particularly acute.
To improve the quality of education for children and adolescents, the Federal Ministry of Education and UNICEF launched the innovative Nigeria Learning Passport programme in 2022. This initiative forms part of UNICEF’s broader global educational strategy, the Learning Passport, established in 2018.
The platform provides curriculum-aligned materials in local languages through online and offline delivery, allowing children to access digital learning resources at any time, wherever they are.
This ensures that quality education is available and accessible to all. The platform covers a full range of educational content, from foundational learning to skills development, and provides educators professional training.
The programme has expanded to 19 states nationwide, ranking second among all participating countries with approximately 888,000 registered users.
TECNO is working with UNICEF to support expanding and deepening the Nigeria Learning Passport. The partnership will further strengthen content development, purchase and maintenance of technical equipment, and professional training for educators.
In 2024, UNICEF plans to expand the Nigeria Learning Passport to include offline content for 50,000 children in remote and low-income areas, further reducing the education gap and improving the quality of education.
“We are pleased to partner with TECNO to enhance the reach and impact of the Nigeria Learning Passport,” said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria.
“This collaboration will allow us to provide more children, especially those in remote and underserved areas, with the quality education they deserve.
“Digital learning is a powerful tool for bridging educational gaps and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and thrive. With TECNO’s support, we are one step closer to making education accessible to all children in Nigeria, empowering them to build a brighter future.”
Jack Guo, General Manager of TECNO, added, “As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility endeavours, TECNO keeps giving back to the communities where our business is present. Investing in education is an effective strategy for breaking the inter-generational transmission of poverty and contributing to social and economic development. Africa has the world’s youngest population structure, and the progress of African children is the world’s progress.
“Through the Learning Passport programme, we hope to help young people in Nigeria access sufficient education and development opportunities, becoming a strong engine for economic growth and social progress in Africa and even the world.”
By the end of 2023, the Learning Passport programme had expanded to 38 countries worldwide, with 6.02 million registered users and more than 13,000 courses.
In 2020, the Learning Passport was recognised as one of the 50 Most Influential Projects by The Project Management Institute, and in 2021, TIME named the programme one of the best 100 inventions of the year.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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