As part of its corporate social responsibility, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has committed to educate 100,000 across Africa in the next three years through the HP Foundation’s HP LIFE (Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs) program.
The PC maker, which announced the new commitment at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela is doing this by opening the HP LIFE Center for Entrepreneurship in South Africa, which it said is aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in the continent, where 32percent of the population under the age of 30 will be regarded as the largest working age population by 2035.
The commitment, it said, is its pledge to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 and furthers the company’s goals to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 and to enroll a million HP LIFE users between 2016 and 2025, as outlined in the HP 2017 Sustainable Impact Report.
“We believe that education is a human right, that technology in the classroom is a critical component for a 21st century education, and that in today’s economy, our learning is never done,” said Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer, HP. “Africa is experiencing rapid urbanization and digitization—and it’s essential that people have access to learn skills for the work of tomorrow. This new HP LIFE Center provides a launchpad for innovation and opportunity across the continent.”
By 2030, Africa will be home to 32% of the population under the age of 30, and the largest working age population by 2035. Yet, today’s youth unemployment in Africa is up to 3x higher than adult unemployment. HP LIFE offers free, online learning for users to gain the skills to start and grow their own business or improve their employment opportunities. Building on the success of this global program, HP is working with partners to open technology-enabled HP LIFE innovation centers to further support entrepreneurship and workforce development across the continent.
