NEW DELHI: Kyndryl Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Kyndryl, today announced that 12 nonprofit organizations from 11 countries have been awarded its second-year grants. The program is expected to touch the lives of more than 55,000 people over the next two years through cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) skills development, awareness and job placement initiatives.
 
Building on the positive impact of its inaugural year, Kyndryl Foundation is extending its philanthropic support to serve nonprofits from five additional countries – Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Spain and the United Kingdom. Countries already served by the Kyndryl Foundation include the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Japan, Poland and the United States. The Foundation has also introduced select multi-year grants – up to two years at a time – to build deeper engagements with grantees and create longer-term, sustainable impact.
 
The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) is one of the first multi-year grantees and will offer two programs. DSCI launched the Cyber Vaahini program in 2024 with an inaugural Kyndryl Foundation grant to provide cybersecurity training to women in tier two and three cities and help them find job opportunities. They will train 100 women under the Cyber Vaahini program. The nonprofit will also use the fund to establish a state-of-the-art cybersecurity training center in Mumbai.
 
“As the largest IT infrastructure services provider, we are committed to addressing the critical shortage of cybersecurity and AI professionals,” said Una Pulizzi, Kyndryl Foundation President and Kyndryl Global Head of Corporate Affairs. “We are proud to offer second-year funding to our grantees and look forward to the positive impact that can be achieved through our continued and expanded work together to drive innovation and build a new generation of skilled professionals.”
 
“India is becoming a hub for security products and services, thanks to its rich talent pool, inherent capability in serving global markets, and the rapidly accelerating pace of innovation in the cybersecurity startup ecosystem. The Data Security Council of India is coming up with a pioneering Cybersecurity Skilling Centre to give further impetus to bridge the talent gap in cybersecurity. We are thankful to the continued support from Kyndryl Foundation for this novel initiative and the Cyber Vaahini skilling program to achieve sustainable development goals in the process of building the cybersecurity industry,” said Vinayak Godse, CEO, DSCI.