MTN Nigeria partners with WWF for youth-led environmental challenge 

NIGERIA – MTN Nigeria, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), has launched an initiative to empower young entrepreneurs in addressing environmental challenges across Africa.

This program invites youth-led businesses and individuals aged 16 to 35 to develop innovative solutions for Nigeria’s pressing environmental issues.

Tobe Okigbo, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, highlighted the country’s potential, saying, “Nigeria is brimming with young talent eager to make a difference.

“The Nigeria PachiPanda Challenge is a golden opportunity for these bright minds to channel their creativity into tangible solutions that can reshape our environmental landscape for the better.”

The initiative encourages participants to think creatively and address environmental concerns within their communities. By directly engaging young people, MTN Nigeria and WWF hope to inspire a new generation of leaders committed to fostering a sustainable future.

Participants can enter the challenge as individuals or in teams of up to three. The top 10 finalists will take part in a three-day intensive sprint, focusing on a human-centered design approach to refine their ideas.

These refined concepts will then be presented to a panel of experts during a final pitch session. Winners will gain national recognition and move on to compete in the Africa PachiPanda contest, where they will face off against other national champions from across the continent.

This initiative underscores MTN Nigeria’s continued commitment to sustainable development, emphasizing its strategic focus on creating shared value through innovative business practices.

According to the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report, MTN Nigeria became a pioneer in the country by early adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2, set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

These standards provide a unified global framework for sustainability reporting, offering consistent, comparable information to investors and stakeholders.

MTN Nigeria’s sustainability efforts align with its broader strategy to drive digital solutions for Africa’s progress.

In 2023, the company expanded connectivity to 79.7 million people, achieving 92.9% nationwide coverage. It also invested ₦2.6 billion (US$1.59m) in Corporate Social Investment programs, impacting over 58,000 lives through the MTN Foundation.

Additionally, MTN contributed ₦549.3 billion (US$335.12m)in taxes and levies to the government and invested ₦571.0 billion (US$348.36m) in capital expenditures.

Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, expressed pride in the company’s achievements but acknowledged that this is just the beginning. “We remain steadfast in our pursuit of excellence and are committed to continuously improving our sustainability practices while striving for an even greater impact in the communities we serve.”

Tobe Okigbo added that MTN has embedded sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles at the core of its operations, achieving a reputation index score of 84 and reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 10.3% from the 2021 baseline.

MTN Nigeria aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 under its “Project Zero” initiative. 

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