MTN Nigeria’s Yellow Care Champions Digital Empowerment in Underserved Communities

MTN Nigeria is urging individuals and communities across the country to embrace digital tools as a pathway to visibility, opportunity, and growth. Through its 2025 Yellow Care initiative an annual, staff-driven volunteer program, the team is equipping underserved communities with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in today’s digital world. This year’s theme, “Connecting at the Roots – Connecting Communities Through the Use of Digital Tools,” emphasizes the critical role of digital inclusion in unlocking economic and social potential.

Speaking during a community outreach event, Gloria Egbele, Senior Manager of Customer Management in MTN’s Fixed Broadband Division, emphasized that visibility in today’s world is closely tied to digital presence.

“The world is moving, and you also need to move with it.” Anyone who is visible is who the world will recognize. Egbele said.

Now in its 18th year, Yellow Care is MTN’s 21-day staff volunteerism program. Unlike the MTN Foundation, which handles corporate social responsibility, Yellow Care is completely funded and executed by MTN staff who contribute their time, money, and skills to uplift communities.

This initiative is being implemented simultaneously across more than 10 locations nationwide, including schools and markets. In each location, “We go into local communities with with what the staffs contributes from our own pockets we identify those in need, from small business owners to students, and find ways to empower them digitally and economically, Egbele added.”

In this year’s outreach, practical tools were donated tailored to the needs of local entrepreneurs as barbers received new clippers, fashion designers was gifted iron, restaurant owners were provided with gas cylinders and cooking pots, while mini-market sellers received tables and umbrellas. Others received MTN Wi-Fi routers and digital tools to improve their business operations and access to information.

“We want people to understand how going digital can improve not just their businesses, but their lifestyles,” Egbele said. “This is about making lives brighter. Connecting people to their roots, to opportunities, and to the rest of the world.”

The Yellow Care campaign has grown into a hallmark of MTN’s employee engagement and social impact culture, with similar initiatives running in other MTN operating regions outside Nigeria.

The joy of giving back and the positive impact created has become a powerful motivation for staff volunteers. “Some of us, this is the only charity work we get to do in the year and it’s something we look forward to. The smiles on people’s faces keep us coming back year after year,” Egbele noted.