Telecommunications Conglomerate MTN Ghana will for the first 21 Days of the month of June see its managers and staff roll up their sleeves and vacate their offices to offer community service in areas of identified needs, across the country.
The annual 21 Days of Yello care, the sixteenth of its kind, will this year focus on economic empowerment of the Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities whom MTN would rather call, Persons with Different Abilities.
Launching the altruistic drive in Kumasi, Northern Sector Senior Sales Manager, Simon Amoh indicated, “Yello Care is a call to action and I know we will rise to the occasion being motivated by our values and beliefs.”
“Let us go out there to bring benefits to the masses by introducing them to digital skills, promoting digital inclusion, improve their livelihoods and enable them to be true doers and achievers towards Africa’s progress,” he charged.
The theme of the 2023 drive “Empowering entrepreneurs to unlock growth and job creation for communities” comes in handy, specifically at a time unemployment in Ghana continues to surge on the back of the global downturn occasioned by the aftermath of COVID 19, the Russia Ukraine War and Ghana’s IMF program which spells austere times for several businesses.
Businesses of Women, Youth and PWDs who tend to be the most vulnerable and worst affected by these harsh factors will be taken through cutting edge Business Enterprise Solutions and digital avenues to support them build enough resilience to sail through the rough and choppy waters.
Consequently, young and budding entrepreneurs are expected to be taken through a Youth Entrepreneurship Training to promote youth led businesses in the digital space.
Over the 21 days, MTN will further deploy Yello Care Volunteers in knowledge sharing forums; to equip these entrepreneurs with Professional skills, Customer service and social media tools to scale up their businesses, reach more potential clients and ultimately boost revenues.
A targeted component, Women in Action; will focus on indigenous women in shea butter; smock weaving; fish mongering and smoking; palm oil; basket weaving among others.
Traders in these indigenous businesses which have largely remained digitally excluded will for the first time explore how they can connect themselves to wider markets with the power of social media tools abundant on their mobile phones.
The teams will further offer specialized training to persons with disabilities after which beneficiaries will benefit seed capital for their business ventures.
Yello Care Volunteers
Management and Staff of MTN who have been preparing alternative schedules to keep core operations running while offering community service, shared how such activities have left lasting impressions both on the beneficiary communities; appreciated mileage for the brand MTN and inspired a sense of social responsiveness among workers.
“We went to paint some schools in Obuasi where we had kids coming to learn how it feels like working with MTN. We got to know what they were also learning just to inspire their careers. It’s always been heartwarming and a real life experience” Cynthia Adu Boakye recounted.
The fact that you get into a community and you have the ability to share what you have with other people, kids and the underprivileged is a satisfying experience. I participated in providing computers and full internet connectivity to children who had never seen computers, a territory sales controller Samuel Owusu Baah told reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador.
The launch also had in attendance representatives of the Ghana Tailors and Dress Makers Association, a body earmarked to benefit from the training and capacity building projects OF THE 21 Days of Yello Care Initiative.
By: Ivan Heathcote – Fumador
