ESD initiatives Archives

Fostering economic inclusion in South Africa through the creative arts economy

In 2022, the creative economy accounted for 6% of all jobs in South Africa and contributed 2.97% of the country’s GDP. Despite this contribution to the nation’s economy, the creative industries are often sidelined in trade and industry: in many cases, lack of funding, limited access to resources and inadequate infrastructure cause workers in the creative […]

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Tiger Brands recruits unemployed youth and people with disabilities for township expansion

ESD initiatives, Small Business / admin

Tiger Brands will recruit unemployed youth and people living with a disability from local communities to support the company’s drive to increase its presence in South Africa’s informal sector, which includes spaza stores. In 2023, the company announced its route-to-market strategy aimed at increasing its presence in a targeted 130, 000 general trade stores, including

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Nedbank continues the green revolution with the launch of Indalo Fund

ESD initiatives, Small Business / admin

Nedbank has announced the launch of the R10-million Indalo Fund at the Indalo Inclusive Symposium at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The Indalo Fund is designed to change the way entrepreneurs are funded, creating a pipeline of viable businesses that will be ready to attract high-ticket investment. Poovi Pillay, executive head of corporate

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iKhokha surpasses R2bn in working capital disbursements to South African SMEs

ESD initiatives, Small Business / admin

iKhokha, the KZN based fintech which recently picked up the MTN Financial App of the Year Award, has announced that it has surpassed the impressive milestone of disbursing more than R2bn in working capital to its SME customer base, in partnership with Retail Capital, now a division of TymeBank. “In a tough South African economic

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Celebrating African women in artisanry and craftsmanship

ESD initiatives, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

The 2023 Handmade Contemporary Fair recognises African women artisans and their contribution to the luxury economy Africa’s premier artisanal luxury fair, the upcoming Handmade Contemporary Fair (HmC Fair), is taking place from 1-3 September at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. With over 90% of the 100 artisans displaying their craftsmanship and design being women and the

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Empowering entrepreneurs towards investment-readiness

ESD initiatives, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

There is no shortage of investors with a strong desire to invest in innovative products and services – the challenge is finding and partnering with businesses that are investor ready. According to the University of the Western Cape, South Africa has a small business start-up failure rate of between 70 and 80%. A report by

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Supporting lifelong learning through mentorship

ESD initiatives, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

The FirstRand Volunteers programme was launched in 2003 to facilitate and support employee community involvement. The programme provides employees from across the group with the opportunity to make a real difference by matching their time and monetary donations to their chosen registered organisation or school. CSI – Human Face of Business Governed by clear guidelines,

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The importance of ‘Township Economies’

ESD initiatives, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

‘Township economy’ refers to enterprises and markets based in the townships. These are enterprises operated by township entrepreneurs to meet primarily the needs of township communities and therefore can be understood a ‘township enterprises’ as distinguished from those operated by entrepreneurs outside the townships. How big is the township economy? An estimated 17% of South Africa’s

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YES surpasses 100,000 jobs mark

ESD initiatives, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

Private sector funded non-profit, the Youth Employment Service (YES), has deployed 100,000 young South Africans into the private sector within just four years. With most of these youth coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, they have the chance to not just change the course of their lives, but also that of the country, says YES chief executive

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Pizza Hut gives young women a slice of the pie

Community New, ESD initiatives, Programmes, Small Business / Chris Buchanan

Pizza Hut has partnered with the Youth Employment Service (YES) to launch LeadHERship, an initiative to address youth unemployment and gender inequality in South Africa. The program targets women aged between 18 and 24, where almost two-thirds of individuals in this age group are not economically active, with over 70% female. LeadHERship provides these women

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