400 Needy Learners Get Lifeline as Safaricom M-Pesa Foundation Expands Scholarship Programme

Four hundred bright learners from vulnerable and low-income backgrounds have received a major boost after the Safaricom M-Pesa Foundation stepped in to sponsor their secondary school education.

The scholarships were announced during the launch of the expanded Citizens of the Future Sponsorship Award Programme held at the M-Pesa Foundation Academy in Thika.

Speaking at the event, Safaricom’s Director of Sustainable Business and Social Affairs, Ms Karen Basiye, said the programme is aimed at reaching more hardworking learners across the country who are unable to continue with education due to financial hardship.

“Today, we are here to announce the expansion of our scholarship programme. The M-Pesa Foundation has had a scholarship programme for the last nine years, but only for the M-Pesa Foundation Academy. This year, we are happy to announce that we are expanding it across the country,” said Ms Basiye.

Under the expanded plan, 150 students will join the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, while the remaining learners will be placed in partner secondary schools across the country.

“For this year, we will be supporting 400 scholars; 150 of them will be at the M-Pesa Academy, and 250 will be across the different schools in the country,” she added.

Ms Basiye said the scholarships specifically target learners who are not only academically gifted, but also show unique potential and strong personal discipline.

“The criteria for selection is very simple. They have to be academically bright. They have to have the ‘X-factor’, some talent or something special about them. They must have good character,” she explained.

She further noted that the Foundation has set aside Sh. 500 million to cater for the current cohort of Grade 10 to Grade 12 learners admitted into the programme, and said the long-term investment will continue to grow.

“As Safaricom and as M-Pesa Foundation, we have invested 500 million shillings for the next three years for the 1,200 students that will be joining. Eventually, the investment will go up to 1 billion shillings because it’s four years of secondary school, and for some, we will transition them to tertiary education,” she said.

Ms Basiye also stressed that the Foundation is keen on supporting children from extremely difficult backgrounds, including those living in children’s homes.

“We are also very deliberate about looking for students from children’s homes. If there are children in children’s homes who meet our criteria, we will definitely support them through this scholarship,” she added.

However, she acknowledged that demand for the scholarships remains extremely high. According to her, the Foundation received over 8,000 applications after the application forms were released, an indication of the growing need for education support in the country.

For some beneficiaries, the scholarship has come as a turning point in their lives.

One of the learners, Jacob Mongesa Rube from Tiati Constituency in Baringo County, said the sponsorship has restored hope in his family after losing his father, the sole breadwinner, in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Machakos County, another beneficiary, Lucy Muli, described the scholarship as a life-changing opportunity, saying she was excited to begin her secondary education with renewed confidence.

Her mother, Janet Ndunge, a casual worker, said the news brought immense relief, adding that her daughter’s selection felt like a breakthrough moment for their family.