Lenovo has announced its partnership with Siya Kolisi, who aligns with the brand’s purpose of innovation and community development in Africa. Together, the partners will drive a concise purpose, providing smarter tools to empower young South Africans.
“Our partnership with Siya Kolisi is an important milestone for Lenovo,” says Thibault Dousson, GM of Lenovo. “It’s the first partnership of its kind in Africa, and we truly believe Siya is the perfect candidate to help us deliver hope and change amongst the Southern African community.
“His ability to take action with the perspective of a better future for all, inspires us as a brand, to accelerate our inclusion and diversity initiatives, drive social impact, and enthuse continuous development through innovation.”
Kolisi comments: “I am absolutely honored and delighted to be associating myself and my personal brand with a technology leader like Lenovo. In the words of former UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan, “If harnessed properly, technology has the potential to improve all aspects of our social, economic and cultural life, and it can serve as an engine for development in the twenty-first century”. This is something I truly believe in for the youth of South Africa, and my partnership with Lenovo aspires to do just that.
The Kolisi Foundation, which is co-founded by Siya and his wife Rachel, aspires to change the narratives of inequality in South Africa with its focus areas being education, sports, gender-based violence, and food security. A key component of this is smart education and how young South Africans can use technology to empower themselves and further aid their development
“Communities that lack access to the latest technology will fall further behind as services, commerce, and education increasingly move to AI and smart platforms. Together we want to enable a model of learning that is adapted to a new generation of technologically empowered youth,” says Dousson.