Footballing legend, Didier Drogba has a lot of free time on his hands now that he is retired. But the maestro has decided to put all that time into good use now as he has signed an agreement to promote digital literacy across Africa.
The Cote d’Ivoire national this week sealed an agreement with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and Cote d’Ivoire’s Ministry of National Education, Technical and Vocational Training (MENETFP).
This partnership has led to the creation of the Drogba Digital Literacy Initiative in Africa (IDANA).
With this agreement, the former Chelsea forward will be a key player, striking for Africa’s tech development.
Didier Drogba will engage other civil society groups, development organisations and citizens of various countries on the need for digital literacy.
The aim is to provide 5 million young Africans with digital literacy skills over the next three years. The partnership also aims at providing 13,000 direct jobs for Ivoirians living in rural locations. The initiative is also looking to put more focus on empowering women in rural areas.
“I am proud of this partnership and the idea is to reach 10 million young people in five years in Africa,” Drogba said.
Not a bad post-footballing pursuit for the footballing legend. But it’s certainly not the first social work done by the former footballer. Even before retiring, Drogba has used his money and influence to help support his country and its people.
In 2009, the former striker donated £3 million for the construction of a hospital in Ivory Coast’s most popular city, Abidjan. He has also been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2007, supporting the UNDP in programmes such as the annual “Match Against Poverty”.
Didier Drogba has also supported campaigns against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.