Apple makes significant investment in Malala's education fund

NEW YORK: Apple, a top American multinational technology company, 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.

Ms. Yousafzai, who is also United Nations Messenger of Peace, is scheduled to speak at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, starting on January 23.

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 programmes 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.

The initial goal is to extend secondary educational opportunities to more than 100,000 girls.

Yousafzai met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beirut on Saturday where they talked with students and visited the home of three girls, the reports said.

Apple will support the Fund with money, but more importantly its expertise in technology and education and its ability to scale small projects up, the company said.

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," Ms. 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.

Apple and other Silicon Valley firms have been criticized because they are so heavily male. A 2016 government filing showed that 81% of Apple's senior officials are men.

A third ” 33% ” of its global workforce and 23% of its technical staffers are women, according to Apple's estimates.