A mobile and online service aimed at addressing youth unemployment in South Africa has reached a milestone of supporting over four- million young people in accessing jobs.

The Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator helps job seekers to access self-employment opportunities, skills development programmes, work seeker support, and other resources to help youth transition into the labour market.

“Harambee remains committed to working with partners from the public, private and social sectors to unlock earning opportunities and dismantle the barriers that keep millions of youth unemployed,” says Harambee CEO Kasthuri Soni.

Launched in 2021 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, sayouth.mobi was designed to help young unemployed South Africans find work by connecting them through the online platform to private and public sector employers. To reduce costs, the sayouth.mobi platform is zero-rated, allowing young work seekers to access it without incurring data charges. Its geo-mapping feature addresses the transport cost barrier by matching young people to opportunities near their places of residence.

The SA Youth Partner Network gives employees access to young talent across the country, matched to their specific opportunities.

The multi-channel SA Youth platform enables Harambee to keep young people productively engaged and support them with a range of services, including:

• Call centre assistance:  toll free service providing guidance and information
• Digital engagement: offering support through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and email, including helping young people identify and avoid fraudulent job offers
• sayouth.mobi resources:  free online courses, curriculum vitae templates, and assessments
• SmartWorks programme: assisting young job seekers with professional attire for interviews or when starting their first jobs
• Mock interviews and job readiness: interview preparation and practical training, both in-person and through the call centre.

Harambee says it has set a new goal of enabling one-million more work opportunities across the economy by 2026, a target that took 12 years to reach previously.

“But we cannot do it alone,” says Soni. “We need the support of employers to recruit their entry-level talent through the SA Youth Partner Network at partners.sayouth.org.za Together, we can drive the necessary changes to build a more inclusive economy and get South Africa’s youth working.”

Harambee platforms can be accessed on partners.sayouth.org.za and on sayouth.mobi