Students who are beneficiaries of the Equity Bank Wings To Fly initiative performed well in the 2019 KCSE exams. 24 of the students managed to score a mean grade of A (plain) while 199 scored a mean of A- (minus) in the recently released KCSE examination results. Of the 2016 Wings to Fly cohort of 1,868 who were examined, 1,519 students managed to score a mean grade of C+ and above.
The performance saw the class achieve a university entry qualification rate of 81% against a national rate of 18%. Additionally, the results are an improvement from 2018 results where 15 scholars had scored straight As and 157 had A minuses.
The Wings to Fly program is a partnership between Mastercard Foundation and Equity Group, with additional support from partners such as the German Government (through KfW), USAID, DFID, among others.
For the past 10 years, the Wings to Fly program has supported 16,168 students to pursue secondary school education on full scholarships. The success of the program can be tied to the integrity and fidelity in the selection process which is done by the CSSBs that sit in all 47 counties ensuring that only the most deserving students gain scholarships.
With a proven performance track record, Wings to Fly alumni have set high standards motivating those behind them to work towards excellence. So far, 11,928 scholars have sat their national exams with 9,581 managing to secure admission to university.
The 223 Wings to Fly 2019 finalists who scored A and A- are eligible to join the Bank for six to nine months under the Equity Bank Paid Internship Program. During this period, the scholars will secure valuable work ethics, skills where they will be mentored and earn a monthly stipend of Ksh. 40,000 to assist them with meeting their basic needs and save for university education.