Better Connections
Better Opportunities

Our Ambition

Enabling mobile access, to help increase the number of people benefiting from connectivity.

Our focus is on strengthening education opportunities and supporting the development of business and enterprise.

Improving Connectivity

We seek to help increase the number of people who can access and benefit from education by improving connectivity. In addition, much of our community activity focuses on programs that aim to enhance educational opportunities, whether offering scholarships, providing teaching resources, or refurbishing school buildings. We also focus on supporting the connectivity and development of businesses.

Advancing Science

Education and empowerment lie at the heart of our community engagement. The importance of teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects is well documented, and IHS Towers has made great strides towards improving this in Africa. In 2019, IHS Nigeria collaborated with TechQuest to launch the Mission-T program. Under the program we have launched the IHS STEM app for secondary schools, featuring 65 interactive modules on the Nigerian ICT, Robotics and Coding curricula, as well as providing training for classroom teachers. Over 4,500 pupils and teachers in Oyo, Rivers and Kano states have already benefited from this program.

Building A Future

Throughout emerging markets, education is key to social and economic development. We have embarked on school building projects in many of our countries of operation, to improve education by offering a healthy and conducive learning environment. We have upgraded schools’ infrastructure and provided modern learning aids and ICT equipment. In Côte d’Ivoire, we opened the IT Lab at Monga Orphanage, donating computers and installing internet access for the orphanage’s 100 children, and we continue to upgrade ICT facilities in schools and universities across our markets.

Our Ambition

Being a best-in-class responsible business, promoting the highest standards wherever we operate.

Our focus is on promoting fair business and highlighting the global sustainability agenda..

Honesty And Integrity

Honesty and integrity are vital to the long-term success of our business and the ethical wellbeing of us all. We strive for the highest standards of integrity and accountability and aim to be a best-in-class responsible business. We promote conducting business fairly and have systems and processes in place to ensure we comply with anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Improving Skills And Conduct

To help ensure our employees and vendors demonstrate our values and integrity, we created the IHS Academy, IHS Towers’ group-wide online training platform. The Academy offers over 1,990 online training courses and resources, covering a broad range of topics - including technical skills and leadership development - from which employees can create personalized training plans. For new employees, courses include a Global Induction Program and our Code of Conduct. The platform is also accessible to select vendors and offers many bespoke courses, including on our Vendor Code of Conduct. Over 40,000 courses have been completed since The Academy launched in October 2017.

Promoting Thought Leadership

We subscribe to the principles of good governance, accountability and transparency to ensure responsible, effective and sustainable development. In 2019, IHS Nigeria sponsored the Power and Telecommunications Synergy Conference. Attended by more than 500 people, from over 50 telecommunications and power companies, the aim was to explore integrating power solutions into the Nigerian Broadband Plan, and to bring about shared prosperity through the UN SDGs. From this, the Telecommunications Sustainability Working Group (TSWG) was formed to ensure sustainable practices are effectively implemented.

Our Ambition

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce, contributing to the success of the communities they live in.

Our focus is on helping our employees, and the communities in which operate, thrive.

Equality And Diversity

We advocate for gender equality and are building a diverse workforce to create opportunities for our people and their communities to prosper. The wellbeing of our people is of utmost concern, and we work to provide a safe, healthy working environment, where opportunities to develop professionally and personally are part of every working day. We will not tolerate discrimination, bullying or harassment. The wellbeing of the communities in which we operate is a key priority, and we have developed sustainability programs that aim to improve the daily lives of those within them.

A Powerful Source

Access to electricity is a key development indicator as, among other benefits, it offers improved lighting and phone charging to support learning and working opportunities. We launched our Generator Recycling Program in 2016, which helps support a local community and reduce the number of generators sent to landfill. Whenever we upgrade a hybrid power site, we donate working generators to institutions in need, such as schools, orphanages, NGOs, hospitals and community centers. As at December 2019, we had donated a total of 263 generators across our five African markets.

Medical Support For Remote Communities

In rural areas in emerging markets, a significant proportion of people's health remains in jeopardy due to the widespread lack of access to primary healthcare. Our Nigeria and Cameroon teams support medical outreaches in several remote communities through our mobile health clinic, Wellness-On-Wheels, also known as WoW. The program helps create awareness about preventable diseases and family planning. It also provides immunization, malaria diagnosis and treatment, HIV counselling and testing, tuberculosis testing, and diarrhea (safe water) services to communities that are hard to reach or have limited medical services.

Our Ambition

Minimizing the impact of our operations and protecting our shared environment.

Our focus is on investment and innovation to deliver cutting-edge engineering solutions and operational excellence, and to raise awareness of environmental issues.

Environmental Awareness

It’s our duty to minimize the impact our operations have on our shared environment, to safeguard the wellbeing of our communities and to protect the wider world. We take pride in investing in innovative technologies that help reduce carbon emissions and noise pollution. We work to decrease our use of diesel, using renewable energy wherever possible, and we manage every aspect of our environmental risk carefully. We also help raise awareness of environmental issues across our local communities.

Energy Efficiency

Across our tower sites, wherever possible, we deploy solar and hybrid power sources and deep cycle battery technology to reduce our CO2 emissions and dependency on diesel, while also improve network availability. We have developed cutting-edge network operating centers to monitor our tower sites - such as power, access and diesel supply - in real time, to ensure our diesel deliveries are as efficient as possible. In 2019, through these hybrid power solutions, we saved 320 million kilograms of CO2 emissions and recycled 39,934 batteries.

Cleaning Up The Community

To promote good health and strengthen relations within our communities, our employees periodically clean up our local operating environments. To make an extra impact, we run these programs on the United Nations World Environment Day across all our markets of operation. In addition to cleaning up our immediate environment, we also clean other areas such as internally displaced persons' camps.