Successful young South Africans on the world stage

As part of celebrating Youth month, it's opportune to pause and recognise young South Africans who are making their mark on the world. While they're excellent role models for all of us, we've chosen most of them, especially for their entrepreneurial characteristics. Starting businesses is one of the most important things that we need to do in this country, both to stimulate economic growth and to create jobs.

So let's look at a few South Africans who have shown special entrepreneurial flair and achieved international success. Then as a bonus, there's an inspirational sports story.

Vinny Lingham - Gyft

Vinny Lingham worked for a few companies in Johannesburg before getting the idea of starting his own business to provide digital gift cards for corporates and other organisations. He named his company Gyft.

Gyft grew to be so successful that it made a serious impression internationally, leading to Lingham selling it to the largest credit card processing company in the USA, First Data, apparently making him a millionaire in the process.

As usual, his wasn't an overnight success. He had previously founded and run a website building company, Yola, and a search engine optimisation company, Clicks2Customers.

Khanyi Dhlomo - Ndalo Media

Khanyi Dhlomo began a career in the media industry when she was 20 years old and since then has built a media company that has seen her recognised by Forbes magazine as one of Africa's most successful women.

She was an early developer, becoming editor of True Love magazine at the age of only 22. After several successful years in this position, she spent some time overseas, working and studying. She returned to South Africa armed with an MBA and some strong ideas. She founded Ndalo Media, which now publishes the enormously successful magazines, Destiny and Destiny Man. 

Bheki Kunene - Mind Trix Media

Bheki Kunene's story can certainly serve as an inspiration for all of us, which you'll soon see when you read what he has had to overcome. All of us appreciate the trials and tribulations we will have to go through when we start a business, but Kunene has had more than his fair share of adversity.

Shortly after founding Mind Trix Media, Kunene was falsely accused of murder and had to spend a week in police custody before being released - with an apology, at least. Undeterred he continued to build his business, before another disaster struck, in the form a fast-moving car that fractured his skull.

With characteristic determination, Kunene has bounced back from this setback as well, and his company has flourished. It now deals with large corporations all over the globe, from Africa to Europe and Asia.

Gift Ngoepe - Pittsburgh Pirates

Gift's story is a true fairy tale. Born and raised in a sports clubhouse in Randburg, Johannesburg, he is now poised to enter the very highest level of baseball in the USA - the Major League, what the Americans call "The Show".

To South Africans raised on a diet of soccer, cricket, and rugby, this might not seem like a big deal, but consider this: last year over 72-million people physically attended baseball games in the US. On any given Saturday, more than 2-million people watch Major League baseball on TV.

Baseball was the sport played at his clubhouse, so Gift began playing when he was very young. He was chosen to play for South Africa at the World Championships and earned a place at an academy in Italy. Here he was noticed by a representative of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a Major League team. He signed a professional contract and has spent the last few years playing in lower leagues.

The exciting news is that Gift has now made his way close to the top and has been selected to the Major League squad. If he is selected for the team itself he will become the first black African to play Major League baseball in the USA.


Which successful young South Africans inspire you? Tell us here, or tweet us on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

It’s Youth Month – the focus is on you

There are many ways in which we celebrate Youth Month in South Africa. The government has announced plenty of events across the country, ranging from memorials to lectures to concerts. Private organisations are doing similar things.

So why is there all this attention on youth at this time of year?

Obviously, it’s all centred around Youth Day itself, on 16 June. This commemorates the 1976 Students’ Uprising, most visibly associated with the famous picture of Hector Pieterson.

So there is a good deal of gravity to the focus, and an emphasis on the freedoms that have since been won for the youth of the country, as well as on the lessons that have been learned and the values that we all want our society to be based on, now and in the future.

The importance of Youth Day

The students who risked their lives in the Students’ Uprising were protesting against being forced to receive their education in Afrikaans. Of course, this issue was just one aspect of a broader system of oppression, which is ultimately why they were marching in Soweto on that day in 1976.

The peaceful protest turned violent, resulting in death and injury, and sparking much wider and intensified action. Youth Day, by commemorating these events, reminds us of the price that a previous generation of people our age – and even younger – paid for the freedoms we enjoy today.

How can we mark Youth Month?

Probably the most important thing we can do to mark Youth Month is to remember the events of 1976 and acknowledge the brave and principled stand that the youth took.

We should also learn lessons from them – for instance, that although we have rights, we should not take them for granted; they were hard-earned.

It doesn’t have to be all about sombre reflection, though. We should also celebrate our freedom – and the mere fact that we are young. It is, after all, a time of our lives brimming with potential, when the world lies open before us. So we should enjoy ourselves during Youth Month – attending concerts and participating in other social events.

Youth Month celebration ideas

If you’re wanting to mark Youth Day or do something to participate in Youth Month this year, we’ve collected some ideas for you.

Those of you in Cape Town can take part in the Miles For Smiles Beach Walk on 16 June, organised by Operation Smile.

Music lovers can head for the Silver Mountain Music Festival, which runs from 16 to 19 June in the Langeberg Mountains.

At the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg, there will be a full programme of classical music for those so inclined.

For those wanting a more immediate experience, the Metro Walk in Soweto allows participants to retrace the steps of the youth on that fateful day in 1976.


What are your ideas for commemorating or celebrating Youth Month? Tell us here, or tweet us on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

Africa Vision 2063 – where will we be?

Africa 2063. You might not think that a vision so far into the future applies to you. After all, if you’re a student or young professional, you’ll be in your mid-sixties by then, ready to retire. Which means that we belong to the building generation. The ones who will spend our lives making this vision for Africa a reality for those who come after us.

Let’s ask ourselves then, when we get to 2063 and look back, what are the things we will want to have achieved?

Sustainability

Sustainability isn’t only important from the point of view of preserving our planet and its environment. It’s also a crucial part of any development plans that we make for our own continent. With so many African economies either in early stages of economic development or extremely vulnerable to cost increases, it’s important that the products, processes and models we adopt can be sustained. In other words, that we can afford them in the long-term.

Of course, we also need to start managing natural resources more carefully, and developing alternative sources of energy, if we are to leave a world that offers next generations a lifestyle that is at least comparable to ours – ideally better. On a continent so blessed with daylight hours and other alternative energy production methods, we should hope to be world leaders in sustainability by 2063.

Strong identity, values and ethics

A common culture is one of the things that most strongly binds people together in large communities. If we think of some of the most successful countries in the world we find that a distinguishing feature is that they all have relatively homogenous cultural values. They have a shared culture that the vast majority of people are part of.

One of the big challenges we need to overcome in Africa is the tendency for cultural differences to be divisive. We only need to think of the many civil wars that occur to realise this. This places an exceptionally strong onus on us to work together towards a continent where we celebrate the vast majority of things that we share, rather than allowing our differences to divide us.

Unlocking the potential of women

It’s an unfortunate historical truth that centuries of patriarchy have shaped the world in ways that pose unique challenges for women to overcome. As the world thankfully becomes more egalitarian in gender terms, Africa has its own challenges to overcome, including removing the restrictions that women still face, both regulatory and psychologically.

There are many women’s’ organisations and initiatives that are vitally committed to ensuring that gender inequality disappears from all strata of African society, from the most basic level of healthcare to the highest offices of the land. These organisations are having an increasingly powerful impact on our societies, which bodes well for a future where African men and women live on equal terms.

Good governance and the rule of law

This is an area that Africa needs to focus on if it is to become a place that its inhabitants can really call a mother. The days of corrupt governments diverting resources that people really need must come to an end.

There are encouraging signs that a new generation of leadership is taking this very seriously. The so-called “Millennials” have a well-developed sense of social consciousness and, as they come to dominate the worlds of business and politics, they will hopefully transform these in ways that will serve the people of the continent more fruitfully.


What kind of Africa would you like to leave for your children one day? Tell us here, or tweet us on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

Invest in our African future

The word “investment” generally makes us think of financial interventions and opportunities. So when we are encouraged to invest in our continent we may wonder what we have to offer, if not money.

If we think about it for a while we realise that investment can mean anything that we put in towards building up the continent on which we live: economically, socially and ethically.

So let’s put our heads together to come up with different ways in which we can invest in #YourEduloanFuture, and in the future of Africa.

Buy African

One of the best ways to make a financial investment in our country’s economy, and by extension, the economy of the continent, is to support local businesses.

It’s really easy to do as well – it’s simply about choosing products that have been produced locally when you do your shopping. Of course, some of our favourite products and brands come from overseas, but with just a little shopping around it’s usually pretty easy to find locally manufactured alternatives, which often offer better value for money and are of equal quality.

Educate yourself

There is no better investment than education. It’s an investment in the most important asset of all: human capital. It’s a pretty straightforward equation too – more and better education produces people who are more skilled, who have more knowledge, and who are better equipped for the world of work and other endeavours that benefit the economy.

An educated continent is a healthy continent, filled with people who have the skills, abilities and knowledge to make valuable contributions in whatever careers they pursue.

Teach others

Education and learning are lifelong activities. We never stop growing, never stop accumulating knowledge. One of the best ways of acquiring knowledge is to learn directly from other people.

Educating each other by passing on the skills and knowledge we have gained is a very important way in which we can invest in our continent, through the people who live in it. If we look around we’re sure to find plenty of opportunities to do so. We can teach junior colleagues the deeper details of our jobs or professions. We can share information we’ve gained from reading or from television documentaries. We can join online discussion forums; there a plenty of ways to spread knowledge and information.

Look after what we have

Africa is a continent with an ancient history. Tradition plays an important role in our cultures, and we often look to our forefathers for guidance, wisdom and knowledge.

In the same way, we need to look after what we currently have: our cultures and their symbols, our heritage, our way of life and our shared values. This can range from preserving historical buildings and artefacts for the benefit of future generations, to making sure that we pay our taxes on time so that money is available to fund the many initiatives that preserve and further our cultural values. 

Environmental awareness

Possibly the biggest challenge facing our continent at the moment is the threat of environmental destruction. We’re constantly being reminded of the damage we’re doing to the earth and its atmosphere with what we consume and dispose of – with our cars, technology and need for sources of power to keep everything up and running.

Africa is particularly susceptible to the effects of environmental change: the continent is already very vulnerable to catastrophic events like drought and famine. This means that we need to be extra careful to live in ways that are as kind as possible to the environment. A little reading up online will give you plenty of ideas for how to do this.

Any investment is a good investment

There are plenty of other ways to invest in your future and in a bright African future for all of us who live here, and our children to come. It doesn’t really matter how you choose to do it – as long as we are all making an effort.

I’m sure you have your own suggestions on how each of us can invest in Africa through how we live our lives. Give us your ideas here, or tweet us on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

A continent of opportunity: what it means to be African

It's Africa Month – a time to highlight the opportunities that lie on our continent. It's also a time to celebrate everything that makes us who we are. In fact, it's also a good time to evaluate what it means to be African. And the best way to do this is to find out from our fellow Africans. How do our fellow Africans see themselves?

If we talk to the people around us about what it means to be African, you'll usually end up with clusters of similar answers. Each person has his or her own individual idea of their African identity, and they express these in a bewildering variety of ways. However, they all tend to agree on a few broad characteristics.

The most common feelings that people have about being African relate to a deep sense of opportunity. The types of opportunities that people see vary from one person to the next, but the common thread is that they all feel privileged or empowered by the opportunities they see around them.

A continent of opportunity

They describe a sense of having the opportunity to create their own identities, to pursue their own goals in life and to shape their lives in their own ways. They feel free to express themselves as fully as they can – to self-actualise. They experience this as a special feeling, and the more sober-minded among them will usually say that they feel it is a privilege.

Their sense of opportunity extends beyond their personal lives; something that is especially true among the so-called millennials, who have a well-developed sense of social responsibility. They see the opportunity to shape the destinies of their countries and of the continent as a whole. They also appear to have a deep understanding of the opportunities they have to influence future generations in ways that are more beneficial to human relations, relations between countries, our relationship with animals and our sustainable coexistence in the environment.

A pan-African vision

The traditional, even ancient, pan-African vision is that African people, whether on the continent or overseas, have a common history and share a common destiny.

Fortunately one generally finds that this is mirrored in the attitudes of people in the street. They are strongly disposed towards the idea that cultural diversity is a central aspect of life in Africa. We all know this is true – we only have to look around us every day as we interact with our fellow countrymen here in South Africa.

There is also a deep sense of tolerance. Africa has seen more than its fair share of war, genocide, poverty and other miseries, but its people remain unbreakably tolerant, not only of others, but of the very hardships of life. It is this endurance that can be seen in everything from the woman who walks 5 miles before dawn to fetch water, to world champion Ethiopian long-distance athletes.

Along with this is a flexibility that permeates all aspects of society. As a continent almost entirely made up of developing countries, there is vast flexibility to still shape the places where we live, the values we share and the ways in which we interact.

Hope founded on ancient foundations

Being African is also characterised by a feeling of connectedness to powerful, almost primordial, forces. This is expressed in many different ways, from music to art and fashion, from our spiritual rituals to character traits like humility, empathy and respect.

One of the ways in which this connectedness is most strongly felt is in the way Africans describe themselves as embodying the struggle of their ancestors – how this is etched into their souls. They are naturally aware of the long journeys that previous generations undertook to reach the point where we now are.

It is this foundation of resilience and of overcoming through struggle that has produced an African outlook of hope, at an personal level, and applied to broader society and the continent as a whole.

Let's start a conversation. Tell me what you feel makes you African - right here or connect with me on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

Africa 2016: our time is now

The world is getting more excited about Africa. Dozens of countries are making meaningful investments in the continent, in everything from infrastructure and telecommunications to mining and manufacturing. We only have to look at the sheer size and number of projects currently underwritten by China to get a fair idea of how the world is becoming increasingly enamoured of Africa as development arena.1

But the excitement really ought to start with us – the ones who actually live here. We experience and understand the potential of this place we call home.

This is one of the main principles of the African Union's African Agenda 2063. It adopts a pan-African vision of "an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena".2

In other words, it's up to us.

Why is Africa the new land of opportunity?

To answer this one could simply observe that the International Monetary Fund has predicted that 11 of the top 20 fastest growing economies in 2017 will be African. The oppportunities that this growth is and will continue creating are myriad and widespread.

We can dig deeper, however.

We can look at the underlying reasons for this rapid growth. Of course there have been surges in commodity prices – something which always benefits African countries. This is something well beyond our control, though; instead we need to focus on deliberate approaches and actions that have been successful.

Primary here are governmental initiatives to provide more friendly investment environments. These have mainly targeted corruption and armed conflict. In tandem with these have come regulatory reforms to make investment and the doing of business easier.

Countries have also begun placing a more pressing emphasis on the nurturing and development of what could be called "home-grown talent". This of course means improving the knowledge and skills of local populations, which has had a stimulating effect on the workplace.

Education unlocks the necessary potential

Knowledge is at the heart of everything. It underpins and informs our mindsets, our approach to life and the actions we take. Knowledge breeds understanding, which is the key to both creating and recognising opportunity. The more you understand, the more you can achieve.

Of course the obvious way to impart this knowledge is through formal education. Much of Africa has long had effective education systems, but a more recent development has been the emergence of many more tertiary institutions, offering everything from university degrees to short courses designed to impart specific skill sets pertinent to particular career and workplace requirements.

Allied to this has been an expansion of the concept of education - from something that stops at a certain age or point in our lives, to a lifelong journey of ongoing knowledge acquisition, career advancement and personal development.

Access to education is crucial

Given the pivotal role that education plays, continued economic growth and development depend on providing access to education for as many people as possible. This is one resource that never becomes exhausted, no matter how much it is exploited, so to speak. Any meaningful investment in education always brings a guaranteed return in human development terms, which in turn drives positive societal evolution.

It becomes clear then that in developing countries like ours, a carefully planned and committed effort must go into ensuring that those who want to study can do so, at any point in their lives. This is the duty we have as education finance providers.

Let's start a conversation. Let me know what you think here or connect with me on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA

1. World Bank: www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/Africa/Investing%20 %20Africa%20Forum/2015/investing-in-africa-forum-china-and-africa.pdf
2. Agenda 2063: http://agenda2063.au.int/

Eduloan Graduate Internship Programme

There is no shortage of challenges facing recent graduates in South Africa, due to prevailing socioeconomic conditions. Our country is going through a difficult phase in its development, with particular problems that we need to solve in order to move through this and build a successful economy and society.

The twin enemies – poverty and unemployment

Two of the most pressing concerns for the country as a whole are poverty and unemployment.

Statistics SA published a report in 2014, showing that around 20% of our population lives in extreme poverty, with 45% living in moderate poverty. That’s almost half the people in the country, so it’s very clear to see how hugely important it is to address this issue. Allied to this is the unemployment rate, which is currently at around 25%.

In order to sustain a healthy economy it is imperative that we maintain a certain growth rate, which is dependent on people having jobs and gross domestic product, both of which are severely hampered by unemployment. At the moment our growth rate is below what it should be, making it even more important for us to solve these twin problems.

In short, it is critical that we concentrate all our efforts on alleviating poverty, making people more employable and creating more job opportunities.

Of course the key to everything is education – which is where Eduloan comes in.

The big challenges for graduates

Graduates are particularly vulnerable to unemployment - the unemployment rate among young people reaches as high as 51%. This is not good news for graduates, who are hard hit by the lack of job opportunities when they leave university or college. They also find themselves in a situation where they only have the skills and knowledge they gained while studying – they don’t have the additional skills that are required in the workplace.

The other big stumbling block that graduates face is the fact that companies prefer to employ people with experience. A graduate obviously has no experience, so it becomes a catch-22 situation: graduates need experience to get jobs, but they can only get experience by finding jobs in the first place.

Shining a light of hope and opportunity

Through working so closely with students, we have come to realise that we can help with the situation that graduates face. One of the best ways for them to overcome their challenges is through graduate assistance programmes that help them to acquire the additional skills that they need in the job market.

For this reason we participate in graduate recruitment programmes where we take in tertiary graduates for an internship that lasts for a period of 3 to 12 months. We place particular emphasis on reaching disadvantaged individuals and communities.

Over the past 3 years, we have recruited and trained an average of 10 graduates annually, through SETA-funded learnership programmes.

The aim is twofold: to expose graduates to a range of options for pursuing their career paths, and to give them work experience that is also enjoyable. In this way we help to nurture their talent.

Our ultimate hope is that by helping to make more people employable, we will be able to play our role in curbing unemployment and alleviating poverty in our country.

How the programme works

Every year Eduloan, in partnership with BankSETA, opens its doors to selected unemployed graduates, who are offered a year-long certification in a predetermined course, while gaining work experience and receiving a monthly stipend. These learners are hand-picked from hundreds of applications – based on values alignment, and their commitment, energy and zeal.

We first take the successful graduates through an onboarding process to acclimatise them to the workplace. On their first day of their internship with a company we hold an ice-breaking breakfast. Here the graduate programme manager gives them a snapshot view of the organisation’s history, and its current situation and direction. The interns then take part in a scavenger hunt, designed to help them get to know the office, the people in it and what they do.

From then on they are mentored and guided into the work environment, learning skills and gaining experience as they progress through the programme. The big emphasis is on the transfer of skills and expertise.

The programme is monitored and quality assured. Each year we reflect on it and re-engineer it for optimum effectiveness for all stakeholders.

What is expected of interns on the programme

Once a graduate is accepted and embarks on an internship, there are certain responsibilities that they need to meet:

Perform work for the employer that is relevant to the specific qualification.

Be available for and participate in all learning and work experience required by the programme.

Comply with all workplace policies and procedures.

Complete any timesheets or written assessment tools supplied by the employer to record relevant workplace experience.

Attend all study periods and theoretical learning sessions with the training provider and undertake all learning conscientiously.

Programme success

We’ve achieved a number of successes with our internship programme.

Most fundamentally, we have levelled the playing field by introducing high-potential individuals who thus far have had limited cultural exposure to the unwritten norms and expectations of the corporate or professional market. These are soft skills that usually form a critical barrier for people trying to secure and retain employment.

Our interns have achieved a more than 90% competence rate on the learnership courses, with an average of 60% finding employment after completing the programme.

Learner supervision develops leadership, while the employer receives a cost-effective workforce with regard to entry level functions and positions. It also allows for more cost-effective strategic project implementation.

As a result, this programme enables us to further unlock potential in the youth, while making a significant contribution towards the national job creation effort.


Let’s start a conversation. Let me know what you think here or connect with me on https://twitter.com/EduloanSA