CSI June 2022 Edition

CSI 2022

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FROM SURVIVAL TO REVIVAL Growing our economy by supporting the upliftment of our communities

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CHILD HEALTH & NUTRITION

WHAT IS NUTRITION?

irriam Webster de nes nutrition as the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth, it plays an important role in child’s development. Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is during the , day period from pregnancy until a child’s second birthday. Often, care givers battle to know the perfect food to give to their children which contain all the necessary nutrients. Some kinds give their care givers hard time eating healthy food, all they ever want is unk, and it is very common with children.

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD NUTRITION Healthy food choices have a strong impact on a child’s growth.

Healthy eating in a child’s early years can increase their physical development, cognitive development, and ability to learn for years to come. It is important for parents to teach the importance of healthy eating to their children and help then establish healthy eating habits. The more your child understands about nutrition, the more excited he will be about eating healthy. It also helps to involve them when preparing food, they get excited and want to take pride in their involvement in preparing and makes it easy for them to eat. Half of your child’s plate should be fruits and vegetables. Choose fresh foods over highly processed foods.

EFFECTS OF POOR NUTRITION

Poor eating habits can hinder your child’s growth and development and can result in conditions such as malnutrition. alnutrition is a condition that develops when the body is not getting the correct amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy organ functioning. This condition can refer to people who are either undernourished or over nourished. Undernutrition has been proven to decrease a child’s activity levels, social interactions, curiosity, and cognitive functioning. It also can cause a lot of other severe conditions in children. E.g Stunting Stunting refers to a condition where a child is too short for his or her age, and children under ve, it is associated with an elevated risk of child morbidity, as well as poor cognitive and psychomotor development, reduced productive capacity, poor health, and an increased risk of degenerative diseases.

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Here are some of the waring signs that a child is malnourished: • Weight Loss, Slow Weight Gain, or Underweight • Eating Less Than Usual Not Eating Well Due to Stomach Problems • Less Active or Less Playful • Getting Ill often and taking a long time to recover • Poor Concentration Overnutrition occurs in people who eat too much, eat the wrong things, don’t exercise enough, or take too many vitamins or other dietary replacements. The common term used to describe this condition is “obesity” or being overweight. This condition can lead to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and some cancers.

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Signs of Obesity in Children: • Fatigue • Increased sweating • Snoring • Joint pain • Dislocated hips • Flat feet and knock knees • Skin rashes and irritation

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F ROM T HE EDI T OR

SURVIVAL, REVIVAL AND UPLIFTMENT

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n a country like South Africa, where poverty levels are so high and there is a multitude of demands on government to fi x everything – from healthcare to housing and education to energy – it is important for corporates to step up and do their best to help address some of the problems in our society.

Helping poor people is a good thing, but it can also benefi t corporates: the more you uplift people out of poverty, the more it is possible that the economy will grow and businesses will benefi t.

Often the best solutions can be found in public-private partnerships.

In this issue of CSI, we look at a few partnerships between government and corporates that address some of the crucial issues in our society, such as education and teacher training. It has been proven that education is often the best way to change people’s lives for the better, and it is an area of serious concern in South Africa.

We look at the groundbreaking work some nonprofi t organisations (NPOs) and corporates are doing to upskill women in traditionally male-dominated industries, as well as attempts to transform township and rural economies.

Unemployment remains one of our biggest challenges in South Africa; we look at the sterling work some NGOs and government agencies are doing to help create jobs, especially for young people, who appear to be the worst victims of our stagnant economy.

There are also some interesting initiatives to create jobs in rural

COVID-19 is a part of our lives and has impacted just about EVERYTHING, INCLUDING funding for CSI projects.

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Published by:

PIcasso Headline, a proud division of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd Hill on Empire, 16 Empire Road (cnr Hillside Road), Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193 PO Box 12500, Mill Street, Cape Town, 8010 www.businessmediamags.co.za EDITORIAL Editor: Ryland Fisher Content Manager: Raina Julies rainaj@picasso.co.za Contributors: Trevor Crighton, James Francis, Caryn Gootkin, Duma Gqubule, Anél Lewis, Nazeema Mohamed, Reagan Meyer, Denise Mhlanga, Itumeleng Mogaki, Balan Moodley, Precious Nala, Tiisetso Tlelima Copy Editor: Brenda Bryden Content Co-ordinator: Vanessa Payne Digital Editor: Stacey Visser vissers@businessmediamags.co.za

areas, and especially on farms. We fi nd out what is being done differently in these cases.

The travel and tourism industry was one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and we fi nd out more about the initiatives being implemented to revive the sector and secure it against future possible hard times.

COVID-19 is a part of our lives and has impacted just about everything, including funding for CSI projects.

We unpack the numbers to see how much more or less corporates have been spending since the onset of the pandemic two years ago.

Finally, a few leaders in NPOs and other interesting projects share with us the thinking that inspired their actions, whether it involves philanthropic support for universities and SETAs, support for STEM education, fi ghting poverty or lessons for corporate CSI managers to become more effective.

We hope that you enjoy the read and that it will provide you with some food for thought.

Ryland Fisher Editor

DESIGN Head of Design: Jayne Macé-Ferguson Senior Designer: Mfundo Archie Ndzo JuniorDesigner: Bulelwa Sotashe Cover Images: supplied SALES Project Manager: Bongani Matwa bonganim@picasso.co.za | +27 21 469 2416 +27 76 251 4590 PRODUCTION Production Editor: Shamiela Brenner Advertising Co-ordinator: Johan Labuschagne Subscriptions and Distribution: Fatima Dramat | fatimad@picasso.co.za Printer: CTP Printers, Cape Town MANAGEMENT Management Accountant: Deidre Musha Business Manager: Lodewyk van der Walt General Manager, Magazines: Jocelyne Bayer

COPYRIGHT: No portion of this magazine may

be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material. CSI is published by Picasso Headline. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline. All advertisements/advertorials have been paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher.

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CONTENTS 5

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Caryn Gootkin finds out how corporates are spending their CSI budgets, and how 2020’s events impacted on companies and communities.

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Tiisetso Tlelima unpacks the aims and strategy behind the Community Transformation Accelerator Programme that is set to greatly boost the township economy.

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ENVIRONMENT Sustainable projects and programmes designed to uplift and empower communities and create employment.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

SMME SECTOR

OUTREACH An in-depth look at one organisation’s initiatives and efforts to provide communities across Africa with psychosocial support.

LESSON LEARNED

We profile two organisations helping to empower women to take a greater role in the manufacturing sector.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: POVERTY How Afrika Tikkun is working towards alleviating child poverty and youth unemployment in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty.

TEACHER TRAINING

Lessons in how corporate CSI managers can make a real difference in this world

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YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT South Africa’s youth unemployment rate continues to soar and government initiatives have either failed or had little impact.

Ongoing professional development programmes for teachers are essential for improving educational outcomes. Many corporations provide such training as part of their CSI strategies.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: FUNDING We look at the funding of South African universities, who is contributing, where it’s being allocated and advancement initiatives.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: STEM EDUCATION There is a growing need for greater science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to create a talent pool. Protec is one organisation helping to fulfil this need.

EDUCATION Improving access to early learning opportunities for all South African children relies on public-private partnerships.

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TRAVEL AND TOURISM Hard-hit during the pandemic, the tourism industry has planned several interventions to ensure its revival and future sustainability.

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C SI SPEND

WHAT IS STRATEGIC CSI?

UNPACKING THE NUMBERS Last year saw a drop in the overall CSI spend in South Africa, according to the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2021. CARYN GOOTKIN finds out where CSI funding was spent and whether the downward trend is set to continue

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lobally, 2020 was an extraordinary year: whole sectors ground to a halt, the pandemic wreaked havoc with health services and lives; and in South Africa, levels of hunger rose to unprecedented highs. Both corporates and individuals were called upon to dig deep and help where they could. It is therefore unsurprising that corporate giving, which Trialogue estimated at R10.7-billion in 2020, dropped in 2021 – to an estimated R10.3-billion. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Companies determine their CSI budgets for the following year based on their net profit after tax for the current year,” says Cathy Duff, a director at Trialogue. “This means that there is a lag; many companies’ profits were down in 2020, which resulted in lower CSI budgets for 2021. For the first time in Trialogue’s 24 years of research in this area, just over half of companies surveyed reported reduced CSI expenditure in 2021, largely due to decreased profits.”

These overall numbers do, however, hide a lot of discrepancies, including that 36 per cent of companies increased their CSI spend in 2021. “Some companies performed extremely well in 2020 and increased their CSI spend in 2021, but not as many as in previous years,” says Duff. “Our research also showed us that in 2020, several businesses spent more than their CSI budget to support the immediate

responsive reaction to the pandemic. This was then adjusted down in 2021, which also affects the figures.”

NONCASH GIVING More companies reported noncash giving (goods, products, services and time), but this only constituted 13 per cent of total CSI expenditure. “Increases in CSI expenditure were largely driven by noncash donations,” says Duff. “However, there is little consistency in the valuation of noncash donations. This is especially true of time, with only four respondent companies putting a value on the time their employees spent volunteering during working hours. This is a potential growth area and companies are encouraged to quantify and include this category in their CSI expenditure.”

WHERE THE FUNDING GOES Companies tend to support many different projects, with 60 per cent of those surveyed supporting over 10 CSI projects, and nearly a third supporting more than 50 projects each.

And there were significant shifts this year in where the money went. While education still received the largest share of funding, it

“There is a trend towards greater alignment between the core operations of the company and its CSI giving,” says Trialogue director Cathy Duff.

“We call this strategic CSI because the giving is seen as a benefit to society and the company. A massive 76 per cent of companies surveyed indicated that they support at least one strategic CSI project, where the evidence of developmental results and benefits for the business goes beyond making the business look good. They include significant improvements in relationships with business stakeholders or competitive advantage as a result of their CSI strategy.”

“THE DECREASE IN EDUCATION SPEND WAS LARGELY DUE TO INCREASES IN DISASTER RELIEF AND FOOD SECURITY SPEND.” – CATHY DUFF was down from 50 per cent in 2020 to 39 per cent in 2021. “Over 90 per cent of companies surveyed still support at least one project in the educational space, from ECD to tertiary,” says Duff. “The decrease in education spend was largely due to increases in disaster relief and food security spend. Interestingly, environmental issues are not coming through strongly in CSI expenditure: only four per cent of expenditure is directed to this cause and a quarter of corporate respondents do not consider environmental issues at all in their CSI programming.”

2022 and beyond A reassuring 41 per cent of companies surveyed predicted an increase in CSI spending for 2022 and beyond. “Another 42 per cent felt their budget would remain the same and only 17 per cent felt their budgets would continue to decline,” says Duff. “This augurs well for 2022 and indicates we may soon see CSI expenditure climbing back to pre-COVID-19 levels, especially if more companies quantify the value of volunteering and other noncash giving.”

“OUR RESEARCH ALSO SHOWED US THAT IN 2020, SEVERAL BUSINESSES SPENT MORE THAN THEIR CSI BUDGET TO SUPPORT THE IMMEDIATE RESPONSIVE REACTION TO THE PANDEMIC. THIS WAS THEN ADJUSTED DOWN IN 2021.” – CATHY DUFF CSI

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Unique methods of motivation, stimulate higher grades Motivation, and innovative tutorial programmes are the secrets to success for many learners from previously disadvantaged communities, and this is what drives the success of learners at The Kutlwanong Centre for Maths, Science and Technology.

Nelisiwe Nondumiso Mbombi from Ponego Secondary School in the Katlehong, fondly recalls how the incentive of a dinner at a restaurant at Emperor’s Palace or watching a movie at the theatre after acing Math and Science exams, contributed to her desire to achieve top grades.

sponsorship of them with their current university studies as how they’ve been able to withstand the upheaval brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, in the middle of Grade 12, I realised I was hardworking, capable of working at a fast pace, and no one needed to ask me to attend classes because I started loving the work. I started seeing all the good things that it brought into my life,” she said.

Since the pandemic, the programme made the necessary pivot to digital, as it made way for the creation and distribution of the Promaths online platform – a collaborative effort between Liberty, Investec, Kutlwanong and the digital designers at Tuta-Me.

The mission of the centres is to improve the Grade 12 Math and Science results of black students from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them the support and credentials to pursue commerce or science-related fields. Over 15 years since inception, the programme initially founded in Gauteng, Soweto, Dobsonville, has since branched out to include the Liberty supported branches that’s currently reaching learners at 63 schools between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Nomaxabiso Matjila

Lead Specialist for Group CSI

(Corporate Social Investment) In addition, Liberty added its weight to the #StandingWithTheClassof2021 initiative, led by Primestars, to support under-resourced matriculants from public schools through the provision of Math and Science tutorials delivered through Ster-Kinekor cinemas across the country.

For nine of those years, Liberty has supported the programme as it aligns directly with Nomaxabiso Matjila, the Lead Specialist for Group CSI (Corporate Social Investment) the organisation’s Group CSI strategy of driving the development of Maths, Science at Liberty, commented that she was fortunate enough to witness a truly successful and Literacy, with a specific focus on previously disadvantaged communities. case study of blended learning through the Kutlwanong Centres in 2021.

It is also one of several initiatives Liberty has undertaken in an effort to prioritise “The Class of 2021 has shown us that all those new ways of learning could yield education in the country, particularly over the past two years where much of great results when you have an open, inquiring mind. We salute their adaptability school learning has been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. and their ability to embrace online and in-person teaching. We are confident that Mbombi was so determined to get into the prestigious programme’s weekend nothing will stand in the way of these incredible young people when looking at classes and begged her mother to allow her to change schools so that by Grade the future,” she said.

10, she would be at Ponego Secondary School – the home ground for the Kutlwanong programme in Gauteng. After acing her entry level test in Math Like many organisations, Liberty had to repurpose their CSI plans and programmes to align with the most pressing needs that confronted communities because of the pandemic. and Science, Mbombi quickly understood the level of commitment that would be required from her to thrive.

“With education being Liberty’s primary focus, the Group had to redirect their CSI funds, and help implementing partners to assist with continued learning – especially “The students were divided into classes according to their marks, which meant during periods when the country was under lockdown,” Matjila explained. the top 10 were in one class, and so on. That already boosted the competition because now, one was in a competitive environment and inspired to work She continued, “Our partnership with Mindset Learning aided in magnifying their harder,” she said. digital learning platforms. These included broader access to the Tenfold Mobile App, which provides revision papers and peer to peer learning support. Through The level of commitment that the programme entailed made quite an impression this partnership with Mindset, they also increased their learning programmes on Appiah Mosebo too, who out of the over 15 pupils who made it into the that are broadcasted on DSTV channels, most notably, the grade 10-12 Maths and programme from his school, Kwadukathole Comprehensive, became one of the Science programmes.” few to stay the course.

“While attending classes on weekends proved difficult for some, it wasn’t a problem Beyond catering for only students in school, Liberty also revised its consumer for me. We didn’t feel like outsiders because the teachers tried their best to ensure education/financial literacy program, Mind My Money, to talk to how South Africans could make better financial decisions during, and beyond the Covid-19 era. we were all catered for and fed. Coming from a school where we were 60 kids in one class, the individual attention proved to be invaluable,” he said.

In 2021 alone, Liberty spent R44 million on CSI programmes, and approximately R14 million through the Liberty Community Trust.

Mbombi (now 22) and Mosebo (now 21), are currently both studying towards becoming actuarial scientists at Wits University after receiving bursaries from Matjila concluded, “What’s been fulfilling and a privilege to witness is the Liberty post completing Matric, getting seven and six distinctions respectively. impact these programmes have genuinely had – and this we’ve seen through the testimonies from those who attended our Mind My Money programme for Like hundreds of other learners who have benefited from the Liberty funded instance. They share how they’ve been able to utilize the principles and as a programme, the pair were inspired into their current field of study through result been able to change their financial behaviours. Also seeing students who attending the career guidance days hosted by Liberty annually from Grade are beneficiaries of our partner programmes being able to pass matric with flying 10 through to matric. Those gave them access to information on career paths colours and being accepted to higher institutions of learning gives us a sense of like actuarial sciences, and proximity to other alumni who would tell them of pride as though we ourselves were their parents.” their experiences at university. They also credit Liberty for continuing their

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QUALITY EARLY LIFE DEVELOPMENT It’s widely known that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial for developing the skills needed for future learning and economic productivity, but is enough being done to ensure wider access to early learning opportunities?

ANÉL LEWIS looks at the importance of partnerships Santa Shoebox Legacy

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he Department of Basic Education has taken on the herculean task of providing all South African children with access to quality early childhood education programmes by 2030. That is less than eight years away, and there are currently upwards of 1.2 million children who start school each year unprepared for primary school, notes Candice Potgieter, CEO of The Unlimited Child.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUCCESS Organisations involved in improving access to early education agree that partnerships with government, civil society, corporates and the beneficiaries of early childhood development (ECD) programmes are critical if South Africa is to turn the tide. “With the high volume of children younger than six unable to access good early learning, it is essential that civil society partners with the government to realise the common goal of creating effective learning systems and environments for children to thrive,” says Potgieter.

The Santa Shoebox Legacy has a two-tier partnership approach, with the first tier being donors from the corporate and private Candice Potgieter sectors. The second tier is the beneficiary partners themselves.

“Upskilling key players in small communities will create a long-lasting difference, so we endeavour to find beneficiary partners who are willing to participate in the long-term success of the project,” says Samantha Massey, project manager at the Santa Shoebox (SSB) Legacy.

CELEBRATE EARLY LEARNING Nomvula Matlare, brand marketing and communications lead at SmartStart, a nonprofit organisation that focuses on improving access to early learning for children aged three to five, calls for a renewed interest in early childhood learning in general. “We need this country to be as obsessed with the progression of children from early learning to primary school as it is when children complete their matric.” Without a solid foundation, a child starting school may lack the confidence and ability to succeed and ultimately complete high school. Potgieter agrees, saying: “Research has shown that unless children aged 0–6 are exposed to learning through play, which includes

“RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT UNLESS CHILDREN AGED 0–6 ARE EXPOSED TO LEARNING THROUGH PLAY, WHICH INCLUDES CONCEPTS THAT TEACH EARLY NUMERACY AND EARLY LITERACY, THEIR POTENTIAL IN LIFE IS SEVERELY LIMITED.” – NOMVULA MATLARE 8

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concepts that teach early numeracy and early literacy, their potential in life is severely limited.”

The push to make early learning widely accessible is not just setting up children for a successful school career, says Grace Matlhape, Grace Matlhape CEO of SmartStart.

It also ensures that we have future generations of adults able to contribute to the country’s economy. In the medium-term, it makes it possible for parents to concentrate on their work or careers while their children are being educated, so that parents can realise their full potential and support their families.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE An ECD centre must meet certain criteria to be registered with the Department of Basic Education and receive government funding.

However, many ECD centres do not have the infrastructure or means to comply. Without funding, many centres cannot jump through the hoops required to register, says Massey.

The health department also needs to provide a certificate of compliance, and with many ECD centres operating from containers, back rooms, or empty church halls, it can sometimes take years for a facility to tick all the boxes and be registered, she says. Meanwhile, the centre must operate without funding. It’s an unfortunate cycle that forces many ECDs to operate without being compliant.

Nomvula Matlare

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EDUCAT ION

LACK OF FUNDING Santa Shoebox Legacy uses funds from corporate and private donors to transform ECD centres in rural and underprivileged communities, says Massey. This financial support is used to address societal issues such as the need for educational funding, the demand for training among educators, access to potable water, increasing the literacy rate and early childhood Samantha Massey nutrition for growth. “Uplifting communities holistically and sustainably assists the government in the massive tasks of addressing the very poor standards of childhood education currently being experienced in rural and underprivileged communities.”

Teachers need ongoing training to give the children in their care the best education, she adds. Many often receive no fees or, at best, a nominal stipend. “This is another area where it is vital that we as the SSB Legacy Fund partner with NGOs that are capable of offering this to teachers.”

ADEQUATE TRAINING AND RESOURCES

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Rays of Hope, a nonprofit company working with numerous NGOs, schools and ECD centres in Alexandra in Gauteng, provides support by helping with additional training for teachers, ensuring adequate classroom resources and sharing best practices with local ECDs. “The ECDs in vulnerable communities are literally daycare centres where they look after learners until the parents or siblings come to pick up the child from the centre,” says Bafana Mohale, education programme manager at Rays of Hope.

He says many of the centres do not have a set curriculum or teaching plan, and few of

the teachers are qualified ECD practitioners.

“These challenges are why our children in public township schools typically lag their counterparts in better-resourced schools: South Africa’s learners are classified as having among the worst literacy and numeracy levels in the world.”

SmartStart addresses the dearth of adequate training by using a social franchise model to tap into the experience of existing civil society organisations that recruit, train and license women to run their own early learning social enterprises. Part of the programme is the provision of a daily routine and SmartStart PlayKit, which promotes free play in a language-rich environment and encourages interactive storytelling and the development of self-regulation.

SmartStart has an established network of over 90 000 parents and caregivers whose children are enrolled in its programmes.

The model also works with parents to help them understand that their children need to attend early learning regularly to benefit. “Parents need to be involved as well,” she says.

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES While there is a definite need for early learning in vulnerable communities, there is also a demand from micro entrepreneurs who want to formalise the work they do in the ECD space, notes Matlhape. SmartStart has almost 6 000 franchisees who “need a sense of agency and worth”. Together, they form a powerful network of ECD centres where creating a nurturing and safe environment for children is paramount.

ECD centres have burgeoned in vulnerable communities in response to the need for early learning. As franchisees, these practitioners are screened and given proper training and resources. The reality of where many of these centres are based cannot be overlooked.

When one is teaching children in a container or a shack, it can be challenging to meet the requirements for health and safety.

“THE ECDS IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES ARE LITERALLY DAYCARE CENTRES WHERE THEY LOOK AFTER LEARNERS UNTIL THE PARENTS OR SIBLINGS COME TO PICK UP THE CHILD FROM THE CENTRE.”– BAFANA MOHALE

FAST FACT

An estimated 1.24 million South African children between the ages of three and five do not attend an appropriate early learning programme.

Source: SmartStart

The Unlimited Child creates opportunities by working with government and the community to unlock opportunities for pre-existing ECD centres to become viable micro enterprises. By partnering with infrastructural and nutrition partners, the organisation can ensure the ECD environment is primed for the delivery of effective learning through a play environment, explains Potgieter.

Furthermore, the Unlimited Child works with the government to ensure that data sets, analyses, and on-the-ground assessments of ECD centres are easily communicated. This means that best practices can be quickly duplicated, she adds.

Through partnerships, ECD centres can provide additional services to ensure the wellbeing of the child and their families. Potgieter explains that, during the height of the pandemic and recently with the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, The Unlimited Child was able to mobilise collective resources to ensure that families could be sustained through the ECD centres their children attend. Most of The Unlimited Child’s 3 050 ECD centres throughout the country have remained open despite the challenges of the past two years.

Most of the organisations involved in ECD programmes have welcomed the decision to shift responsibility for early learning to the Department of Basic Education. But the only way to ensure that children who are currently in the system at ECD centres that may not have safe toilets or a safe outdoor play area, and may not comply with the requirements to be registered, also benefit is by forming partnerships.

“By finding the right partners, we can chip away at this seemingly insurmountable mountain and make a huge difference, even if it is only one school at a time,” concludes Massey.

Bafana Mohale

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T HOUGH T L E A DERSHIP: F UNDING

NAZEEMA MOHAMED, executive director of Inyathelo, shares the extent of philanthropic support for South African universities

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he latest Annual Survey of Philanthropy in Higher Education (ASPIHE) reveals the commitment of South African and international philanthropy to the higher education sector. This research, the seventh in the series and based on data gathered in 2019, reveals that local and international philanthropists donated R1.55-billion to 10 South African universities in 2019.

This compares extremely favourably to the 2013 survey findings when research was first undertaken, reflecting a total collective income of R659-million.

When we add income from Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), total giving increases to over R1.94-billion for 2019. SETA funding is a valuable contributor to nontraditional universities, such as universities of technology that offer diplomas and degrees oriented to vocational work. The advancement incomes of four institutions in the survey were significantly affected by the inclusion of SETA income. The top SETA-earner, by a considerable margin, was a nontraditional university.

When we unpack the findings in more detail, we note that the historical over-reliance of the South African higher education sector on international donors and grant-makers continues to diminish, although there remains considerable support and goodwill among foreign donor agencies.

Nazeema Mohamed

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GENEROUS LOCAL DONORS Several years ago we noted that giving

by South African donors had exceeded income from international sources for the first time. This trend has continued, possibly because of more local awareness of the high cost of education, enhanced by the #Feesmustfall movement.

Local donors were responsible for more than two-thirds of income in the latest survey. Foreign donors were responsible for nearly a third of 2019 income (31 per cent) although they numbered only 10 per cent of total donors. The sizes of international donations are significantly higher because the majority are organisations, while most South African funders are individuals.

FUNDING PATTERNS Another finding is that the vast majority of funding is still being channelled to historically advantaged, research-oriented universities. The income of these institutions was R1.48-billion in 2019 (of a total of 1.55-billion).

The 2017 report for 2016 showed that six traditional universities received 90 per cent of the total funding and the other six (such as universities of technology) received only 10 per cent. Moreover, about four-fifths of the total received by the nontraditional bloc went to just one university.

We need to analyse this bias sensitively as the continuation of a skewed funding regime underpins inequality in South Africa and limits the growth of the entire system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of complexity to a higher education system already disrupted by student protests, overstretched public finances and mounting student debt.

Research shows that the more advancement (fundraising, alumni relations and associated support staff) an institution has, the higher its philanthropic income. And the more it spends on fundraising and strengthening alumni relations, the greater the funding.

Inyathelo, the South African Institute for Advancement, has worked for over a decade to help universities develop advancement initiatives. This is a multilayered approach spanning elements such as governance and relationship-building. It encourages organisations to work in an integrated way to attract resources for long-term sustainability. Sharing advancement principles more widely among higher education institutions is one way to improve their funding prospects.

Inyathelo engages with the Community of Practice on Advancement in Universities South Africa (USAf), a membership organisation representing South Africa’s universities. Inyathelo also participates in the US-SA Higher Education Network as a programme lead on university advancement and third stream income (from sources other than public subsidies, tuition and other student fees), and universities as anchor institutions. These are large institutions such as universities, colleges, hospitals, nonprofits and corporations that are rooted in place and serve as economic engines in the communities they serve. There is also university research office capacity development.

We have also collaborated with the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment at Wits Business School to develop a postgraduate qualification in resource mobilisation and philanthropy. Inyathelo has also signed an agreement with USaf to train university managers in advancement practices.

Such initiatives help build capacity in professional university fundraising.

Download the detailed ASPIHE 2020 report:

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Philanthropic funding of South African universities

ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVES

THE RESEARCH REVEALS THAT LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PHILANTHROPISTS DONATED R1.55-BILLION TO 10 SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES IN 2019.

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T HOUGH T L E A DERSHIP: S T EM EDUCAT ION

PROTEC learners

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he clarion call for government and organisations to contribute to an increase in scarce skills in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector has been growing more strident. The need is real, both to fill the skills gap and for much-needed job creation, but more must be done to meet this need.

Gaps in learning and other challenges can be identified throughout the education spectrum; our education system is ultimately delivering predominantly non-STEM-related matric results.

A quick review of the 2021 matric results shows that of the 897 163 learners who wrote NSC matric, only about 45 000 achieved pass marks over 50 per cent. Of the learners who wrote physical science, only about 21 000 achieved over 50 per cent. That’s a low base of learners with STEM gateway subjects, meaning most matriculants finish school with no opportunity to pursue careers in the engineering, science and technology fields.

The lot is falling to education support organisations and nonprofit organisations (NPO) such as PROTEC to impact these numbers. While we’re achieving good results, we’re only scratching the surface of the need in an increasingly fourth industrial revolution focused world.

PROTEC was established 40 years ago by members of the SA Institute of Civil Engineers to increase the pool of black engineers in South Africa. Of the top 10 critical scarce skills in South Africa now, three – IT, engineering and finance – are supported by PROTEC. Working with high schools within target areas, PROTEC identifies and selects learners with potential in STEM subjects.

Education support is provided in maths, science and English, and world of work life skills lessons by facilitators and tutors under the management of a PROTEC branch and project manager through PROTEC’s comprehensive e-learning platform and facilitation. This hybrid model is crucial to our aim to be a leading STEM education support provider.

HARNESSING STEM EDUCATION SUPPORT TO IMPACT SCARCE SKILLS BALAN MOODLEY, CEO of PROTEC, shares the organisation’s work in the education space

TOP RESULTS Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the PROTEC model in matric, through tertiary education and in STEM careers. We estimate that over 30 000 learners from disadvantaged communities have successfully passed through the PROTEC programme and are qualified engineers, doctors, scientists, educators, and other professional people, and about 85 per cent of our alumni are employed by corporates in South Africa.

Our matric results, both before and during the pandemic, have been excellent, with our

Class of 2021 achieving a 99.5 per cent pass rate and a significant 78.2 per cent bachelor pass rate.

Noteworthy are the 2021 matric results from PROTEC’s AngloGold Ashanti Project, which has been running since 2019 for 39 learners in Balan Moodley Diepsloot. They achieved a 100 per cent pass rate and a 95 per cent bachelor pass. But most significant is the improvement in results. In maths alone, the top six learners had an average of 35 per cent in 2019 and matriculated with a combined average of 84 per cent in 2021.

THREE-PRONGED APPROACH Our experience shows that our success is founded on three key aspects: 1. The people we employ and train to manage and deliver the programme in the field.

2. Our flexible operational model, managed with stringent accountability.

3. Our funders who enable the delivery of our programme.

All three must be balanced for optimal success.

However, our adaptability means that when funding increases, the model allows growth in reach and capacity to expand our facilitator and tutor base.

LOOKING AHEAD We’ll continue our efforts to build and strengthen partnerships with like-minded organisations that share our vision of young people in successful STEM careers, taking their place in a brighter future for South Africa.

We’re committed to continuous evaluation and re-engineering of our strategies to ensure we remain relevant as an NPO in STEM education support. Under consideration are plans to expand PROTEC’s geographical reach and support of a larger number of beneficiaries; ongoing development of our e-learning platform; introducing a more structured approach towards empowering beneficiaries to put their learnt theory into practice; equipping learners to adapt to the changing employment landscape; and developing a programme to assist teachers in the GET (grades 8 and 9) and FET (grades 10 to 12).

For more information, visit www.protec.org.za, or email balan@protec.org.za

EDUCATION SUPPORT IS PROVIDED IN MATHS, science and English, and world OF WORK LIFE SKILLS LESSONS BY FACILITATORS AND TUTORS UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF A PROTEC BRANCH AND PROJECT MANAGER. CSI

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Meet Kgabo, a bright young man well on his way to greatness.

HOW JUST IS OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, 28 YEARS LATER?

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otwithstanding 28 years into our constitutional democracy, we are still plagued by high rates of unemployment, violent crime, insufficient infrastructure,poor service delivery, as well as by corruption, and mismanagement in our government departments.

As a fledgling democratic nation, we bear the brunt and deep scars of our oppressive past. Inevitably, therefore, the mammoth task of repatriation and restoration remains our top-most priority. Or at least it should. One of the key indicators of a wholly emancipated society is the equitable realisation of social development and social justice. However, we are a nation fraught with inequality and the uneven distribution of resources; where sectors of our society remain sadly marginalised. Thus, when we take a critical look at how far we’ve come, in the realisation of an equitable society and social development for all, we are found to be lacking.

When compared to our intra and inter-continental counterparts, our Constitution is hailed as one of the most progressive and transformative constitutions the world over. It is the cornerstone of our democracy and is founded on the universal values of human dignity, the achievement of equality, and the development of human rights and freedom. At present, despite 26 years of its existence, our Constitution and the values espoused in the Bill of Rights, thereof, remain seemingly elusive.

However, not all is doom and gloom. Over the last 28 years, we as Afrika Tikkun have been agents of change and have firmly stood as beacons of hope. Ours has been to light the torch of hope and keep it burning in impoverished communities around South Africa. Since the rise of a new dawn for South Africa, from the ashes of Apartheid; we have been at the forefront of implementing an impactful social development and equitable social justice strategy.

Our late Patron-in-Chief, Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela together with our founding members, the late Bertie Lubner and Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris; had the foresight and vision of empowering and equipping our youth with development-centric programmes, accessible at every touchpoint of the growth journey. Today, in implementing our social development and community-based programmes, we are guided by fundamental social justice principles. These principles are tantamount to our constitutional values of human rights, access, participation, and equity for all.

Whilst carrying out our holistic, award-winning, Cradleto-Career 360-degrees model of Social Support Services; our primary focus has been on wraparound development

For more information on Afrika Tikkun’s initiatives, visit www.afrikatikkun.org

solutions. At our five Centres of Excellence in Alexandra, Braamfontein, Diepsloot, Orange Farm, and Mfuleni our target is young people from the ages 3 to 35 years. In essence, we are primarily concerned with restoring dignity, and equality and bringing about tangible transformation within our communities.

Some of our most recent community-based initiatives and campaigns include our Child and Youth Development (CYD) #UntoldStories Campaign. Our recently launched CYD campaign is aimed at highlighting the disheartening plight and stories of our beneficiaries. It is a campaign that also strives to expose the harsh realities and barriers that many underprivileged children and their families confront daily.

Our Urban Agripreneurship Incubation Project is another community-based project, operating in Dieplsloot, Orange Farm and Mfuleni. It is intended to increase access to nutritious fresh produce and create decent livelihoods and improve incomes. It is an initiative aimed to equip the unemployed youth with the skills to launch their agri-businesses.

In the recent past, throughout the distressing COVID-19 pandemic, we mobilised a community-level response in the townships. In light of the extremely crowded township environments, poor sanitation, water, and food shortages, as well a high rate of unemployment; we were still able to lend our support through our Neighbour-to-Neighbour programme. We scaled up our supplies of food and essentials to vulnerable families in Alexandra, Braamfontein, Diepsloot, and Orange Farm; as well as in Mfuleni in the Western Cape.

Parallel to our aforementioned efforts is our Digitisation programme. We resolutely believe and are wholly cognisant that our young people deserve a competitive edge in this digital world. To this end, we have accelerated the integration of digital tools into our educational programs. Our upcoming Learning Libraries-Digital Commons Project envisions the expansion of valuable learning library spaces into a digital commons space.

At present, the legacy of Afrika Tikkun continues in the hands of Bertie’s son Marc Lubner, and the Afrika Tikkun community that upholds youth development as the hallmark of change. Together with our stakeholders, partners, and public volunteers we are impacting lives. As a leading non-profit organisation in the fields of education, skills, and social development, our commitment remains unwavering: to impact South Africa for the long term, one inspired young life at a time.

T E ACHER T R A INING Earthchild Project: Teacher training session

Jakes Gerwel Fellowship teacher training session

Ongoing professional development training equips teachers to be informed on changes in the curriculum, learning methods and emerging classroom technologies, writes DENISE MHLANGA

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or years now, business organisations implementation of curriculum, enabling teachers through their various corporate social to better guide learners in career choices and investment (CSI) projects have been doing subjects they need to study. their part to address teacher-training needs.

Additionally, many school management teams Improving educational quality and have learnt to be self-reliant, resulting in many learning outcomes in schools remains the growing vegetable gardens. Produce sold to greatest challenge of democratic South Africa, teachers and the community generates income, says Nomaxabiso Matjila, Liberty Group CSI and some is used for feeding schemes within lead specialist. the schools.

“By acknowledging the prevailing challenges and recognising the value of programmes TECHNOLOGY TRAINING that address teacher and school leadership Zaheera Soomar, global head of Anglo American development, we take a significant step towards Education Programmes, says the Anglo American a more equitable and promising future for all South Africa (AASA) Education Programme helps children in South Africa.” to train teachers through direct coaching in Liberty’s Penreach Courageous the classroom, building specific skills in subjects Leadership Development Programme like maths and science, hands-on support and (PCLDP) aims to implement a school skills-building in ICT, and adoption of technology leadership and management transformation in the classroom. programme to enhance learning effectiveness Soomar says lack of classroom resources, and improve learner’s performances. which often result in poor quality teaching and Each school is assigned an expert learning, is one of the challenges faced by Penreach Change Agent (coach), with extensive teachers, hence AASA has stepped in to help experience and a record of solve some of these issues. success as a school principal.

“Our teacher programme She says the PCLDP focuses on professional programme offers intensive teacher development, and coaching and mentorship of we also work with other school management teams in projects within our the improvement of teacher organisation to address professionalism, and ultimately social, health and nutrition a system in which teaching is issues within the community.” performed by individuals that are Following the COVID-19 themselves adept at learning. pandemic, which disrupted Matjila says training has resulted learning globally, the HP Zaheera Soomar in better understanding and Innovation and Digital

“OUR TEACHER PROGRAMME FOCUSES ON PROFESSIONAL TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, AND WE ALSO WORK WITH OTHER PROJECTS WITHIN OUR ORGANISATION TO ADDRESS SOCIAL, HEALTH AND NUTRITION ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.” – ZAHEERA SOOMAR 14

WELLNESS TRAINING Earthchild Project’s Teacher Training Programme empowers teachers through a holistic and experiential approach to education, personal wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

Director Janna Kretzmar says the programme is currently run in Khayelitsha and Lavender Hill in Cape Town and includes a retreat and wellness programme introduced in 2015.

Educators are an integral part of learners’ success, and due to stress, limited learning resources and the pressures of the learning environment many teachers are not adequately fulfilling this role.

“The challenges have improved our working relationships with school leadership and further enhanced the development of the Teacher Training Programme,” says Kretzmar.

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TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Education Academy was launched worldwide in 2020 to empower teachers to use digital tools to conduct their lessons.

In 2021, the programme was launched in South Africa, says Mayank Dhingra, HP Inc senior education business leader for the Middle East, Africa, and Central Europe regions.

He says the training entails enabling access to quality technology and training to support the new educational ecosystem and classroom of the future.

One such initiative is HP IDEA, which provides educators with the right skills and prepares them for hybrid education and work models to facilitate better learning outcomes while helping to close the digital divide.

“The pandemic has accelerated digitalisation within the education system and training educators make for better and improved learning within our schools,” says Dhingra.

Kaya Nyati, head of strategic communications at the Jakes Gerwel Fellowship (JGF), says the entity funds teacher training through innovation and lead change.

Nyati says the JGF’s technology-supported selection platform can handle high applicant numbers at scale, enabling educators to graduate within a year through the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) scholarship with academic support, tutoring, coaching, and mentoring.

“Our Newly Qualified Teaching programme supports their retention and growth as teachers,” says Nyati.

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T HOUGH T L E A DERSHIP: C SI INSIGH T

QUICK LESSONS THAT EVERY CSI MANAGER NEEDS TO LEARN Management accountant at Metropolitan and co-founder of the Reggie Meyer Education Fund REAGAN MEYER provides quick lessons in how corporate CSI managers can make a real difference in this world

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hen I got involved with futsal-based mentorship nonprofit organisation (NPO) training4changeS, I did so from a place of passion. Not only did I love football, but I grew up in a community where too many young boys were without male mentors in their lives.

Today, I proudly and passionately sit on the training4changeS board of directors, and work closely with the development of more than 45 boys, giving them the life skills and lessons they need to thrive in a modern world.

Once the NPO gained some momentum, I went on to establish the Reggie Meyer Education Fund to provide bursaries to help the boys from the Futsal Academy access a top-quality high school education. My father, Reggie, inspired me with his belief in the power of education to change a person’s life. All of this happened quite naturally as I tuned into my passions and set out to make a difference. This is my passion. This is my impact, and it’s working.

If you’re from the corporate world and wondering how you could go about making an impact in this world, perhaps its time to look inward and follow these lessons I have learned over the years.

FIND YOUR PASSION AND COMMIT TO IT

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I believe that passion and commitment are the two biggest drivers of change in this world.

You can have all the money in the world and hand over the biggest cheques, but if you are not passionate and committed to the cause you are supporting, then the cause is lost.

MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH Of course, over the years, I have dealt with many corporates. In all that time, I have learned one very important lesson: that money is not enough. Corporates should also look

into volunteering their time and skills if they truly want to make a difference.

We are obviously grateful for any support we receive, but my experience tells me that if corporates want to make a difference they need to look beyond the bottom line.

PLAN LIKE A BUSINESS If you’re a business, you are always looking five to ten years ahead, making strategic decisions that will impact the future growth of your organisation. Yet, when it comes to CSI, why aren’t businesses doing the same thing?

So many institutions I have been in contact with are short-sighted. They fund one organisation this year, and then 2 000 more apply to them for funding, and they move on to the next one the following year. Is that really how we should measure impact?

throwing one million rand at 10 000 children and hoping it sticks.

If you can follow these philosophies, then you can make a sustainable change in this world, one that will have an impact and continue to change lives year on year. Isn’t that why we are doing this in the first place?

It’s time we change our approach and do so with the power of passion.

I BELIEVE THAT PASSION AND COMMITMENT ARE THE TWO BIGGEST DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN THIS WORLD.

BUILD LASTING RELATIONSHIPS Look to build lasting relationships with charitable organisations aligned with your values and what you do as a business. This is the basis of creating a partnership that can create sustainable growth within communities and NPOs. As an example, Metropolitan and training4changeS have significant synergies.

As an NPO, we are looking after the holistic wellbeing of our beneficiaries. As a business, Metropolitan strives to do the same things for its customers. It’s a perfect fit and a shared purpose.

IMPACT MUST BE SUSTAINABLE, ALWAYS Why fund and forget when you can create sustainable change? That is the fundamental question that needs to be answered by every corporate with a CSI budget. Sustainability can’t always be measured in numbers; it is measured in impact. A small initiative with a large, long-term impact is better than

Reagan Meyer

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ENABLING POSITIVE FUTURES “At Old Mutual Insure, we have a responsible business programme that enables us to act responsibly towards our customers, employees, our broader communities, and the natural environment. Our aim is to deliver innovative corporate social investments to contribute to transformative, impactful, and sustainable socio-economic development in our communities. We do this through a deliberately inclusive approach and by promoting social legitimacy and shared value. In addition to the financial contribution made by the company, we also encourage our employees to volunteer and partake in initiatives to make a difference in their communities,” says Antonia Oakes, Old Mutual Insure’s Executive for Customer Experience and Responsible Business.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Our strategic partnerships aim to deliver solutions that purposefully drive social impact. We strive to foster, embed, and strengthen our collaboration networks for social justice and cohesion.

Old Mutual Insure partnered with the Reach for a Dream Foundation to raise funds through the sale of a coffee table book

INSURE DO GREAT THINGS EVERY DAY Old Mutual Insure Limited is a licensed FSP and non-life Insurer.

called In Good Company, featuring 32 South African greats. The proceeds of the book sales will go towards building a Dream room at the Lambano Sanctuary, a children’s hospice in Gauteng. This Dream room will be a space for the children and parents, who face the toughest of times, to play, relax, and experience some enjoyment.

Children in many schools in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape are subjected to an under-resourced, overcrowded education system. Almost 40% of learners do not graduate from high school and the vast majority of Gqeberha’s youth face financial instability, with unemployment rates as high as 80% in townships. Since 2019, the Ubuntu Pathways Job Skills Training (JST) programme has prepared hundreds of young people for the workforce through professional workshops and workplacespecific vocational training. The JST programme made possible through Old Mutual Insure’s long-standing partnership with Ubuntu Pathways, targets out-of-school youth aged 18 to 25. Ubuntu Pathways places most of the youth in rewarding employment opportunities and offers a spectrum of wraparound support, including health and counselling services, as well as access to a supportive alumni community.

With a partnership that dates back over 20 years, we aim to set a new global standard for vocational training in disadvantaged communities.

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT We support job creation by championing our entrepreneurs and small businesses. We endeavour to reinforce sustainability in the mainstream economy by providing adequate training and investment.

Mo’s Crib is a proudly South African brand that reuses and recycles materials to produce sustainable hand-made decor items. We partnered with the Lean Enterprise Acceleration Programme (LEAP) to provide enterprise development support for Mo’s Crib. Our investment will be used to develop and implement a business plan to increase the financial and operational independence of Mo’s Crib and to improve their growth opportunities within the market.

In 2019, we embarked on an initiative that focuses on period poverty by addressing the need of young girls and women in under-resourced areas to gain access to sanitary products. As a result of this initiative, 12 women in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga are employed to make and distribute reusable sanitary pads. To date, over 35,200 women and girls received these reusable sanitary pads and effectively protected the environment by reducing landfill of disposable sanitary pads by approximately 48.4 tonnes.

We are proud to support the Cape Innovation & Technology Initiative (CiTi) Women in Business programme aimed at providing strategic and developmental support to female entrepreneurs in their pursuance of entrepreneurial excellence. We have sponsored thirty (30) women to benefit from this programme which creates a supportive space for female entrepreneurs to gain an in-depth, hands-on experiential learning experience of game-changing tools available to aid in the growth and development of their business.

CLIMATE CHANGE Old Mutual Insure is dedicated to partnering with communities to increase awareness and build climate change resilience at the local and community level.

As part of our efforts to combat climate change and its impacts and in celebration of International Day of Forests in March 2022, we partnered with Food & Trees for Africa to plant 1,500 trees in Zwelitsha in the Eastern Cape. Over the next 40 years, these trees will absorb more than 276.75 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and reduce the heat-island effect within the community.

We are donating boreholes to various communities and schools in underprivileged areas plagued by water scarcity, starting with Dumazi High School in Giyani, Limpopo. This is the beginning of a long-term initiative which will incorporate greening and education on the efficient use of water resources.

HUMANITARIAN AND EMERGENCY RELIEF The past two years have been particularly hard for South African communities - severely affected by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, further exacerbated by the riots in July 2021.

This had a negative effect on economic activity, with massive job losses causing widespread poverty. We are committed to uplifting the socioeconomic conditions experienced by our communities by providing timely and appropriate relief in times of need.

The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal left many vulnerable communities in dire need of the necessities such as shelter, food and water. We partnered with several organizations including Gift of the Givers Foundation, Paw Paw Foundation, Imbumba Foundation, Siphiwe Tshabalala Foundation and Mama’s Alliance to meet the needs of the affected communities with food parcels, clean water, toiletries, cleaning items, and baby necessities. Our employees also made donations of cash and non-perishable goods towards the affected communities.

We also assist those affected by natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and drought. We recently donated 12 Husqvarna backpack fire blowers to farmers in the Free State who had been affected by wildfires. These farmers are now equipped in the first response to contain fires and to prevent the rapid spread of fire and greater damage.

At Old Mutual Insure, we recognize our role in society and commit to relief efforts and the creation of sustainable opportunities to address the socio-economic challenges faced by our communities.

There are 2 400 registered female engineers and 8 905 female candidate engineers at the Engineering Council of South Africa.

CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS We profile two projects helping grow women’s contributions to the manufacturing sector. By JAMES FRANCIS

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anufacturing and its related industries make up a considerable part of the South African economy. According to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), manufacturing contributes 13 per cent to gross domestic product and employs around 11 per cent of the country’s working population.

These numbers help distinguish South Africa as a manufacturing powerhouse for the continent, which the Brooking Institute predicts could exceed $1-trillion (roughly R15-trillion) by 2025. It is well-positioned to lead the opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area, which went into force in May 2021. Notably, the African Union considers Africa’s manufacturing sector a priority, especially in light of its Agenda 2063.

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Yet to match those ambitions, the sector needs to grow. South Africa has a distinct shortage of skills for the sector, notably engineering skills and artisan qualifications, but also skills in areas such as heavy commercial and industrial transport. Women represent an excellent opportunity to fill in those gaps.

WHY WOMEN?, WHY NOT? “People say to me, ‘but why women, why should we employ women? There are so many men looking for employment, why should we go through the hassle of employing women?’,” says Nicci Scott, chief executive officer of the Commercial Transport Academy (CTA). “But the real question is, ‘why not?’ Why are we choosing to ignore 50 per cent of the population in a position where they are totally capable of performing on par, or if not better, than men?”

Statistics from the dtic reveal that less than a quarter – 24.4 per cent – of women in South Africa hold craft and trade positions in the manufacturing sector. The balance is clearly towards men, who represent 77 per cent of jobs in manufacturing, engineering and related services, according to the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM).

Some women are interested – there are 2 400 female registered persons and 8 905 female candidate engineer registrations in the

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SK IL L S DE V EL OPMEN T

The dtic reports that 24.4 per cent of craft and trade positions in the manufacturing sector are held by women.

WE’VE BEEN WORKING HARD TO EXPAND WORKPLACE EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TVET STAFF AND STUDENTS.” – COLIN HAGANS Men still represent 77 per cent of jobs in manufacturing, engineering and related services, but more women are joining as they become exposed to roles in the sector.

Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) – but much more can be done to encourage women to join the manufacturing world, such as breaking perceptions that it is only a “dirty” industry and exposing people to successful women in the sector.

“People still have this idea that working in the manufacturing sector means it’s dirty and you’re in overalls, and it’s hot in the foundries and all of that stuff,” says Shivani Singh, commercial director at NAACAM. The tide can change, though, thanks to the efforts of local skills development and transfer initiatives that target women. We look at two examples. One is an initiative that pursues better Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curricula to complement the automotive industry, and the second provides direct training to women for high-level transportation skills.

WOMEN IN AUTO MANUFACTURING The Automotive sector is one of South Africa’s leading manufacturing sectors. In 2018, Deloitte estimated that the sector directly employed around 110 000 people and contributed 6.8 per cent to GDP – split between 4.3 per cent from manufacturing and 2.5 per cent from retail. According to NAACAM’s Women In Manufacturing Gender Equity And Social Inclusion Research, men represent 66.6 per cent of roles in the sector.

However, the proportion of women has grown from 29.8 per cent in 2016 to 33.4 per cent in 2021.

The South African Automotive Masterplan 2035 vision looks toward “a globally competitive and transformed industry

that actively contributes to the sustainable development of South Africa’s productive economy, creating prosperity for industry stakeholders and broader society”.

Transformation is vital for the sector. Its emphasis on high-value skills prompted the creation of High Gear, an initiative represented

by NAACAM, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and TVET colleges, and managed by the International Youth Foundation (IYF). It receives funding from the UK Government’s Skills for Prosperity Programme, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

“Auto components manufacturing is highly technically complex – every component that goes into a vehicle is safety-critical,” explains Singh. “It’s not like if my shirt buttonhole is fractionally bigger, someone is going to die. But in the auto sector, a mistake means somebody could die. It is extremely technically complex.”

Such precision requires the relevant skills, of which there is a shortage. But there is a disharmony between how people are trained and what the industry needs. High Gear tackles this by helping to connect TVET institutions and auto component manufacturers, using workshops to create consensus. It also provides education kits and workplace exposure to both learners and educators. This is particularly important because, according to High Gear’s research, workplace and career exposure is a powerful way to attract more women into the sector.

“We’ve been working hard to expand workplace exposure opportunities for TVET staff and students,” says Colin Hagans,

programme director for High Gear at IYF South Africa. “In that type of work, we strive to ensure there’s equal representation of young women and men participating in those opportunities, or that all female mentors who want to participate in those get equal access.”

Implemented in 2019, High Gear is producing industry engagement opportunities, collaborative sessions between industry people and educators, and education kits that provide the tools of the automotive component trade. It recently launched Yakh’ifuture, a portal where prospective learners can discover career paths in the industry. Yet while its focus is on automotive components, there is great potential to seed other industries with technical and engineering skills, says Singh.

“Our thinking with the work we’re doing is if you can cut it in the auto sector, the other industrial sectors are a lot easier to enter.

High Gear is developing a general industrial base that’s going to allow us to unlock other opportunities. Other sectors are closely related to us – rail, defence, maritime – and everybody will tell you the lack of engineering skills is significant in all those areas.”

It is, in fact, very low. The ECSA estimates South Africa has 1 engineer per 3 166 people, compared to 1 to 227 in Brazil and 1 to 543 in Malaysia. High Gear works to address that shortfall with a transformation focus that tackles the industry’s gender imbalance. Likewise, its focus on education standards involving colleges and industry can work well for other sectors.

“We would like to see more industry associations get involved in this type of work and replicate the High Gear model in a way that benefits both their member firms and the future of young South Africans,” says Hagans.

“Particularly in ways that strengthen the TVET system and other public education sectors. We would love to collaborate with other industry associations and are eager to start exploring and replicating that with other groups.”

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SK IL L S DE V EL OPMEN T

WOMEN HIT THE ROAD

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one of the most challenging barriers to establishing a business.So WIWIT is not just a skills programme. I think it’s really important that the industry understands that these women are building the hours, experience and business skills.”

IN IT TOGETHER

Celebrating the launch of Iron Women.

wear and tear. In terms of the bottom line, it makes perfect sense to employ a woman. There is a direct bottom-line saving to having women in the business.”

Supported by Hollard Trucking and Volvo Trucks, as well as USAID, WIWIT aims to create a generation of women qualified for high-level truck jobs, and the business and entrepreneurial skills to help make their mark in an insular industry.

“My experience with the transport sector is that it can be a very closed environment, where it’s very much about who your network is,” Scott notes. “Coming in as a new entrant, and being a woman with no background in transport, is

These initiatives exist because professionals put time and effort into growing their industries in principled and sustainable ways. South Africa faces an unemployment rate of 35.3 per cent, of which women make up the majority. At the same time, the world is in transition – new technologies and manufactured goods require industries to adjust.

Projects such as High Gear and WIWIT look to tackle these problems comprehensively, elevating skills development and emphasising transformation as their core values. Yet it is a collaboration between the initiatives, sponsors, industries, public sector, and educators. When the point came up about South Africa’s many challenges and our pervasive negative outlooks on these, Hagans counters that many people want to make a difference.

“There are lots of committed educators in the system – passionate educators who want young people to succeed. South Africa has so many pieces of the puzzle when you look at the different public institutions and the private sector. What we’re really trying to do is get the puzzle pieces together in a way that creates those connections and a fuller picture that benefits young people and employers. I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom. There are actually a lot of positives in the country. Hopefully, we’re unlocking that.”

“IN TERMS OF THE BOTTOM LINE, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO EMPLOY A WOMAN. THERE IS A DIRECT BOTTOM-LINE SAVING TO HAVING WOMEN IN THE BUSINESS.” – NICCI SCOTT BRIDGING THE DIVIDE • nternal factors helping women HELPING WOMEN SUCCEED IN have internal motivators such as drive, determination and a passion and interest THEIR CAREERS for their industry.

Women face greater barriers than men • raining and development women in most careers. NAACAM’s Women need opportunities to participate In Manufacturing Gender Equity And in company-organised training Social Inclusion (Gesi) Research report and development. highlights several such challenges, • upportive families a supportive many of which are not malicious, but family that stands behind its daughters more due to entrenched attitudes. To helps motivate them enormously. help women succeed in their careers, • entors mentors are essential to guide, the report highlights the following coach and support women factors based on numerous interviews in their studies and careers, and help them with successful female professionals in establish professional networks. the manufacturing sector:

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Transport is not where you might expect to find women. But as the CTA’s CEO, Nicci Scott, noted earlier, why not? Scott experienced the issue first-hand when she ran a niche transport company that, among other things, moved new commercial trucks on behalf of manufacturers.

During this time, Scott could see that the industry required more qualified drivers.

“The drivers really needed to be able to handle themselves across multiple gearboxes, engines and technology advancements. We spent a tremendous amount of money, time and effort developing these drivers. We worked with most of the OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and found that the OEMs got to a point where they want to be able to take a highly skilled and schooled truck driver from you and offer them a job. There is a shortage of skilled and capable truck drivers. Many individuals have acquired their licences legitimately. But they don’t have any training to be able to secure a high-level job.”

These reasons prompted her to launch the CTA to teach people these skills. Then the CTA spearheaded an ambitious project, the Women Inspiring Women to Lead in Transport (WIWIT).

This project aims to train over 900 women to qualify as highly-skilled transportation drivers.

Since 2021, it has already trained 83 women in Gauteng and recently launched its Western Cape chapter, which is training over 40 more.

According to one of the sponsors, Hollard, women represent a mere 1.2 per cent of the total working driver population in South Africa. WIWIT aims to change that. It provides three distinct programmes: Run With It (business skills), the CTA Excellence Programme (leadership and management skills), and Iron Women (training qualified truck drivers). Other than gaining a code 14 licence with prerequisite experience, the trainees also get instruction in soft skills, says Scott.

“We do a huge amount of soft skills development – they do thirteen soft skills.

On top of that, they work on mind and body, and stuff around mindset. We also work on diet and exercise. All the iron women exercise every single day before class at our premises.

We look at reasonable and responsible food choices so that they don’t end up with lifestyle diseases and other risks such as depression and HIV. We’re really helping them understand the potential pitfalls in the industry and how to navigate them.”

Women may bring even more to the table than men do. Scott cites research commissioned by the CTA that suggests female truck drivers are better for the bottom lines of transportation companies.

“Data clearly shows that women are performing 72 per cent higher in a number of metrics such as fuel consumption and vehicle

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SMME

TRANSFORMING THE TOWNSHIP ECONOMY The Community Transformation Accelerator Programme plans to radically transform the township economy, making businesses more profitable. TIISETSO TLELIMA finds out more

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study done by the Research Project on Employment, Income Distribution and Inclusive Growth shows that one in every six workers is employed in the informal sector, which makes up a total of 17 per cent of South Africa’s employment, yet the sector remains underfunded and largely forgotten by both government and the private sector. This is why programmes such as the Community Transformation Accelerator Programme (CTAP) must exist to assist community-based businesses to become more profitable and sustainable.

CTAP CEO Terence Nkwashu says the vast majority of small businesses failing within the informal sector are noncompliant in one way or another, which makes it virtually impossible for the government and the private sector to engage with them. From a systemic point of view, Nkwashu purports that the problem lies with data collation. “You can’t fly a plane in the dark without instruments,” he explains. “Small business owners must realise that the only way to prosper in the future necessitates them incorporating fourth industrial revolution methodologies into their businesses.”

Born out of a need to support and develop small businesses in townships and rural communities, CTAP focuses on the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The programme develops small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) through six interventions – which include technological development, training, mentoring, networking, marketing, and funding. “We believe that by supporting small businesses, communities will be empowered to develop circular Terence Nkwashu

Thembis Place in Alexandra, JHB

“WE BELIEVE THAT BY SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES, COMMUNITIES WILL BE EMPOWERED TO DEVELOP CIRCULAR ECONOMIES.” – TERENCE NKWASHU economies,” explains Nkwashu. “If the same rand can be spent multiple times within a community, we are well on our way to building a robust economy that leads to job creation.

Employment promotes pride and a sense of belonging and ownership.”

SMMEs amount to an overwhelming majority of private sector business and economic activity in developed and developing countries, such as South Africa. Given the role of SMMEs in the global economy, it is pivotal to understand their importance and potential to provide peace and prosperity. Nkwashu adds that government interventions alone are not enough to meet the goals required to support community-based enterprises. “There is a growing need for collaborators and funding entities to participate in the development of the township and rural economies to create new ways for existing township entrepreneurs to expand and grow while accommodating new emerging entrepreneurs,” says Nkwashu.

The CTAP connects SMMEs with key industry players to form mutually beneficial relationships.

Nkwashu believes that to grow the economy and support a more inclusive approach to commerce, emphasis must be placed on the localisation of distribution networks.

In terms of technology, CTAP provides FMCG SMMEs with “point-of-sale” devices linked to a cloud-based ecosystem. This technology allows business owners to implement better financial management systems. It also helps them have a better view of profit margins, what stock moves fast or not, what quantities should be purchased when and how to manage the cash flow of the business optimally. However, the incorporation of technology in businesses has proven to be the biggest stumbling block in the programme.

“An estimated 40 per cent of the businesses we have engaged with thus far failed to onboard the technology into their businesses,” says Nkwashu. “Logistical restraints contributed to an extent, but the major challenge is to instil the willingness to change their behaviour.”

The remaining 60 per cent of the businesses who have been able to successfully incorporate the technology have all doubled their profit margins, adds Nkwashu. “It is also notable to mention this happened in the middle of the lockdown; these businesses have proven that with a little support and a lot of willingness to improve their livelihoods, success is certain.”

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS MUST REALISE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO PROSPER IN THE FUTURE NECESSITATES THEM INCORPORATING FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION METHODOLOGIES INTO THEIR BUSINESSES.” – TERENCE NKWASHU CSI

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Green is the new gold.

Or is it?

Imagine for a moment that it is the year 2035, and we are living in a world in which the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have been realised.

Imagine for a moment that South Africa has achieved its green-economy aspirations.

Suspend for a moment whatever doubts or disbelief you may have about the achievement of the SGDs and South Africa’s green economic future, and allow your mind for a minute to visualise this.

There is no doubt that for some of you the green vision is less about what we have and use, and more about what we don’t have and don’t use. A world in which the responsible use of resources is ingrained in our culture. Where our first thought is how we can reuse an item, not how we can throw it away.

For us at Nedbank, green is new the gold.

We see it as imperative that we all avoid focusing on the challenges of achieving South Africa’s green-economy

Without a doubt, this future world will look different for each of us, because we all have our own personal hopes, dreams, and priorities for a greener, better future.

However, even with that, we all have the same basic needs.

A green tomorrow includes enough food for everyone, no poverty, and, especially for our country, a significantly lower unemployment rate.

It’s a world in which the overwhelming majority of our enthusiastic and talented young South Africans are gainfully employed, giving life to their entrepreneurial spirits, and contributing to the sustainable growth of our country.

Maybe your vision of a future green South Africa includes vast rolling fields of healthy crops, tendered to by a content and well-paid labour force, and dotted by rows of wind turbines silently powering the surrounding towns and cities.

aspirations and start getting excited about the opportunities that it presents – not only once we have reached that green destination, but also as an integral part of the journey there.

At the end of 2021, Nedbank took a conscious decision to focus on opportunities presented by our country’s move towards a green economy, not just for the benefit of our business (and there are many commercial benefits to be unlocked), but also to give full effect to our purpose, which is to use our financial expertise to do good.

We recognise the green economy as the only viable way of achieving sustainable development that meets the diverse needs of our people, without leaving future generations less able to meet their needs and, very importantly, without putting our vital natural resources at risk.

For us, a truly green economy is one that balances low carbon emissions, resource efficiency and human well-being, while reducing the impact on the environment and scarce ecological assets. We have always been an organisation that recognises the vital link between humans and nature, and our sustainability efforts over the years have reflected this understanding and commitment.

Or maybe your vision of a green economy leans more towards the colour blue, with all South Africans having access to safe drinking water, and coastlines that are clean, thriving and easily supporting the communities that live off their bounty.

Nedbank Ltd 1951/000009/06 - licensed FSP & registered CP (NCRCP16).

growth, reduced inequalities, and sustainable cities. They are all integral components of a truly green economy, so our strategy amplifies our efforts and effectiveness regarding each of the SDGs making up our Sustainable Development Framework.

But we knew we needed to do more.

At a practical level, we are working to deliver on this ambition to unlock the ‘gold in green’ by supporting projects that have high potential to deliver progress in quality education, skills development, entrepreneurship and job creation across the four main green-economy sectors we have identified, which

A changing world demands an evolving and dynamic social investment approach. We made the decision to put the green ec onomy at the very core of who we are as an organisation that does good. We did this by implementing a bold new c orporate social investment anchor strategy called the Green Ec onomy.

This anchor strategy is essentially the expression of our understanding that the green economy represents the vital link between economic growth, social protection, and preserving the natural ecosystem.

This strategy is our way of being a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, primarily by leveraging the opportunities presented by the evolving green economy to grow entrepreneurship and employment. Put another way, Nedbank recognises that green is the new gold for South Africa, and we are determined to ensure that all South Africans benefit from it.

Our Green Economy strategy sharpens the focus of our enti re group on the responsibility we have to ensure that everything we do from a social and environmentalsustainability perspective contributes to the achievement of the green-economy ambitions of the countries in which we ope rate. It effectively refines our purpose to do good, with a clear end goal in place.

Wh at’s more, our Green Economy strategy is also an important overlay on our broader commitment to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Nedbank’s Sustainable Development Framework prioritises nine of these SDGs as areas in which we believe we can deliver the biggest societal, economic and environmental impact. These range from clean water and sanitation, affordable clean energy, and responsible consumption to decent work and economic

are water, energy, waste and agriculture. Effectively, we will be using our CSI as a catalyst to unlock economic growth opportunities in rural and peri-urban communities that are commercially scalable and ecologically sustainable, by leveraging technology, innovation and partnerships.

While we are committed to making sure that access to opportunities presented by the green economy is shared among as many South Africans as possible, we know that alone we can do only so much. Together, on the other hand, our impact is significantly multiplied, and conferences like this are the fertile ground in which the seeds of effective collaboration are sown.

We look forward to partnering with all of you to go from merely imagining a green, sustainable, inclusive, and opportunity-rich South Africa, to building it together.

Private sector youth intiative YES was launched to address youth unemployment.

GOVERNMENT IS FAILING THE YOUTH Government initiated and funded programmes and incentives to address youth unemployment have achieved very little, and the youth unemployment rate continues to soar. By DUMA GQUBULE

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ver the past 13 years, government has introduced numerous programmes to address the country’s youth unemployment crisis, a ticking time bomb that could soon trigger an uprising similar to the Soweto riots of 1976 or the Arab Spring of the early 2010s.

The South African government has wasted money, and the scale of the programmes has been inadequate to address the crisis. The number of unemployed youths has soared, and a staggering 77 per cent of South Africans aged 15–24 are now unemployed, according to

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Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021.

In January 2014, National Treasury introduced a youth employment tax incentive or wage subsidy to encourage employers to create jobs for young people aged 18–29. Between the 2013/2014 and 2019/2020 fiscal years, companies received subsidies worth R24.9-billion, according to National Treasury tax expenditure statements. Since then, companies have received an additional R17-billion – R10-billion for the two years until 2022, R5-billion in July 2021, and a stimulus

package and 50 per cent increase in the subsidy worth R2.2-billion announced in the 2022 budget. Therefore, companies have received wage subsidies of about R42-billion since the start of the incentive.

Yet, between December 2013 and December 2021, 552 000 young people (aged 15–24) lost their jobs. The number of unemployed young people increased by 384 000. The unemployment rate rose to 77 per cent from 62.6 per cent. Over the same period, 1.3 million young people (aged 15–34) lost their jobs. The number of unemployed young people increased by 2.2 million. The unemployment rate swelled to 60.4 per cent from 45.5 per cent. The evidence shows that subsidy has had no effect on job creation. It is wasteful corporate welfare that could be redirected to expand public employment programmes.

INITIATIVES HAVE HAD NO REAL IMPACT Since he became president in February 2018, Cyril Ramaphosa has announced numerous initiatives to address the youth unemployment crisis. In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), he said: “At the centre of our national agenda in 2018 is the creation of jobs, especially for the youth.” The Youth Employment Service

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YOU T H UNEMPL OY MEN T

YES TO EXPAND

YES hubs will be created in townships to help small businesses.

THERE ARE NO VACANCIES IN THE ECONOMY WAITING TO BE FILLED. THERE IS NO DEMAND FOR WORKERS BECAUSE THERE IS TOO LITTLE MONEY IN THE ECONOMY CHASING TOO MANY GOODS AND SERVICES THAT COMPANIES CAN PRODUCE. (YES), a private sector initiative, would create one million internships in three years. Four years later, the initiative has created 79 355 “work experiences” or one-year internships, according to YES CEO Ravi Naidoo.

In the June 2019 SONA, Ramaphosa set a target to create two million jobs for young people within the next decade. In the 2020 SONA, he launched the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, which had six priority actions over the next five years.

It would be funded by top-slicing one per cent of the budget every year to address the national youth unemployment crisis. The government abandoned the idea soon after the announcement. The government also implemented various public employment scheme programmes. The presidential employment stimulus (PES), established in October 2020 in response to the pandemic-induced recession, spent R23.5-billion until March 2022.

By January 2022, the PES had created work opportunities and supported livelihoods for 857 833 beneficiaries, most of whom were unemployed youth.

This comprised 673 514 work opportunities, 143 920 Ravi Naidoo livelihoods and 40 399 retained

jobs. The target was to support almost 1.3 million work opportunities and livelihoods.

National Treasury has allocated R18.4-billion to the PES over the next two years until 2023/2024.

It will create just over 500 000 short-term work opportunities each year over the period. An analysis of the budgets suggests that these are not full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. SAYouth. mobi, part of the PEI, is a portal that has 2.3 milliion young people who can get access to work, skills development and entrepreneurial opportunities and youth programmes.

The expanded public works programme (EPWP) has a budget of R3.1-billion a year over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) until 2024/2025, which will create about 400 000 FTE jobs a year. The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has a target of 12 000 participants a year over the next three years until 2024/2025 in national youth service volunteer projects. The NYS, part of the PEI, has an allocation of R500-million during the MTEF period. The agency will use R287-million to place 10 000 young people a year over the MTEF period in jobs through the pathway management network.

These programmes have achieved very little over the past 13 years. ›

Four years after it was established with a mission to bring business, government, labour, and civil society together to fast-track opportunities for the unemployed, the Youth Employment Service (YES) has failed to achieve its ambitious targets.

But YES CEO Ravi Naidoo plans to significantly expand the initiative into new areas, especially small businesses in townships.

YES was registered as a nonprofit organisation in October 2018, soon after an amendment to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) legislation was gazetted, allowing companies to get an incentive of enhanced recognition on their BEE scorecards – an increase of one or two levels – for placing unemployed young people in one-year learnership programmes. The YES started operations in January 2019. Today, it has created less than 10 per cent of the work opportunities it was supposed to create.

Naidoo says YES is a business-led collaboration that seeks to reignite the economy and give youth a dignified first chance. A company can place a young person in its own operations or sponsor a learnership in another organisation.

“A limited number of large companies need enhanced BEE recognition.

Therefore, we intend to move beyond BEE. We are establishing YES hubs in townships. So far, we have established the Kagiso Hub in Tembisa, the Genesis Hub in Saldanha and the Ulusha Hub in the Alexandra Mall in Johannesburg.

“At a hub, large companies can sponsor people and projects. Young people can register and access networks, training, and markets with businesses or work opportunities.

We have trained 100 drone pilots and established 3D printing labs. Other opportunities include digital courses, textile manufacturing and ceramic labs, urban farming and small business support centres,” he says.

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R1 335 a month. There must also be free Wi-Fi at all public facilities. “Our challenges in South Africa are unique. Because of apartheid spatial planning, transport costs are huge. A BIG cuts the red tape that young people face when seeking employment and entrepreneurial opportunities and the top-down programmes implemented by bureaucrats with little understanding of the lived experiences of young people. Young people are best placed to decide how to use their basic income. They can decide to look for work or pool it with others to set up small enterprises or co-operatives.”

THE CRIPPLING COST OF JOB-SEEKING

GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE AND BETTER

In 2019, the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg’s Siyakha Youth Assets for Employability Study found that young people spent R938 monthly looking for work. Costs included transport, data or internet usage, printing, certification, copying, postage and scanning, as well as application or agency fees. A recent research report by youth-led advocacy campaign Youth Capital reached the same conclusion. It found that young jobseekers spent up to R500 a month on data and up to R500 a month on transport.

Another finding was that 84 per cent of young people said they had to choose between looking for work and going for interviews, and buying food.

Kristal Duncan-Williams, the project lead at Youth Capital, says: “The costs associated with job-seeking are not coming down and are still locking a high number of young people out of productive activities. If young people continue to be locked out of accessing these opportunities due to income poverty, then we Kristal Duncan-Williams will continue to leave far too many people behind.”

Youth Capital’s action plan to address the youth unemployment crisis calls for government to make job-seeking affordable by creating zero-rated and data-light platforms that work on low-end smartphones.

Social Policy Institute executive director Isobel Frye says the study illustrates the need for South Africa to have a Basic Income Grant (BIG) at the upper-bound poverty line of

“THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH JOB-SEEKING ARE NOT COMING DOWN AND ARE STILL LOCKING A HIGH NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE OUT OF PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES.” – KRISTAL DUNCAN-WILLIAMS 26

While supply-side initiatives that provide skills programmes connect jobseekers with work and opportunities and increase the ability of people to look for jobs are important, the reality is that there are no vacancies in the economy waiting to be filled. There is no demand for

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE After a rewarding career in the financial industry, Lulaway executive chairman Andile Mkhosana has found a new passion – a social enterprise at the forefront of addressing South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis. “Youth unemployment is the single biggest threat to our future. It destroys social cohesion and the fabric of our society.

It limits economic growth,” he says.

Mkhosana teamed up with partners Jake Willis and Errol Freeman, who had established the company in 2011 to help young people cost-effectively and efficiently access job opportunities.

Lulaway uses technology – the power of big data, smart algorithms and mass targeted communications – to bridge the divide between job seekers and employers.

Over the past decade, Lulaway has placed over 100 000 unemployed people into work opportunities and has more than 1 million profiles on its state-of-the-art job-seekers portal. As a leading provider of privately managed

workers because there is too little money in the economy chasing too many goods and services that companies can produce. Companies have massive spare capacity. There are now 12.3 million people aged 15–34 in the labour force. This comprises 4.9 million employed people and 7.4 million who are unemployed.

Because of the scale of the crisis, youth unemployment is a macroeconomic policy issue that cannot be addressed through projects. Since there is a relationship between GDP growth and job creation, the government must implement a large fiscal stimulus so that people have more money to buy the goods and services that companies can produce. It must significantly expand public employment programmes. It must also implement industrial policies that steer production to labour-intensive sectors to increase the pace of job creation.

But all of this depends on finding a short-term solution to the crisis at Eskom.

internships, Lulaway has facilitated over 20 000 internship placements and distributed funding of more than R250-million to unemployed youth.

In 2021, the company bagged its largest assignment when it established a partnership with the Unemployment Insurance Fund that has placed 7 810 unemployed youths in private sector opportunities. A partnership with Absa has provided 12 000 unemployed youth with the bank’s Ready to Work training programme. Already, 6 000 young people have been placed in companies. Lulaway has previously worked with clients such as the Gauteng government, the City of Cape Town, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and many sector education and training authorities.

Mkhosana says Lulaway has conducted research over the past seven years that shows about one in three young people will drop out of employment in their first three months of working. “This high churn rate means that job creation efforts do not have a lasting impact. With this in mind, we established Lulalab, a nonprofit organisation providing an early employment support programme, which includes work-readiness training and ongoing support throughout the duration of their first year of employment with placement partners,” he says.

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past 13 years. Between December 2008 and December 2021, the number of unemployed youths aged 15–34 increased by 4.5 million to 7.4 million. There are now 9.2 million young people aged 15–34 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). A report by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) says: “NEETs are a very large group of young South Africans disconnected from the world of work. They are not participating in the economy in any tangible way, nor are they acquiring useful knowledge or skills that could allow them to join the economy in the future.”

Andile Mkhosana

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T HOUGH T L E A DERSHIP: P OV ER T Y

FIGHTING POVERTY IN

2022 AND BEYOND The face of poverty is rapidly changing, and so are the means to fight it. Afrika Tikkun Foundation has been at the cusp of innovation that eases the suffering of lack and creates a system that breaks the poverty cycle, shares PRECIOUS NALA, marketing and stakeholder relationships at Afrika Tikkun

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frika Tikkun’s Cradle-to-Career model enables holistic and sustainable development, aimed at making young people and communities economically sustainable. This “wraparound” approach breaks the chains of generational poverty. Without basic advantages and access to socioeconomic services and literacy, millions of people in South Africa are locked out of traditional means to save them from poverty.

Those in disadvantaged communities, seeking an education and eventually a job, face multiple obstacles that make the journey to self-reliance a feat won by too few. As children, they lack the nutrition to develop to their full potential as learners, which eventually hampers their chances of making a decent living in a chosen profession later in life. Digital illiteracy has locked many out of the vast pool of education and employment opportunities that await those who can access and build upon basic digital skills.

Fighting poverty requires an in-depth understanding of how these dynamics work at community level, where they exclude millions of South Africans. The Afrika Tikkun Foundation (ATF) expects some aspects of poverty to become worse as a result of food and fuel price inflation this year, combined with low levels of local economic growth and continuous struggles in the country to keep the lights on.

Global events such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and recent market volatility have begun to cause real harm to South Africa’s marginalised masses, driving them deeper into food insecurity and financial uncertainty.

Those who are vulnerable but employed pay an increasingly high percentage of their income to get to work and back and stretch their limited budgets even further as unemployment has increased the number of dependants living off the salaries of South Africa’s breadwinners.

IT TAKES COMPASSION Our holistic approach considers the need for young minds to be developed in an environment of compassion and understanding of their complete spectrum of needs, including nutrition and healthcare access.

Between January and December 2021, the foundation has given out more than 35 000 food parcels, and reached over 21 436 children and young people through various interventions.

The Cradle-to-Career 360° model has earned us recognition for being one of the most impactful organisations in South Africa.

Programmes are designed to enrich young people aged 0–35, focusing on education, nutrition, health, social welfare, personal development and skills development to nourish a young life into a self-confident, capable adult.

Precious Nala

Fighting the many faces of poverty in 2022 requires that we remember what makes us all human and what is worth fighting for. It is a cause that calls for individual reflection and focused mass action. We forge ahead with renewed vigour as we reflect on the achievements of the ATF in 2021.

As an organisation fully entrenched in the communities it uplifts, we know what it takes to fight the scourge of poverty.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE Our vision to end child poverty and youth unemployment is guided by the foundation’s core values of empowerment, responsible kindness, quality, sustainability and ubuntu.

Our early childhood development programme has benefitted 1 241 children, and our after-school programme has reached 3 598 learners.

OUR VISION TO END CHILD POVERTY AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IS GUIDED BY THE FOUNDATION’S CORE VALUES OF EMPOWERMENT, RESPONSIBLE KINDNESS, QUALITY, SUSTAINABILITY AND UBUNTU.

IT TAKES HARD WORK Our career-focused programmes are aimed at allowing young people to become well-rounded, skilled and informed prospective employees and entrepreneurs ready to participate in the economy.

Our youth accelerator programme has assisted 248 young adults, our career development programme has helped 3 110 youths prepare for work opportunities, and 90 bursaries for tertiary education have been awarded. ATF has seen 776 young people trained in work-readiness, and placed 2 604 young people in various economic opportunities.

IT TAKES YOU The pivotal role of civil society and the NGO sector in rebuilding society when disaster strikes has been unquestionable over the last two years, from the onset of COVID-19 to the catastrophic floods in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The indescribably generous spirit of Afrika Tikkun affiliates, including donors, sponsors, and partners has demonstrated the true power of communities working together towards the common goal of ending poverty and promoting prosperity for all.

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A DV ER T ORI A L S O S CHIL DREN’S V IL L AGES

LOVING CARE FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN For 40 years we’ve been providing care for children who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care, shares the SOS Children’s Villages

SOS Children’s Villages build families for children in need.

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OS Children’s Villages is an independent, nongovernmental organisation that advocates for the rights of South Africa’s most marginalised children. We offer loving, family-like care for children and young people who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care. Established in 1984, SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa has 11 programmes across 8 provinces.

This year, SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa celebrates 40 years of providing loving care. Over four decades, SOS Children’s Villages has transformed the lives of many vulnerable children in South Africa.

OUR VISION AND MISSION Every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security.

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We build families for children in need, we help them shape their futures, and we share in the development of their communities.

HOW WE WORK At SOS Children’s Villages, we believe that children can develop to their full potential only if they have a supportive and protective family environment.

We work to make this a reality. At the core of SOS Children’s Villages programmes is the individual child who has lost the security of a well-functioning family. What is best for the child guides our work.

We focus on each child’s care, education and health and encourage children to actively take part in the decision-making that affects their lives.

Our model of care at SOS Children’s Villages is seen as a distinct form of alternative care; it is unique as it combines elements of residential care and foster care.

Each year our Family-like Care and Family Strengthening programmes provide life-changing support to children and families across the country.

FAMILY-LIKE CARE The Family-like Care model comprises four principles that include a mother (each child has a caring parent), brothers and sisters (the family ties grow naturally), a house (a secure place to grow up in) and a village (the SOS family is part of the community).

Family-like care involves recreating a supportive family environment. It is not the only form of alternative care, but we believe that it provides a supportive environment for children to thrive and should be a central component of our child protection system.

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S O S CHIL DREN’S V IL L AGES A DV ER T ORI A L

FAMILY STRENGTHENING We work with disadvantaged families to prevent crises that can lead to family breakdown. We offer various forms of support to strengthen and stabilise them so that, ideally, children can grow up in their own families. The objective is to build on the skills and capacity of biological parents, SOS families, social workers and other caregivers within the community, and to ensure that children enjoy positive and caring relationships.

When children can no longer live with their own families, we provide quality alternative care, for instance, an SOS family, in which the love of a caregiver is essential. We also support foster families who provide stable and consistent care to children who cannot remain in their biological family and for whom this form of family-based care is considered the best option.

Short-term solutions may be offered in crisis situations. And, through advocacy, we aim to highlight the need for governments, decision-makers and other stakeholders to improve the quality of care for all children in South Africa.

We aim to raise well-rounded children and create adults who can go forth in the world with confidence and self-sufficiency.

SOS Children’s Villages supports over 700 children in 9 villages across South Africa, with over 4 000 families supported by the Family Strengthening programme.

SUPPORTING OUR WORK We cannot provide this care without donations from generous individuals and companies; every investment is appreciated. All donations made to SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa are exempt from donations tax and qualify the donor for deductions from taxable income in accordance with the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962.

The support of corporations and foundations helps us make this vision a reality. From cause campaigns to corporate grants to employee engagement, the ways to support SOS Children’s Villages are varied.

SOS Children’s Villages supports over 700 children in 9 villages across South Africa.

CHANGING LIVES There are countless stories of children who go on to have fulfilling lives both personally and professionally and start their own loving families.

One such young person is Nobuhle, a former SOS Children’s Villages beneficiary of one of our programmes.

She wrote an inspiring letter thanking SOS Children’s Villages South Africa for the loving home they’d provided for her for more than 10 years.

Nobuhle wrote: “I am thankful to SOS for having created a safe home for me,

SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa has also recently established face-to-face fundraising teams that campaign at various shopping centres every week. The teams are responsible for engaging and recruiting new regular donors for the organisation.

and taking away all the fears I had in life before SOS CV.” Nobuhle and her siblings came to SOS Children’s Villages after one of the teachers from their school introduced them to the organisation. Upon finishing her matric, Nobuhle went to study at the University of Cape Town for a Bachelor of Social Sciences, majoring in International Relations and Psychology.

She studied further towards her BA Honours in International Relations at the University of Pretoria.

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the SOS Children’s Village website.

For more information:

When children can no longer live with their own families, we provide quality alternative care, for instance, an SOS family, in which the love of a caregiver is essential. We also support foster families who provide stable and consistent care to children who cannot remain in their biological family.

+27 11 234 8708 info@sos.org.za www.sossouthafrica.org.za SOS Children’s Villages South Africa soscv_sa SOS Children’s Villages South Africa SOS Children’s Villages South Africa

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With depression and anxiety on the rise, TIISETSO TLELIMA looks at an organisation giving communities psychosocial support

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epression has grown by almost 20 per cent in the last decade with 800 000 people across the globe committing suicide per year, according to the South African Medical and Education Foundation. An estimated six per cent of people worldwide are struggling with depression today, and one-fifth of South Africans will experience a depressive disorder at least once in their lifetime.

Jonathan Morgan, a resources development manager at the Africa Psychosocial Support Institute (APSSI), says that mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are on the rise because the world has become a faster, more hectic and stressful place exacerbated by poverty, unemployment, climate change, inequitable distribution of resources and industrialisation. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation, making more families and communities more vulnerable to depression.

“Lockdowns and social distancing practices have impacted the mental health of the population, for example, by making meaningful human contact and psychosocial support more difficult, exacerbating domestic violence, and disrupting normal educational, extended family support and various social practices,” explains Morgan.

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The World Health Organization reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide, with specific phobia, major depressive disorder and social phobia being the most common anxiety disorders. Globally, 1 in 13 people suffer from anxiety.

RESOURCES AND PROGRAMMES According to Morgan, a plethora of guidelines on how to deal with mental health problems have been developed by the nongovernmental sector in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For instance, APSSI, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, developed a toolkit for teachers on how to support children when they return to school during the pandemic. The guide included a set of general group-building exercises, followed by themed

“APSSI WORKS IN THE SPACE WHERE THERE IS NO PSYCHOLOGIST, WHERE THERE IS NO ONE-ON-ONE THERAPY OR COUNSELLING AVAILABLE.” – JONATHAN MORGAN

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HELPING COMMUNITIES DEAL WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

DID YOU KNOW?

OU T RE ACH

WHILE THERE’S MORE CONVERSATION AROUND MENTAL HEALTH NOWADAYS, THE ILLNESS STILL CARRIES A STIGMA THAT AFFECTS THE WAY PEOPLE VIEW IT.

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EPSSI SA – training facilitators in Soweto.

activities that focused on 16 key life skills supporting the personal, cognitive and interpersonal development of children.

While there’s more conversation around mental health nowadays, the illness still carries a stigma that affects the way people view it. In addition, mental health is often overlooked and underfunded. To address this, APSSI has taken the approach to mainstream psychosocial support (PSS) into various other disciplines such as education, health and economic empowerment.

“A few decades ago, there was a groundbreaking book entitled Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Healthcare Handbook which promoted the concept of barefoot paramedics working in hard-to-reach rural areas. APSSI works in the space where there is no psychologist, where there is no one-on-one therapy or counselling available,” says Morgan.

APSSI’s catalogue has over 100 publications developed for community workers, caregivers, parents and youth. One of its flagship interventions is the Hero Book, which invites

children and young people to make an autobiographical book about their lives.

Children are encouraged to identify obstacles that stand in the way of their goals, such as bedwetting, anxiety, sadness, depression or domestic violence and to find the hero in them to help them overcome these obstacles. The Hero books are available in Afrikaans, Swahili and Portuguese and have been used to offer support to child ex-soldiers as far as Uganda.

“The Hero Book has been instrumental in improving children’s mental health, academic and literacy output and showing just how resilient children can be,” says Morgan.

Morgan also highlights Flocking as one of its most notable guidelines. Developed in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, Flocking is about how communities can identify assets to use for psychosocial problems and how they can be mobilised to solve psychosocial problems. Through narrative and art therapy, communities engage in conversations on marriage, child marriage and child-headed households and come up with solutions to these problems.

“Flocking is a pathway to resilience and a form of social support to counter adversity,” adds Morgan. “This manual is designed to facilitate a workshop in which community actors can strengthen inclusion, communal mastery, solidarity and control of a harsh environment where chronic vulnerability prevails.”

Other programmes include an 18-month teachers’ diploma focused on reducing bullying, corporal punishment and developing social and emotional competencies in learners.

THE EXTENT AND RANGE OF APSSI’S SUPPORT APSSI, a globally recognised hub for child and youth psychosocial and mental wellbeing in Africa operating in 13 countries, has provided psychosocial support (PSS) for various nongovernmental organisations, faith-based organisations and schools that work directly with communities in the mental health space across the continent.

Established in 2016, as a subsidiary of the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), APSSI fosters professionalism and excellence in mental health and psychosocial care and support services by offering innovative, quality Afro-centric PSS education, research, programming resources and technical guidance.

It offers training in PSS either through planned training or through requests for specific tailor-made psychosocial and mental wellbeing training from interested companies and individuals. Among the topics covered in PSS training are resilience and its role and how to nurture it; adversity and potential consequences and how to mitigate these; how to integrate PSS into other training programmes and how it can influence outcomes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Psychosocial support (PSS) is defined as love, care and protection. It is support for the emotional and social aspects of a child’s life so that they can live with hope and dignity.

Source: https://repssi.org/

FAST FACT

Depression is a common mental disorder and one of the main causes of disability worldwide. Globally, an estimated 264 million people are affected by depression with more women being affected than men. Bipolar disorder affects about 45 million people worldwide, while schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder affecting 20 million people worldwide.

Source: World Health Organization

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Carl van der Riet (AVBOB CEO), Abraham Ludick (Headmaster – Gamka-Oos Primêr), Wilma Esbach (Social Worker – Western Cape Education Department) at the handover of the AVBOB container library in Calitzdorp.

INSPIRING GROWTH THROUGH EDUCATION For AVBOB, corporate social investment involves far more than a once-off donation to a worthy cause … and is informed by a deeper commitment aligned to the Group’s roots of compassion and community development.

Since its inception more than a century ago, AVBOB has remained true to its original purpose of caring for all South Africans. Over the years, our focus has broadened to include the sustainable socio-economic development of the communities in which we operate. As a mutual society, the AVBOB Group is committed to nurturing the relationship between business, society and the environment, which is vital for a sustainable future.

AVBOB CEO, Carl van der Riet, says that the organisation’s commitment to community development and socio-economic support is at the heart of all that we do. What distinguishes its corporate social investment initiatives is that the Group does not merely commit money and resources. Instead, it partners with communities to ensure tangible benefits over the long term.

“The AVBOB Foundation is proud to be associated with a number of critical social initiatives. We are particularly passionate about education and literacy for learners during their formative years,” says Van der Riet.

For the past two years AVBOB (in collaboration with Jan Scannell, Ninety One – previously known as Investec Asset Management – Alexforbes and the Professional Provident Society) has partnered with global charity Qhubeka to change the lives of learners in Calitzdorp in the Western Cape.

Since 2005, Scannell (Jan Braai), a resident of Calitzdorp, has been combining his passion for braaiing and cycling to uplift the community by donating bicycles to children attending the local high school.

“Donating bicycles to high school children not only reduces travel time but also improves academic outcomes, as children can give more time to schoolwork,” he says.

Through this social partnership, more than 100 pupils from Calitzdorp High School received Qhubeka bicycles in 2021. This year, the Calitzdorp High School received a further 201 Qhubeka bicycles (bringing the total number of bicycles that this initiative has delivered in the region to over 600). This year, the partnership also sponsored 40 solar lights provided by Namene Solar for learners from Calitzdorp High School and 930 solar lights for learners from Gamka-Oos and Excelsior Primary Schools – one for every learner!

In addition to the Qhubeka bicycle donation in Calitzdorp, AVBOB has extended the initiative by donating a new container library to the Gamka-Oos Primary School. Libraries go a long way towards unleashing the potential inherent in every young learner, and this donation allows Gamka-Oos to join the ranks of the only 8% of South African schools that reportedly have a functional library.

Van der Riet hopes that the learners of Gamka-Oos Primary School will make use of this container library and that its books will inspire them to learn and dream more and, one day, achieve even more than they had dreamed possible.

AVBOB, Ninety One, PPS and Alexforbes in partnership with Qhubeka and Jan Braai have since 2018 donated over 600 bicycles to learners in the Calitzdorp region.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE In 2013, AVBOB made the decision to invest in the future of South Africa through the donation of container libraries to deserving schools.

The Group made a pledge to donate a total of 60 libraries around the country, and, to date, 58 libraries have been donated to various schools across the country.

Furthermore, with AVBOB’s centenary celebration in 2018, the Group invested R150 million in education support, which is being used to renovate and refurbish schools across South Africa, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education. R15 million of that investment has been spent on the Sanitation Appropriate for Education Initiative (SAFE) at six schools in Mpumalanga to provide safe and hygienic ablution facilities to learners.

AVBOB believes that creating a safe learning environment and improving learner performance in literacy and numeracy are the biggest and most important challenges society faces, and that this requires vast resources and collaboration between the private and public sector.

To achieve the objectives of the National Development Plan by 2030 – which aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality – South Africa’s government has identified the importance of public-private partnerships. By supporting the Department of Basic Education in its efforts to provide quality education to generations of young South Africans, AVBOB aims to make a far-reaching and lasting impact on development by strengthening education systems.

As a mutual society, the AVBOB Group recognises the building of sustainable relationships with communities as vital for both business and society. As such, the Group aims to connect with all its stakeholders to actively build prosperous communities – which, in turn, can positively influence the growth of a successful South Africa.

“The Group is committed to contribute to the alleviation of the difficulties that learners face in pursuit of their dreams, aspirations and in reaching their potential,” says Van der Riet.

www.AVBOB.co.za AVBOB is an authorised financial services provider. AVBOB is a level 2 B-BBEE contributor. FSP 20656.

CSI To advertise in the November issue of CSI, please contact: Bongani Matwa Project Manager +27(0) 21 469 2466 +27(0) 76 251 4590 matwab@picasso.co.za

PUBLISHER

PICASSO HEADLINE, A PROUD DIVISION OF ARENA HOLDINGS (PTY ) LTD Hill on Empire 16 Empire Road (cnr Hillside Road), Parktown, Johannesburg Postal Address: PO Box 12500, Mill Street, Cape Town, 8001

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What if we could do social impact

#BetterTogether Leading for social change is hard, especially when needing to address societal imbalances with finite resources.

Our purpose at Nation Builder is to assist you in achieving greater social impact on the ground through: A SPACE TO ENGAGE

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As a resource and collaboration partner to the social impact community, we encourage effective social investment and promote best practice.

A DV ER T ORI A L MULT ICHOICE

Prime Medical Accelerator

UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN MZANSI MultiChoice has always had a keen focus on enriching lives through various initiatives ranging from building a creative pipeline for the broadcasting industry to nurturing sports talent, supporting entrepreneurs, and bringing about transformation through the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, writes Collen Dlamini, Group Executive: Corporate Affairs at MultiChoice

SUPPORT FOR START-UPS AND SMALL BUSINESSES Start-ups and small businesses are key to growing the South African economy and creating much-needed jobs. At MultiChoice, we have been supporting start-ups and small businesses through our MultiChoice Innovation Fund for the last 10 years. The fund aims to stimulate the country’s most exciting entrepreneurs with ground-breaking ideas, by giving them

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financial support and access to tools, skills and mentoring to equip them to bring their innovative and exciting business ideas to life.

Since its inception, the fund has disbursed R350 million in loans, grants and business development expenses to assist beneficiaries in acquiring skills and assets. The number of jobs created by the beneficiaries who received funding this year is 638.

CONNECTING LOCAL TO GLOBAL Part of the fund, MultiChoice launched its Accelerator programme in September 2021 to develop and connect local SMEs with global investors to unlock business opportunities at World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Twenty innovative, home-grown entrepreneurs participated in the intensive programme, and six were selected to pitch their business ideas to global venture capitalists in the United Arab Emirates. As a result, these Accelerator finalists secured more than US$10 million in investment to move their businesses forward.

The MultiChoice Accelerator was the first of its kind for us, and we had the opportunity to present remarkable South African businesses to a global audience. It was a proud moment indeed.

CREATING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Another initiative that has greatly impacted local job creation and skills development is the DStv Accredited Installer network – creating small businesses and, with it, thousands of jobs. In South Africa, MultiChoice has 110 independent service providers or agencies and 1 240 installers that, in turn, employ 3 827 people. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and our DStv Service Centres and DStv Accredited Installers are the ties that keep us connected to them.

Through this network, we are able to assist customers by installing decoders and any other hardware needed to gain access to our entertainment universe. Similarly, we are growing the number of DStv Service Centres across the continent, which helps us offer more convenience to our customers and create business opportunities and jobs.

As society continues to adapt, MultiChoice remains focused on staying connected to the communities in which we operate and the values we hold dear – fully embracing our role as a connector across the African continent.

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lthough globalisation has been part of South Africa’s macroeconomic vocabulary for years now, there is increased impetus for businesses to be truly interconnected at a community level and build capacity through partnerships for sustainability. However, investment and partnerships don’t happen on a significant scale without concerted effort from both the public and private sectors to realise national potential and opportunities.

Small businesses in a developing country such as South Africa play a key role in creating employment and alleviating poverty. In addition, the informal small business sector continues to grow as more people recognise the value of opening doors for themselves.

MULT ICHOICE A DV ER T ORI A L

DEVELOPING A PASSION FOR PLAY As a proudly South African company and big funder of sports, MultiChoice is committed to playing its part to unearth talent and grow the next generation of stars. One such way we achieve this is by recognising the need for development through sports, writes Collen Dlamini, Group Executive: Corporate Affairs at MultiChoice

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ultiChoice understands that the future of our country depends on young people from all walks of life receiving quality education.

This, together with development opportunities, will ensure they become responsible contributors to society. Sport not only empowers children to be healthy, but also brings social and psychological benefits.

It teaches values such as fairness, teamwork, discipline, inclusion, perseverance and respect.

We also understand that young people from rural communities have it much harder than their counterparts in urban areas.

For this reason, MultiChoice implements various initiatives that create opportunities for the growth and development of young people, especially those in previously disadvantaged communities.

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

LET’S PLAY This includes the SuperSport Let’s Play initiative, which has reached over 1.5 million children since its inception 17 years ago. Through Let’s Play, MultiChoice is investing in sports infrastructure, giving children in disadvantaged communities the opportunity to participate meaningfully in sports from a young age. Over the past four years, 34 multipurpose sports fields have been built across South Africa. We started

Let’s Play to encourage children to choose good habits and physical activity over social distractions like drugs, alcohol and crime.

But MultiChoice’s investment in sports is not confined to primary school level. We use our connections within the industry to uplift the communities in which we operate and contribute to building future sporting talents.

NURTURING TALENT, DEVELOPING SKILLS The DStv Diski Challenge is a multifaceted development programme offering the Premier Soccer League (PSL) reserve teams the chance to play in a competition, broadcasting internships for young people, and free broadcast rights to the football competition for regional TV stations. Since its inception, more than 249 players have been promoted to the PSL first teams, over 175 players have represented South African national teams in international competitions, and 10 Diski Challenge graduates were part of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics squad.

On the other hand, our SuperSport United Academy develops future professional football stars by setting them up with full board and lodging, world-class coaching, medical attention, life skills, media training and educational and sports science support.

MultiChoice also recently launched the PSL Player Transition Programme, in partnership

DStv Diski Challenge

with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), to equip players with skills to find careers off the field after they retire. The PSL Player Transition programme is about so much more than knowledge and skills transfer – it’s about sustainable growth for players transitioning to retirement. And it is in line with our commitment to developing the sports industry across Africa.

The Programme is diverse and well-rounded.

Candidates explore the world of business fundamentals, unpack the dynamics of leading as an entrepreneur, are educated on IT and data management, and understand the impact of personal branding, among other key learnings.

MultiChoice’s investment in sport goes beyond local football leagues and television sports productions. It is also about upskilling sports administrators. Another programme we currently run in partnership with GIBS is the SuperSport Industry Leaders Programme. It is a unique programme that will advance business and commercial acumen in the global sports industry with the aim of creating world-class African sports leaders.

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Multichoice website.

For more information: www.multichoice.com @MultiChoiceGRP

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTS CREATE JOBS

The key to any successful CSI programme is sustainability – otherwise, it’s a finite intervention with immediate, but fleeting benefits, writes TREVOR CRIGHTON

FROM SUBSISTENCE TO THE FORMAL ECONOMY The Nedbank Foundation’s vision is for the green economy to be a catalyst for sustainable economic growth to grow employment through skills development and growing entrepreneurship. Its leading strategic lever is agriculture, focusing on supporting innovative supply chains, benefi ciation, diversifi cation in the sector, appropriate land use, regenerative agriculture and building climate-change resilience.

The Buhle Farmers Academy is one such project, working to address the constraints faced by developing farmers by supporting them with training, skills-transfer coaching, mentoring and start-up funding assistance. The Nedbank Foundation has provided close

Africa’s most pressing needs include access to electricity to provide access to water and myriad other vital services.

WATER EQUALS LIFE Innovation: Africa is a nonprofit organisation that brings Israeli solar, water and agricultural technologies to rural African villages. Since 2008, the organisation has delivered access to clean water and light to over 3 million people across 10 African countries.

Two grants totalling $103 000 (R1.625-million) from the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association (CFEBA) to Innovation: Africa saw life-changing solar water pump and drip irrigation technology established in the Akuyam Village in Northern Uganda.

to R5-million in support, enabling the 10 participating farmers to enhance the business performance of their farms, deliver employment opportunities, maximise their involvement in the food value chain and contribute to local economic development and food security in their communities.

To help meet the villagers’ need for access to water, the team installed a water tank, a solar pump and solar panels to pump water up to the tank before establishing a network of taps that provide access to clean water in 10 locations for 4 600 people. Taking the project one step further, the Innovation: Africa team trained the community on irrigating seeds and seedlings to bolster food security.

“According to the United Nations, 471 million people in rural areas across Africa are still without electricity. Without electricity, there can be no access to advanced education and healthcare, no storage of medicines and vaccines, no socioeconomic growth, and no safety and security for women and children,” says Sivan Ya’ari, founder and CEO of Innovation: Africa. “But most centrally, without access to energy, there is no access to clean water.

Solar energy has the power to create real change across Africa. We have seen first-hand the impact that access to solar energy can have on a community.”

“The farmers opened business accounts with Nedbank, the performance of their farms improved, more jobs were created, farm income was improved and access to markets enhanced, and the farmers are now using an app for farming records,” says Poovi Pillay, executive head for corporate social investment at Nedbank. “The overarching aim of the project was to turn subsistence farmers who were operating informally into viable businesses operating in the formal sector.”

The near-100 solar and water projects in development across Africa, have opened up the opportunity for over 600 local workers to receive training in construction and maintenance, which helps them earn a regular income. “These upskilled community members are then able to ensure the long-term sustainability of the water project as they can complete any small maintenance and repairs the system should require,” says Ya’ari.

The communities in which Innovation: Africa operates get involved in the establishment of infrastructure.

Sivan Ya’ari

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EN V IRONMEN T Michanic has created over 45 job opportunities, paying out more than R3-million to date to its mechanic network and impacting over 250 lives.

The Oceana Maritime Academy is the only sector-specific training facility in the country.

MOBILE MICHANICS Michanic is a web app that connects motorists to professional, vetted mechanics for car repairs and services. It is currently the only online platform in South Africa providing instant pricing for services, with instant bookings for services and repairs performed by mobile mechanics at customers’ homes and offices.

Supported by the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, Michanic has created over 45 job opportunities, with 10 per cent of mechanics female, and over 65 per cent youth. “To date, we have paid out more than R3-million to our mechanic network impacting over 250 lives,” says Lesetja Dikgale, Michanic managing director. “And, we have processed over 57 000 quotes, valued at more than R142-million. We have over 45 000 monthly website visitors – up from 4 000, two years ago, and we are growing at 25 per cent month-on-month.”

Michanic currently operates in Gauteng, Emalahleni and Cape Town with plans to expand to Durban shortly. “We have a vision of being a one-stop-shop for all car health needs in South Africa,” says Dikgale.

“We’re also looking to develop a training academy to provide upskilling and training for qualified and aspiring mechanics with the latest technological developments as well as in the subject of electric vehicles.”

FOSTERING THE FUTURE OF FISHING A small-scale fishers programme called Co-operative Sense – a collaboration between the Oceana Group, its dedicated training facility the Oceana Maritime Academy, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and Dyna Training – is teaching fishers how to manage and finance fishing co-operatives and earn a better living, safely.

The programme delivers comprehensive training and mentorship programmes around the country to enable fishing co-operatives to run as successful SMMEs. To date, nearly 600 small-scale fishers who belong to co-operatives in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal have participated.

“The programmes provide practical training on running a financially sustainable co-operative, including on-site assistance from one of the major banks on how to open and manage business bank accounts.

The NSRI focuses on sea-safety training, teaching preventative safety protocols as well as how to manage emergencies,” says Zodwa Velleman, group Fishers receive medical executive: corporate and safety training. and regulatory affairs at Oceana Group.

The Oceana Maritime Academy is the only sector-specific training facility in the country. In addition to spending R4-million to transform an old fishmeal plant in Hout Bay into a bespoke training hub, Oceana is investing a further R35-million a year to deliver 18 courses, including skills at sea, safety, leadership and business development. “The Co-operative Sense courses will be delivered from there, supporting 2 000 small-scale fishers in the Western Cape, in addition to those who participate in the national outreach programme,” says Velleman. “The small-scale fishing co-operatives provide employment and food security, often in communities where both are scarce. They are the bedrock of the fishing sector, and supporting them benefits their communities, the industry and ultimately the country.”

Zodwa Velleman

Lesetja Dikgale

GARDENING FOR GOOD Establishing food gardens and community farms is a key way to help ensure food security – and they’re flourishing in South Africa, providing employment and food to tens of thousands of people, writes TREVOR CRIGHTON

Bongani Bonani with students from Nokwezi Primary School.

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s part of its commitment to environmentally sustainable practices, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has established a partnership with Community Conservation Fund Africa (CCFA) in support of its Greening the Community

initiative. CCFA was established by the Mantis Collection to address the urgent need for conservation awareness in communities that share living space with wild animals, and empower and educate the local population to protect the biodiversity and the endangered species, for the benefit of all who share the land.

The partnership sees VWSA contribute significantly to CCFA’s long-term initiative, aimed at empowering communities in KwaNobuhle in the Eastern Cape to drive environmentally responsible practices, especially at schools.

The initiative is designed to encourage youth to play their part in ensuring a sustainable future in their communities Taryn Gillson and beyond.

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EN V IRONMEN T

VWSA’s support for the initiative will take many forms, one of which included the planting of trees – including citrus trees, hardwood trees and spekboom plants – at the James Ntungwana Primary School. A total of 21 schools in KwaNobuhle will benefit from the initiative.

Taryn Gillson, executive director: Mantis Impact and CCFA, says that schools are one of the few areas in the town with fencing to protect the trees from goats and the like. “Something very close to our hearts is the educational aspect; the trees represent a point of entry to chat about environmental awareness like climate change and the cultural significance of the trees with the students,” she says. “The students are tasked with hands-on caring for the trees, and many of the schools selected for tree planting already have water tanks on-site sponsored by VWSA. Of the 600 trees being planted by mid-2022, a third are spekboom trees for greening, carbon sequestration and air purification, another third are fruit trees for the schools’ nutrition programmes, and the balance are native hardwood trees for greening, shade and increasing biodiversity.”

The Living Soils Community Learning farm

WATER EQUALS LIFE In 2019, Woolworths partnered with Spier Wine Farm and the Sustainability Institute to launch a community learning farm near Stellenbosch – the Living Soils Farm. The intent was to test a concept – an extension of the Farming for the Future programme – on a community farm basis. The objective is to create a self-sustaining learning farm that showcases the production of nutritious food using sustainable farming methods. Incorporating training and development for young and emerging farmers and the broader community, the two aims of the learning farm are the development of long-term food security in the local community and helping to address youth unemployment.

“The farm has a dedicated training co-ordinator responsible for the skills development aspect of the project with strategic input from all the partners.

The training co-ordinator is responsible for liaising with the various agricultural institutions where the interns are from to ensure that the internship is in line with their academic requirements, and ensures that

FAST FACT

Since 2017, Eduplant has seen: • 8 609 trees planted • 100 hectares of urban forest developed • 3 176.7 tonnes of carbon offset • 4 000 households reached through tree planting • 1 720 household food gardens supported • 617 beneficiary organisations – including schools • 19 420 direct beneficiaries • 315 skills development training sessions • 3 345 community members trained.

the farm team of junior farm managers meets these as they facilitate the practical work experience for the interns,” says Zinzi Mgolodela, Woolworths director of corporate affairs.

“The co-ordinator also creates a comprehensive learning schedule that enriches the knowledge and exposure of the interns in regenerative food systems and leadership development through facilitated workshops, community of practice site visits, and opportunities for knowledge-sharing. Part of this learning schedule is also technical with specialist guidance from Woolworths’ and Spier’s relevant experts.”

The Living Soils Community Learning farm has since produced nearly 16 tonnes of food from a 1.2-hectare planting of 30 varieties of vegetables – 9 106kg was sold and 4 258kg donated. The farm employs 33 full-time staff, and 38 interns have passed through the programme – all receiving skills development training in Biodiversity and Environmental Management; Business Entrepreneurship; Communication; Computer classes; Mathematics tutoring; On-site farm management; Personal development; and Tractor training.

“Farming is a long-term commitment, so after just three years – which included navigating the impact of COVID-19 – we are very happy with how the Living Soils Community Learning Farm is progressing,” says Mgolodela. “We have extended the pilot phase at the Lynedoch site and are looking to increase the training and skills development to be able to reach more interns.”

FOOD FOR LIFE Tiger Brands and Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA)’s Eduplant programme aims to build food-secure households through the establishment of vegetable and fruit-producing gardens across six provinces. The project has seen over 1 000 food gardens established, supporting 20 000 beneficiaries in just five years.

EduPlant is the longest-running and most impactful school greening and gardening programme in South Africa.

A youth-focused programme endorsed by the Department of Basic Education’s National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), EduPlant offers schools in under-resourced communities and townships the resources, training and support they need to develop or improve their food gardens.

Through EduPlant, teachers, learners and community members establish gardens to supplement the school’s feeding schemes with fresh, naturally-grown produce, which helps improve nutrition. With sustainable gardening practices and environmental thinking integrated into the curriculum, 86 per cent of EduPlant schools have fully functioning and productive gardens.

This teaches learners the practical and commercial skills that allow them to take control of their food sovereignty and inspire their parents and community to grow their own food.

“As the country’s largest food manufacturer, food security is an important social priority for Tiger Brands.

Our focus is on building, nourishing, and nurturing resilient, food-secure and healthy communities across South Africa in a sustainable manner,” says Preeya Naidu, B-BBEE and social transformation manager, Tiger Brands. “Our partnership with Eduplant helps us deliver on this objective effectively, and we are proud of our association with a like-minded organisation that supports the interests of the most vulnerable members of society and prioritises their needs in a self-sufficient manner.”

Zinzi Mgolodela The EduPlant programme in action.

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T R AV EL A ND T OURISM

REVIVING THE TOURISM SECTOR The important tourism and hospitality sectors were hard-hit during the pandemic, but now interventions and initiatives are being implemented to ensure a revival of these sectors, writes ITUMELENG MOGAKI

effort researching and assimilating sustainable interventions for what is needed for the industry to survive and thrive.

“We have given this in a very concise and practical document to Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu for implementation, and we sincerely hope that she will involve us in the implementation, since the best results will be achieved if our sector and government work together as partners to implement the many things needing to be done,” peaking about the says Anderson. significance of the She says there have been hospitality industry, no relief funds of any broad FEDHASA National significance to the hospitality Chairperson Rosemary industry. “We have seen a Anderson says that different tweet by the minister that there role players need to get involved will be funds available for our to revive the hospitality sector. sector in KwaZulu-Natal, which “Significantly, government has to has been negatively affected create an environment where the Rosemary Anderson by the recent floods. We have sector can operate in a financially asked for details thereof, but viable way, allowing businesses to have not received them to date.” grow and employ more people, especially youth Tourism Business Council of South Africa to counteract the unacceptable levels of youth (TBCSA) CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa says it’s unemployment in South Africa,” says Anderson. unavoidable, and government must make sure She says the tourism and hospitality to protect the supply side of tourism; that industry has spent a great deal of time and

S

THE IDC’S TOURISM AND SERVICES INDUSTRY FUNDING PROGRAMME

IMAGES: SUPPLIED, ISTOCK.COM/ PHOTONCATCHER

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has helped facilitate South Africa’s industrial capacity by financing viable businesses within key sectors to stimulate the country’s economic growth.

With its primary objective aligned to facilitating job creation in both the local economies and those in the rest of Africa, the IDC Tourism & Services Strategic Business Unit (SBU) primarily invests in the accommodation subsector, focusing on business hotels in fast-growing areas.

In South Africa, investments focus on high impact, sustainable tourist attractions that provide niche product offerings.

The Tourism and Services SBU aims to drive sustainable industrial development while facilitating job creation in both the local economy and in the rest of Africa with a focus on the following key industries: tourism; healthcare; and information and communications technology.

The SBU will consider funding for greenfield and start-up projects; expansions and/or refurbishments; expansionary acquisitions and acquisitions by black industrialists (where they are majority shareholders and operationally involved).

Inclusions • Hotels • Apartment hotels (must be operated similarly to hotels, with rooms serviced) • Lodges and guest houses • Game lodges • Mobile tourism (accommodation: that is, luxury coach trains) • Tourism attractions (funding to be applied to capital expenses for businesses whose activities target tourists) • Tourism destination management companies (existing medium to large scale companies).

Source: Industrial Development Corporation For more info: https://www.idc.co.za/ tourism-services/

means protecting and improving government-owned infrastructure. “The role of government is to create an enabling environment for tourism to thrive. To do so, they must make sure that the roads leading to key attractions are Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa in excellent condition, including fixing the ever-present potholes,” says Tshivhengwa.

He explains: “When tourists abandon a certain road that leads to a particular attraction, the communities around those routes suffer.

Someone with a filling station will struggle because no one is driving past, as do roadside vendors who sell artefacts and other goods such as fruits or food.”

Tshivhengwa says part of reviving the tourism sector will involve the provision of basic services – electricity, water, proper sanitation, the cleaning of a town – and making sure that entrepreneurs are supported, and people are welcomed into a conducive environment. “We cannot go back to the 2019 service levels. We simply must exceed our expectations by making sure tourists are warmly welcomed and want to travel and come back to visit similar places again,” he says.

CEO of the Sun International Group, Anthony Leeming, says the key element is getting international travel back. “Reviving international travel means increased competition and generating rates of imported revenue, which is good for the country,” says Leeming.

He says government’s lack of sorting out visa issues is delaying the revival of many sectors.

“There has been very little movement from government on visas, but they need to get it right.”

Leeming adds: “The revival of airlift will have a positive knock-on effect on turning around the tourism and hospitality industry.”

He says leisure has shown a positive upward trajectory, business travel is a bit softer, and corporate conferencing has started to come back. “We are optimistic that leisure, corporate conferencing and international travel will bounce back strong. At Sun International, we have done a lot of work getting our structures and business processing right, so we believe we are a better company coming out of COVID than when we were going in,” says Leeming.

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2022/06/08 1:38 PM

THE POWER OF TOGETHER

T

BUILDING A BETTER TOMORROW

his was the inspiration behind our DStv Media Sales Graduate Programme. The immersive 18-month programme was designed to provide dynamic young people with the skills needed to be part of the driving force behind our commercial sales, providing rotations throughout our business and exposing our interns to the entire DMS environment, including marketing, sponsorships and partnerships with some of the biggest names in multiple industries.

The initiative was spearheaded

by DStv Media Sales CEO, Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee, a strong advocate of youth empowerment and the fulfilment of potential: “I began my career as a sports journalist and worked for City Press and SABC radio. I joined the MultiChoice Group in 1998 and has since held a variety of positions within DStv Media Sales. I like the opportunity

Esihle Mlaka

to influence people and create change.”

Dedicated to developing existing skills and building new ones, through coaching, mentoring, and deep technical exposure in-line with their qualifications, the inaugural DStv Media Sales Graduate Programme kicked off on the 1st of February last year.

And as we move into Youth month, we’re both proud to celebrate the graduation of our 1st 6 young talents on the 30th of June, and grateful for the opportunity of helping them on their journey towards greatness.

Self-motivated, determined and ready to take on all that DMS has to offer, they have already made history as the first graduate cohort in the business to have been onboarded virtually! And our latest shing stars will certainly not be stopping there!

Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee DStv Media Sales CEO

Lwando Mbotshelwa

At DStv Media Sales we believe in the Power Of Together. In functioning as a united force to achieve a common goal. In supporting and empowering each other. In embracing tomorrow’s opportunities and vast potential.

Because if we do everything to ‘the Power Of Together‘, success is inevitable.

Their energy and expertise will prove invaluable in our ongoing quest for excellence in customer service and

Linda Ngema

Kirstin Cozens

innovation, while their insights and fresh perspective will help us remain ahead of the curve through our ever-evolving offerings across our Linear, Digital, Over the Top (OTT), Video on Demand (VoD) and Social Media platforms. It’s therefore also particularly apt that our exciting June offering targets the Youth Market: Our refreshed Young at Heart package offers our clients the best youth channels on DStv linear combined with the DStv app and Youtube – all in one consolidated bundle. This gives our clients a wider reach of spots and impressions across the board, while the choice of 1, 2 and 4 week packages provides them with targeted solutions and the best possible ROI for their brand.

A great product for our graduates to cut their teeth on!

From Youth month, to our refreshed Young at Heart package, to our fresher-than-fresh young DStv Media Sales stars, we’re proud to celebrate these historic events, innovations and talents, all coming together as proof of the extraordinary Power Of Together.

Karabo Nkambule

Tumi Seelamo

FOLLOW US @DStv_MediaSales

Changing lives through sport

It has been 10 years since the inception of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation (LSFG) ‘Youth Empowerment through Sport’ (YES) programme. YES develops a pipeline of youth leaders that use the power of sport to overcome the limitations imposed by challenging social issues and transform their communities.

The YES programme targets school leavers, aged 18 to 25, with particular attention given to young people who are passionate about sport and the upliftment of local communities. This dynamic programme actively invests in accredited and non-accredited training and uses sports as a catalyst for change focusing on equipping youth with the technical, vocational, entrepreneurship and life skills needed to develop sustainable livelihoods. After graduating from the programme, the YES Change Agents are encouraged to give back their skills to the next YES protégés.

Mercedes-Benz South Africa and LSFG have created a symbiotic and sustainable intervention by using sport to catalyse youth development and transform communities, sustainably. This strategic partnership is closely aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals: quality education and good health and wellbeing as well as MBSA’s social investment philosophy: to enable the youth of South Africa to become active economic participants in society. Through Laureus, young people are playing an active role in fuelling healthy societies, building a lasting impact and developing skills that create pathways to employment.

YES has developed 650

young leaders that serve as active change agents in their communities

6349

young people showing improved attendance, engagement and retention in education

1020

jobs created through Laureus funding

27707

young people gained relevant life/ social and vocational skills

3892

young people in training or employment

For more information on Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, visit: https:// corporate.mercedes-benz.co.za/corporate-socialresponsibility