Airtel Africa Foundation to offer fellowship to Zanzibar students

The Airtel Africa Foundation has announced the launch of an ‘Airtel Africa Fellowship Program’ for undergraduate students at IIT Madras Zanzibar, the first foreign campus established by an IIT.

The fellowship will support deserving students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in Zanzibar.

Starting with an outlay of $500,000, the program will benefit 10 undergraduate students, for their entire course duration of four years.


Founded in 2024, the Airtel Africa Foundation is dedicated to advancing digital and financial inclusion across the continent along with a key focus on education and environmental protection.

The fellowship aims to enhance educational opportunities for meritorious students, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, enrolled at IITM Zanzibar.

It is designed to support students from 14 African countries — Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC, Niger, Chad, Congo B, Gabon, Madagascar and Seychelles. Recipients of the scholarship will be known as ‘Airtel Africa Fellows’.

They will receive 100% of their college fees, as in $12,000 as per the course fee structure of the Institute for a 4-year program. Additionally, to cover living expenses, $500 will be given to eligible students.

“Providing access to this high quality education to students from Tanzania and the rest of the continent, who are topping the IITM Zanzibar screening and test processes, through financial assistance, is an important priority for us,” Zanzibar’s Minister of Education and Vocational Training, H.E. Ms Lela Mohamed Mussa said in a statement Tuesday.

Airtel Africa Foundation chairman Olusegun Ogunsanya, in turn, said this initiative aims to contribute towards creating a prosperous and sustainable continent. “We look forward to creating even more opportunities not just in education, but also in financial and digital inclusion, and environmental protection.”

Prof V. Kamakoti, IIT Madras director, said the technology institute is committed to establishing a world class campus in Zanzibar.