The Equity Group Foundation has announced the start of the selection processes for the 2021 Wings to Fly Scholarship program. This program is done in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, and the German government through KfW, a German state-owned investment and development bank.
The foundation has also announced the commencement of a similar process called Elimu which is also a scholarship program. Elimu is sponsored by the World Bank and the Ministry of Education and implemented through the Equity Group Foundation.
The two programs will offer a combined total of 10,500 scholarships to academically promising scholars from needy backgrounds who sat and excelled in the 2020 KCPE examinations whose results were announced a while back.
The selected Wings to Fly scholars will form the twelfth cohort and will join a total of 17,304 scholars who have benefitted from comprehensive scholarships offered through the program while the successful Elimu scholars will form the second cohort and will join the existing 9,000 scholars who were commissioned last year. This brings the total scholarships so far implemented by Equity Group Foundation to 36,804.
How to apply for Wings to Fly Scholarship:
Academically promising 2020 KCPE finalists from all 47 counties who scored a minimum of 350 marks and who come from needy backgrounds can apply for the 2021 Wings to Fly scholarships by logging on to https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_w2f to create a new account on the Wings to Fly portal and fill in the 2021 application form for consideration.
If unable to access the forms on the portal above, scholars, guardians, parents etc. can get the physical scholarship applications forms from their nearest Equity Branch or Equity Agent.
All applications must be submitted on or before 31st May 2021.
How to apply for Elimu Scholarship:
2020 KCPE finalists from financially challenged backgrounds who sat their examinations at public primary schools and are from 110 targeted Sub-Counties and fifteen urban centres with informal settlements and scored a minimum of 280 marks can make applications for the 2020/2021 Elimu scholarships by logging on to https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_elimu to create a new account on the Elimu portal and fill in the 2020/2021 application form for consideration.
For affirmative action, candidates who are from vulnerable and marginalized communities and those with special needs and disabilities who attained below 280 marks may be considered.
If unable to access the forms on the portal above, scholars, guardians, parents etc. can get the physical scholarship applications forms from their nearest Equity Branch or Equity Agent.
All applications must be submitted on or before 31st May 2021.
The submission deadline of 31st May 2021 will allow the Wings to Fly Community Scholarship Selection Board (CSSB) in all 47 counties and the Elimu CommunityScholarship Advisory Committee (CSAC) in each of the 110 sub counties and 15 urban centres ample time to review and scrutinize the applications as well as conduct face to face interviews and assessments before awarding the most deserving scholars the scholarship opportunities.
The CSSB comprises of relevant key personalities in the community and is chaired by the Sub-County Director of Education and coordinated by Equity Bank BranchManager while the CSAC comprises of relevant key personalities in the community and will be chaired by the Deputy County Commissioner and coordinated by Equity Branch Manager.
Commenting on the commencement of the selection process, Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman, Dr. James Mwangi reiterated the Group’s commitment to supporting Kenyans to enjoy access to education opportunities through its scholarship programs. “As Equity, we truly value the role of the various partners that we work with at the community level to ensure that our selection process is fair and that a vast majority of Kenyans get to hear about the programs and are guided appropriately on how to apply for the scholarships. This year, we wish to encourage interested applicants to embrace the use of the digital portals as this will minimize paper handling and will thus contribute to our efforts of minimizing the risk of exposure to COVID-19,” said Dr. Mwangi.
Dr Mwangi has also appealed to Kenyans of goodwill who know a needy bright child anywhere in Kenya who has met the application criteria to help them apply for the scholarship. “There are many needy and bright children who have attained the eligible marks and may not hear of this opportunity. I appeal to all Kenyans of goodwill to support this initiative by helping such children to access the application forms from their nearby Equity bank branch or Agent so that they can stand a chance of securing a scholarship for their secondary school education,” said Dr Mwangi said.
