MTN SA FOUNDATION

EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF DIGITAL TALENT

MTN’s Digital Skills for Digital Jobs program and Women in Digital Business Challenge

South Africa, like many countries globally, grapples with the challenge of youth unemployment. This is supported by statistics indicating that of the 10 million young people aged between 15-35 years in South Africa - 45,5% are unemployed. Only 2,5 million were in the labour force, either employed or unemployed.

The main reason for being inactive is discouragement, i.e. They have lost hope of finding a job that suits their skills or in the area they reside. Facing and reducing these concer-

ning statistics is the responsibility of the public and private sectors. We must provide opportunities to create a culture of learning. Adoption of technology within disadvantaged communities is one of the key areas of focus which allows a greater contribution towards bridging the digital gap and addressing the high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment South Africa is facing.

As the digital environment rapidly evolves, it is natural that South Africa should aspire to become an

‘e-skilled’ economy. There are, however, obstacles on the path, including our lack of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates and, where these skills do exist, the development of entre-preneurial skills is required to broaden participation in the IT field.

The MTN SA Foundation has a long-standing commitment to supporting technical and digital education, and for the second year running, their investment of R14 million to equip 900 unemployed young South Africans with marketable digital skill is a vote of confidence in the potential of the nation’s youth and a positive long-term step in helping secure South Africa’s place in an increasingly digital global economy.

If South Africa is to retain and develop its promise as one of the continent’s leading economies, the digital divide that separates the “haves” from the “have-nots” must be breached.

It is up to us to work together to enable young south Africans to compete internationally in the sector - and this is where the MTN SA Foundation has stepped up to drive skills in areas where they matter most. In 2023 they launched the Digital Skills for Digital Jobs initiative, a program that combines digital qualifications with life and entrep-reneurship skills and is focused on addressing the issue of youth unemployment in South Africa, and a total of 900 unemployed youths across all 9 provinces (i.e.,100 learners per province) were registered for the 12-month program.

A total of 674 learners (of which 60 % were females) completed the programme and graduated in December 2023.

This year MTN has been barraged by an overwhelming influx of applications and a total of 5330 applications were received.

The 900 students selected for this year’s programme received training that included basic end-computing, coding, robotics, AI, and other essential skills to prepare them for a future in the competitive IT sector.

The training courses offered by the MTN SA Foundation in partnership with the EBL Institute and Datacomb Development Hub are designed to be inclusive and are open to unemployed men and women who are not enrolled in any formal education or training programmes.

Offerings include courses that range from the fundamentals of strategy, the Internet of Things (IoT), data and big data, cybersecurity, data analytics and artificial intelligence, to designing e-commerce websites and the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).

Structured to also offer opportunities for those with entrepreneurial instincts, the programme includes modules on various facets of establishing a business, life skills, career, and personal development where programme graduates will receive their SETA accredited certificates.

MTN regards equipping young men and women with these skills as the Foundation’s contribution to empowering deserving young people drawn primarily from disadvantaged communities with the skills required to achieve personal economic freedom through rewarding professional careers. Those who take the entrepreneurial path and start businesses will unlock their potential and as their enterprises grow, will become employers, and create further opportunities.

At the same time, they are addressing the high youth unemployment rate and creating a stream of qualified people ready to enter the multi-faceted world of IT. This will, hopefully, help inspire others to enter occupations that are essential to South Africa’s economic growth.

MTN SA is particularly proud of their efforts aimed at benefitting youth and disenfranchised women. By assisting these vulnerable people with the skills necessary to achieve their dreams, they are making tangible contributions to strengthening the socio-economic fabric of our country.

Women entrepreneurs are making their mark across commerce and industry and presently are successfully tackling the world of tech and developing businesses that impact society. To further empower South African women in the world of technology, the MTN SA Foundation has since 2022 been offering additional opportunities to ten female alumnae of the Digital Skills for Digital Jobs program to further develop their enterprises through the MTN Women in Digital Business Challenge.

The Challenge, which displays the MTN SA Foundation’s commitment to empowerment in the digital economy, offers ten female digital pioneers a prize of R100,000 each, i.e. a further investment of R 1 million into the development of women and youth xof SA. The prize money is to be used for working capital, business development, purchasing tangible assets, and investing in business technology hardware, software, or IP.

Women make up just more than 50% of the South African population but are not represented as strongly as they should be in the broad IT industry. MTN SA believes that it is up to talented women to show what they can achieve within the science, technology, information, and mathematics (STEM) sectors in a country with massive skills and youth employment challenges.

Through the MTN Women in Digital Challenge, MTN extends opportunities for women to benefit professionally through the innovative and entrep-reneurial environment they will be creating for their growth.

Hopefully, their success will inspire others and encourage other women to start businesses or seek job opportunities within the IT sector.

To help entrants change the future face of the tech industry, the Foundation only accepts applications from the female DSDJ alumnae and screening is completed through its implementation partners.

From the initial applications, the women compete in a two-day “pitching competition” where they showcase their businesses and compete for a place in the ‘Top-10’.

Following this, the “Top 10” entrepreneurs enter a four-month mentorship journey in which they receive expert advice on how to grow their businesses and the adoption of marketing strategies. In addition, they are also given help to ensure that the financial and business management skills they require to run a successful small business are improved.

Once graduating from these programmes, each of the ten successful candidates receive their R100,000 funding for developing their businesses. The Foundation’s two MTN Women in Digital Business Challenge events hosted to date showed that women were not only capable of competing in the demanding IT sector, but also made significant contributions to society by closing gaps in IT education. They offered young learners opportunities to develop their skills by offering teaching and coding skills.

It is MTN’s view that a digitally empowered society is a winning society. If South Africa is to retain and develop its promise as one of the continent’s leading economies, the digital divide that separates the “haves” from the “have-nots” must be breached, this is why they continue to invest in these programmes so that all South Africans - and especially disadvantaged communities - can be equipped with the skills they need to grow into innovative entrepreneurs and reach their dreams.

South Africa’s female entrepreneurs have the talent to be successful and deal with business obstacles.

They are determined and adaptable people who can proudly take their places in a competitive technical environment – therefore the MTN SA Foundation considers it a privilege to be able to make a practical contribution to fostering scarce skills and encouraging women and youth to enter a sector that is essential to the prosperity of our people and our international competitiveness.

For more information on these and other MTN SA Foundation programmes, please visit www.mtn.co.za.