Bryan Mbasa, an MTN veteran since 2007, first encountered the MTN Uganda Foundation in 2011 while working in the company's corporate affairs department. 

Established in the year Bryan joined MTN, the Foundation was managed by the corporate affairs department and overseen by a board of five trustees. It represented a growing commitment to social responsibility in Uganda.

Until 2007, MTN’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts had been handled by the marketing department, with a thin line existing between what was sponsorship and what was CSR.

Today, the MTN Uganda Foundation oversees an annual budget in the region of US$1.3 million.

In its early years, the Foundation had a very broad remit supporting initiatives in culture, education, health (including HIV/Aids), sports and music.

One memorable investment was the upgrade of Uganda’s only indoor sports and entertainment arena in 2010. Although the sponsorship, with its naming rights, was to last for only a decade, to this day the venue is known by locals as “the MTN Arena”.

Shortly after, the Foundation streamlined its focus to education, health and “national priorities”.

Later, in line with Group guidance, the focus evolved further to prioritise youth empowerment and national priorities. While HIV funding was phased out because this area was attracting substantial other donor support, the Foundation continues to invest in healthcare, particularly maternal and newborn health. To date it refurbished and equipped more than 50 maternity wards and theatres.

An ICT focus

In 2015, at roughly the same time that Bryan became the Foundation’s first dedicated manager, the entity began a strategic shift to focus on ICT initiatives – as Bryan puts it – “aligning with what we were doing as a company”.

This shift towards ICT has seen the Foundation dedicate approximately 75% of its funds to ICT investments since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on the youth. This focus aligns with the demographic reality of Uganda, where some three-quarters of the population are under 25.

Since 2019, 800 young individuals have undergone intensive practical training to enable them to begin their own businesses. So far, 30 such start-ups have been created.

Back in 2016, the Foundation invested in what would become one of its most enduring legacy projects – what it calls the “ICT bus”. This bright yellow mobile laboratory equipped with computers, connectivity, skilled trainers and a generator continues to traverse the backroads of rural Uganda.

According to Bryan, some 96% of the tens of thousands of people reached by the MTN ICT bus had never touched a computer before - and it was soon apparent that, one village at a time, the Foundation was making a real dent in the urban/rural digital divide, the bus reaching some 50 000 learners. (It has so far visited almost 100 of Uganda’s rural districts.)

Although most of the people reached by the ICT bus are the youth, the ICT learning needs of adults are not neglected as the MTN Uganda Foundation's commitment to education extends beyond the ICT bus. It has equipped some 50 community learning centres in which people of all ages are able to receive computer training in such basic skills as writing and sending emails. After the educators move on, the community ICT centres continue to operate, using equipment donated by the Foundation, equipping adults to start micro enterprises, to trade their agricultural produce and find jobs.

Furthermore, recognising the importance of gender equality in education, the Foundation has worked with a UK-based NGO called PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) to build and expand secondary schools in rural areas since 2016. Working together with government, the Foundation has thus far invested in 18 rural PEAS schools, expanding each school’s ability to take in deserving pupils from 300 youngsters to sometimes as many as 1 000. This it achieves by paying for the construction of classrooms and accommodation and, often, installing solar power and sanitation.

Recognising the importance of gender equality in education, the Foundation also sponsors the Girls With Tools programme. This initiative equips young women with the skills and confidence to compete in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering. Each year, MTN pays for up to 900 girls to receive ICT training through Girls With Tools.

The MTN Uganda Foundation, with its small but dedicated team, is making a significant contribution to the country's development.  Through strategic investments in education, healthcare, and ICT, the Foundation is empowering individuals, bridging the digital divide, and fostering economic opportunities, creating a brighter future for Uganda.  According to Bryan, the MTN Uganda Foundation is one of the biggest of its kind in the country – “both in terms of spend and impact”.

“We’re small in terms of headcount but we get big things done; we’re nifty,” he says.