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Digital Ad Expert Joins UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition to Improve Digital Advertising Education
Digital Ad Expert, Aleph Group, Inc’s social initiative to create economic opportunities through digital advertising education, is delighted to join UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition.
Formed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Education Coalition was established by UNESCO – the United Nations agency dedicated to bringing people together through education and science – to bring together multi-sector partners to mobilise local, national, regional and global responses to ensure the continuity of learning.
In 2023 and beyond, the Coalition has moved from pandemic response to focus on the transformation agenda, and aims to help realise the power of digital transformation, close the global educational gap, and support actions and investments for pilot projects that can be brought to scale at a national level in a sustainable way.
Joining more than 200+ partners, Aleph’s Digital Ad Expert initiative – a skills-based education platform that provides students with the fundamentals they need to manage digital advertising channels and campaigns – will specifically support UNESCO’s Global Skills Academy, an initiative that aims to help ten million young people build skills for employability and resilience by 2029.
Commenting on the partnership, Gaston Taratuta, CEO & Founder at Aleph Group, Inc, said: “As CEO & Founder of Aleph, I am incredibly proud to join this initiative to align with UNESCO’s ambitious plans to upskill ten million people by 2029.
“At Aleph, we believe that the provision of digital literacy is a fast track to helping local communities and economies unlock huge economic opportunities. Combining the experience of UNESCO – one of the world’s leading global authorities on digital literacy – with Aleph’s industry leading expertise in digital advertising, the agreement will ensure people can confidently navigate the digital landscape, access greater employment opportunities, and help shape sustainable growth for generations to come.
“The learnings from this initiative will also aid the continued evolution of Digital Ad Expert, which we believe has the potential to become the world’s leading skills-based digital advertising education platform.”
Borhene Chakroun, Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division at UNESCO, added: We have witnessed the positive impact of the Digital Ad Certificate program in Grenada. This is a remarkable demand-driven example of UNESCO Global Skills Academy action in the Caribbean and we are excited to expand our efforts beyond. We look forward to creating similar opportunities in other countries, unlocking the potential of digital skills for economic growth and sustainable development.
To kick start its partnership, Aleph launched Digital Ad Expert’s Digital Ad Certificate programme with a specific cohort in Grenada. During the programme, which comprises several uniquely designed modules, students met virtually for four hours per week and had access to a wealth of online resources. Approximately 200 students from Grenada took the Digital Ad Certificate programme for three months.
In addition to education for students, Digital Ad Expert launched Train the Trainers – a bespoke one-month intensive training course – to upskill more than 50 digital advertising trainers in Grenada. Combined with Digital Ad Certificate, this will provide a strong platform that initially upskills students in the country and equips trainers with the skills and resources they need to maintain digital literacy over the long term.
The programmes offered by Digital Ad Expert and UNESCO in Grenada will provide an important opportunity to improve accessibility to digital education and, in turn, drive economic growth. As part of Grenada’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2020-2035 (NSDP), the national government is aiming to create a vibrant, dynamic, and competitive economy, which will—in part—be achieved through expanding training and building national capacity in digital literacy.
Over the coming months, Digital Ad Expert and UNESCO will use the learnings from activity in Grenada to evolve the pair’s cooperative agreement, which is targeting the launch of similar schemes in other countries.
“We are hugely excited to kick start our work with UNESCO in Grenada, a country with bold national development plans that will be unlocked through digital skills,” said Francisco Anello, SVP – Education at Aleph Group. “We look forward to introducing students to our free Digital Ad Expert programme in the months ahead and look forward to playing our part in helping Grenada’s young people learn digital skills and access new economic opportunities.”
United States (US) House of Representatives has banned WhatsApp from all official devices as a result of data privacy and security concerns.
Harry Coker, acting national cyber security (ONCD) Director confirmed this via a statement issued on Monday, June 23 stating that WhatsApp’s high risk classification is attributed to the messaging app’s ambiguous data protection policies, inadequate encryption for stored data, and other potential security vulnerabilities.
He stated that staff have since been advised to utilize more secure communication platforms, with recommended alternatives including Microsoft Teams, Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, Signal, and Amazon’s Wickr.
However, Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs for Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, has strongly opposed the ban.
He said, “We disagree with this decision in the strongest possible terms, whatsApp provides a higher level of security than the other approved apps.”
This ban on WhatsApp is not an isolated incident, it follows previous restrictions on other applications, such as TikTok, which was removed from government devices in 2022.
The decision also comes just months after WhatsApp itself confirmed that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had targeted some of its users, including journalists and civil society figures.
MTN Foundation has received accolades from UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The recognition, presented during a profile courtesy visit by UN Women representatives to MTN Nigeria’s Head Office in Ikoyi, Lagos, acknowledged the Organisation’s profound contributions to advancing women’s empowerment across the nation.
The UN Women delegation, led by Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, commended MTN and its Foundation for their unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive society where women thrive.
During the presentation, Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, expressed profound admiration for MTN’s efforts. “I want to congratulate MTN for all that they have been doing,” Eyong stated, her voice resonating with appreciation. “And I want to congratulate MTN Foundation specifically, because they are leaving things better than they met them especially with their Mother and Child Initiatives.” Her remarks highlighted MTN’s focused impact, suggesting a significant improvement in the landscape of women’s empowerment due to the company’s interventions.
Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, received the award and further elaborated on the company’s broader commitment to societal upliftment through women’s empowerment. ” Our Y’ellopreneur program targeted at Female entrepreneurs is about creating access for our Female Entrepreneurs – access to skills, capital and markets. Our commitment is to contribute to the success of women – led businesses in Nigeria.
This focus on economic empowerment through skills development directly benefits women seeking to improve their livelihoods. This recognition comes as MTN Nigeria continues to champion various programmes aimed at uplifting women, from promoting gender diversity within its corporate structure to supporting women-led businesses and initiatives.
The company’s alignment with global best practices, including its recent signing on to the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), further solidifies its position as a leader in corporate social responsibility and gender equality advocacy.
The award serves as a testament to MTN Nigeria’s strategic and impactful investments in creating a more equitable future for Nigerian women.
Google today announced the selection of 15 promising tech startups for its Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa Class 9 program. These innovative startups, hailing from Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa, are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to address significant challenges across diverse sectors, including fintech, agritech, healthtech, and professional services.
In an era where startups are at the forefront of solving critical challenges across Africa, these innovators often face significant hurdles to scale their operations, particularly in securing essential support, mentorship, and funding. Programs like the Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa play a crucial role in providing these opportunities, enabling tech founders and innovators to amplify their impact. By bringing together Google’s extensive resources, including cutting-edge AI technologies and a global network of experts, the program aims to equip these startups to not only thrive but also lead in addressing both local and global challenges in this AI era.
The selection follows a highly competitive application process that began in April 2025 , drawing nearly 1,500 applications from across the continent. This cohort underscores Google’s deep commitment to fostering Africa’s vibrant tech ecosystem and supporting startups in their growth journey.
“African startups are at the forefront of solving critical challenges across the continent, and their work with AI is truly transformative,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google. “This program reflects our belief that AI can be transformative when shaped by those who understand the context deeply. We are incredibly excited to support these founders who are building for impact and helping to shape an inclusive AI ecosystem across Africa.”
Over the next three months, the selected startups will participate in a hybrid accelerator program (June 23rd to August 22nd, 2025). Participants will receive dedicated technical mentorship from experienced Google engineers and industry experts , up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits , and strategic support in AI implementation, product leadership, and business growth. They will also gain access to a global network of investors, partners, and collaborators, amplifying their reach and impact.
Since its inception in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program has supported 153 startups from 17 African countries. Collectively, these alumni have raised over $300 million in funding and created more than 3,500 jobs. Google has directly contributed $5 million through a combination of equity-free funding and product credits to support these founders.
The Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa Class 9 cohort includes:
AFRIKABAL (Rwanda): A blockchain and AI-powered platform helping farmers, buyers, and logistics firms trade crops securely and transparently.
Apexloads (Kenya): A logistics SaaS platform helping African freight brokers, forwarders, and transporters move cargo faster with verified partners.
E-doc Online (Nigeria): Simplifies compliance and credit checks by analyzing real-time banking data, enabling faster onboarding and smarter lending decisions.
GoNomad (Nigeria): Enables businesses to start and run global entities, and solopreneurs to professionally invoice and get paid globally like a local.
Midddleman (Nigeria): An intelligent sourcing and payment platform helping African businesses import and pay for goods from China faster, safer, and cheaper.
Myltura (Nigeria): An AI-powered digital health platform enabling remote care, test access, and seamless health data management in Africa.
Pastel (Nigeria): Offers Enterprise AI solutions, inc. AI based fraud detection and anti-money laundering solutions to financial institutions in Africa.
Rapid Human AI (South Africa): An end-to-end AI design-thinking platform that turns ideas into code in days, cutting development time by 80%.
Regulon (Ghana): An AI-powered compliance and onboarding platform designed to simplify regulatory processes for businesses across Africa and the EMEA region.
Scandium (Nigeria): An AI Quality Assurance suite that helps teams ship bug-free software faster with end-to-end test automation and test ops tooling.
Shamba Records (Kenya): An AI-powered platform that empowers 50,000+ African farmers with smart credit, market access, and climate-resilient, data-driven agriculture.
Smartel Agri Tech (Rwanda): Helps smallholder farmers in the Global South get ahead of crop pests and diseases early using AI-powered, solar-driven devices and SMS alerts.
TOLBI (Senegal): Leverages AI and satellite imagery to empower sustainable agriculture across Africa, providing precise crop yield forecasts.
YeneHealth (Ethiopia): An AI-driven digital health web, and mobile app streamlining access to affordable, reliable, quality medications & health care services.
Zerone Analytiqs (Ghana): A transformative two-pronged solution to the data scarcity in Africa, We are revolutionizing how data is sourced, analyzed, and utilized for decisions.
For further information and updates, visit the Google Africa Blog or follow @GoogleAfrica on social media.
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