Agility, Camfed Join to Help Educate Girls in Ghana

Company invests in female education at rural secondary school

ACCRA, Ghana, June 22, 2016:  Agility, a leading global logistics provider, will fund the education of 100 girls in rural Ghana, in partnership with the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed), an international organization tackling poverty and inequality through assistance to girls and young women. 

Agility’s will pay school costs for girls whose families do not have the financial means to send them to secondary school, providing support that includes school fees, uniforms and education supplies. 

As Agility has expanded business operations in Africa, it also has been increasing its social commitment. Efforts to support health and education programs for women and girls have been a centerpiece of Agility’s community involvement in the 100-plus countries where it operates.

“In the rural communities where we work, chronic poverty excludes many girls from education, especially at secondary level, where costs rise sharply, and distances to schools are much greater. Girls are so determined to access education that they put themselves at considerable risk to raise the money, heading to towns to work as street porters or maids,  vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,” said Dolores Dickson, Executive Director of Camfed Ghana. “Camfed works with communities, schools, authorities and generous  donor partners like Agility to rewrite the future of these girls, who then become mentors and role models for other girls.”

Geoffrey White, CEO of Agility Africa, said: “Social development alongside our commercial development is important to Agility. Without it our businesses can’t grow and operate as we would wish. Social inclusion is a core value for us. Education is one of the best investments we can make to alleviate poverty and create a better world. It has an incredible multiplier effect, and it provides returns for generations.”  

Research shows that better-educated women tend to be healthier, take part in the formal labor market and earn more. Data also indicate that the children of educated women benefit by receiving better health care and education. 

“That’s why it is important to Agility, which is focused on business in emerging markets, to make a difference with programs aimed at women,” White said.

Agility’s commercial logistics and infrastructure businesses operate throughout Africa. In Accra, Ghana, Agility recently opened the first of what is to be a pan-African network of international-standard distribution and office parks, an investment that will stimulate growth and trade, support small and medium-size businesses, and create jobs and prosperity in Africa.