NEW YORK — Apple has announced it would make a significant investment in the Malala Fund, a charity that helps girls worldwide gain access to education, according to media reports.
The fund was created by Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai to support the right of every girl to have access to 12 years of free, safe and quality education.
Apple will become the fund’s first Laureate partner and the company said that its support would allow the fund to double the number of grants it awards and to extend funding to programs in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Nigeria.
The initial goal is to extend secondary educational opportunities to more than 100,000 girls. But Apple did not reveal how much money it was pledging to the organization.
Yousafzai met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beirut on Jan. 20 where they talked with students and visited the home of three girls.
Cook will also join the Malala Fund leadership council.
“I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear,” Yousafzai said in a statement.
“We believe that education is a great equalizing force, and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” Cook said in a statement.