Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Nicola Galombik |
| Location |
|
CEO | Kasthuri Soni[1] |
Key people | Maryana Iskander |
| Website | harambee.co.za |
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a South African nonprofit founded to address the youth unemployment crisis by connecting employers to first-time job seekers.
About
[edit]Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not-for-profit social enterprise that works with partners to find solutions for the challenge of youth unemployment. Their partners who, like them, are committed to results that can work at scale – include government, the private sector, civil society, and over 4 million youth. They are working to unlock jobs and break down the barriers that keep millions of young South Africans unemployed. Their vision is of a growing economy and a society that works, powered by the potential of young people.
Harambee is an anchor partner in a breakthrough platform called SA Youth which brings together many partners to create a single national network to allow young people to access a wide selection of jobs and skilling opportunities, and for opportunity holders to access young engaged work-seekers – for free!
Recognition
[edit]Harambee has been the recipient of a number of grants and awards, including the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship,[2] a finalist for the 2019 Conscious Companies award[3] and the Global Center for Youth Employment award. It was one of the Aspen Institute's 2015 John P. McNulty prize laureates[4] and also received recognition from USAID[5] and a $3.5 million grant in 2020.[6] In 2019, they were voted the 8th most popular brand in South Africa in the "Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth 2019" category.[7]
History
[edit]Harambee was founded in 2011 by Nicola Galombik, who is also the Executive Director at Yellowwoods, a global investment group based in South Africa. The name "Harambee" is Swahili for "we all pull together".[8] The organization was incubated by Yellowwoods in partnership with the South African Government's National Treasury's Jobs Fund.[9] Maryana Iskander took over as Chief Executive Officer in 2012. According to Iskander, their initial goal was to "scale and place 10,000 people into their first jobs".[3] In 2015, Harambee made an on-stage commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative to provide unemployed youth in South Africa access to 50,000 jobs and work experiences.[10] As of June 2019, Harambee had connected 100,000 young South Africans to employment.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "About". Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator". Skoll Foundation. Skoll Foundation. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Conscious Companies awards applauds 2019 finalists". IOL. Independent Media and affiliated companies. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "2015 McNulty Prize Laureates Announced". The Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ U.S. Agency for International Development (2021-07-12). "USAID Announces $18.4 Million in Support of Cutting Edge Innovations". USAID. Archived from the original on 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ "USAID gives $3.5m boost to Harambee for youth employment". Biz Community. Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Sa's Youth Have Spoken – The 2019 Sunday Times Gen Next Winners Announced". Arena Events. Arena Events. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "5 Cool Things That Could Make The World A Better Place By 2030". NPR. NPR. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ Kruger, Danielle. "Harambee wins 2019 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship". IT News Africa. African Innovator Group (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Harambee's exceeds youth employment commitment to Clinton global initiative". IT News Africa. ITNews Africa. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Mabaso, Sipho. "Youth-owned township businesses complain of market access barriers". IOL. Independent Media and affiliated companies. Retrieved 26 February 2020.