Kindu, July 30th, 2026 (CPA).- The awarding of scholarships to female students who HAVE achieved a mark of at least 70 per cent in the 2026 State Examination, in Maniema, in the centre-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been announced on Thursday in Kindu, the provincial chief town, as part of a project to empower girls’ education, according to a declaration. “The telecommunications company ‘Vodacom Congo’ will award scholarships to girls in Maniema province who have not only obtained their State diplomas with a mark of at least 70 per cent, but have also verified their state examination results using a Vodacom number,” has declared Tresor Asani, marketing manager at the telecommunications company. “The awarding of scholarships to girls forms part of Vodacom’s commitment to empowering the education of Congolese girls through its ‘100% Female State Exam’ programme, which supports girls who have studied subjects in the STEM fields – that is, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”, he has added.
On this occasion, Mr Asani has indicated that each beneficiary of this programme will receive US$1,000; applications for the programme have begun on July 15thand will close on August 7th. The ‘Vodacom Exetat 100% Women and 100% STEM’ Scholarship, dedicated exclusively to STEM subjects, is a programme launched by this telecommunications company to encourage excellence among young women in so-called ‘male-dominated’ fields. It also aims to train a new generation of female leaders in this sector in DRC. Since 2018, the programme has taken a landmark step by focusing entirely on young women in order to bridge the gender gap in the digital sector.