Zain introduces Africa Challenge Competition

In its quest to develop Africa’s youth and highlight the excellent educational opportunities in African universities, Zain Ghana Telecommunication has introduced the Zain Africa Challenge Competition.
The contest will be the first-ever Pan African academic competition to be televised.
Students from 76 universities from eight African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia will participate.
Seven universities will be competing from Ghana and they are the University of Ghana, Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Development Studies (UDS), Valley View University (VVU), University of Mines and Technology (UMAT), University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the University College of Education, Winneba (UCEW).
Out of these universities from Ghana, four would be chosen through a national tournament to represent the country at the final competition, which will be held in Kampala, Uganda, and would award nearly US$1,000,000 in total cash, educational grants and teaching materials.
The Country Manager for Zain Ghana, Mr Philip Sowah, said in Accra at the weekend that the initiative was an indication of Zain’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility and particularly in Ghana, where it focuses on education, arts and culture.
“Zain is committed to education. This is why education is the main focus of our corporate social responsibility strategy,” he stated, adding that it was important to Zain that its social and cultural projects had a positive impact on the people of all the countries in which they operated.
He expressed appreciation to all the Vice Chancellors, students, coaches, the liaisons and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) who were working tirelessly to make the initiative a success.
The Executive Producer of the competition, Mr Richard Reid, who briefed some of the students from the competing universities present, said the teams would be competing for the largest prizes of US$50,000 to the universities and $5,000 to participants.
He said the competition was about broadening the minds of the youth and encouraging teamwork among them.
“We want them to realise that hard work can reap good rewards — its not just about winning the money, its about the experience and the life lessons they learn along the way,” he stated.
The questions in the fast-paced quiz programmes, Mr Reid noted, covered a wide range of topical areas including History, Science, African Culture, Geography, Literature, Music, Current Affairs and Sports.