Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman Dr. James Mwangi has commissioned the airlift of 73 students who will be joining 48 global universities through scholarships under EGF’s Education and Leadership Development pillar.
Notably, 7 of the scholars are part of Equity Bank Rwanda’s inaugural ELP class which was officially launched in November 2021 with the primary goal of expanding Equity Group’s social impact across the region.
The 2022 global airlift cohort will benefit from scholarships valued at Ksh 2.1 billion (USD 16,867,676) for the 4-year duration they will be pursuing their undergraduate studies. Additionally, the scholars will receive an airlift stipend to support their transition preparations. The scholars are on full scholarships and have benefited from a week-long boot camp, where they were coached and mentored on the transition journey as global scholars.
Speaking to the scholars, Dr Mwangi applauded and urged them to maintain the commitment and focus that would see them achieve their goals. “Today marks the beginning of a new journey for all of you. Your hard work and determination has seen you break boundaries to join global institutions of higher learning in pursuit of knowledge. We are extremely proud of you and urge you to remain focused and to keep your eye on the prize. Four years from today, I am sure that each of you will be on course to make a great impact in society by applying what you have learnt to solve some of the challenges that face our African continent.”
The scholars will be joining universities in different countries across the globe including the United States of America (USA), Canada, United Kingdom, China, India, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Germany among others.
Elaborating on education as an anchor for socio-economic growth, Dr Mwangi said, “Equity Group has rolled out a 6-pillar Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan which will champion and accelerate the post-COVID-19 recovery of the continent through actively investing in the empowerment of the African people.” He encouraged the scholars to excel in their various fields of study, urging them to consider themselves as leaders who will catalyse the change that they want in order to elevate our region to greater heights.
“This plan is to be implemented by all of us so that we can secure the future of coming generations. Harness all the knowledge that you can and tap into the existing systems and infrastructure to champion socio-economic growth through entrepreneurship, formulation of policies and becoming top public and corporate leaders with influence,” added Dr Mwangi.
With this year’s admissions, a total of 761 students have so far benefitted from the college counselling program and have successfully received admission to prestigious universities on fully funded scholarships. This intake includes 20 students who will be joining Ivy League Universities including University of Pennsylvania (5), Yale (3), Harvard University (3), Princeton University (2), Dartmouth College (2), Cornel University (2), Brown University (2) and Columbia University (1).
The Equity Leadership Program is an Equity Group Foundation initiative that was established in 1998 to nurture leadership skills in the youth who have demonstrated great promise. The rigorous leadership development program selects top-performing students nationally from the Equity Group banking subsidiaries with the aim of creating a community of transformative leaders who will work together across borders and various sectors to drive sustainable economic growth and social progress in Africa.