PROJECT DETAIL: INNOVATION HUB AFRICA

Project Status:                     Approved – Active

Project ID:                            HAF-1

Project Phase:                     Delivery – Training
Program Year::                    5th: Feb. – Nov., 2023

Project Start Date:              February 15, 2019
Planned Finish Date:          November 30, 2025

PMO Agent:                         Liz Skosana
HFI Coord./Agent:              Andy Boettcher

Funding Goal for this Project is $75,000

$5,400 of $50,000 raised

Every $7,500 donated helps us launch one more youth/young adult with a healthy identity, globally-enabled job skills, being a productive leader in their community!

Delivery Partner

HILLSONG AFRICA
FOUNDATION

CAPE TOWN
SOUTH AFRICA

Services Delivered
by Partner

  • Child & Youth Empowerment
  • Career & Leadership Development
  • Urban Care Initiatives
  • Disaster Response
  • Kids Clubs, Sports

People Groups
Impacted

The Hillsong Africa Foundation’s (HAF) vision driving the Innovation Hub project is “Innovating access to opportunity for the next generation’s potential to be unlocked, ultimately connecting them to the local & global economy”.

Some sobering statistics exist for young adults ages 18 to 29 living in townships (informal settlements) of South Africa:

    • 59% – Unemployment rate;
    • 61% – Youth raised without a father;
    • 69% – Youth do not graduate high school;
    • 94% – do not move on to higher education after high school; and
    • Very low ratio of female vs. male opportunities for post-high school digital training streams.

After running a synchronized program delivery approach in Cape Town and Johannesburg since 2021, the program will consolidate its operations in Johannesburg starting 2023 while doubling its cohort size from 30 to 60.    The Program runs for 10 months annually, 5 days per week, with facilitated training from 09:00-12:30 and self-study/project time until 16:00.  Training content is split into three streams: Digital Marketing, Soft Skills and Personal Mastery, and Professional Mentorship with Workplace Readiness Support.  Students awarded seats in the program receive all training content and support without cost, including transportation subsidy, personal access to digital delivery platform tools and high-speed internet, daily lunch, and assignment of a professional coach-mentor.

Hands and Feet International believes very strongly in the vision, plan and outcomes being undertaken by HAF for this Project and has been supporting the program since its launch in 2019.  We are excited to see how this program has grown since then and a believe they have an excellent roadmap for the future.  They are aligned with our overall mission and objectives and one of our posted volunteers, Andy Boettcher in his role as Executive Advisor to Hillsong Africa and a member of the iHub Board of Directors, will be our “feet on the ground” providing project agency and oversight services to ensure the HFI outcomes are achieved.  HFI is looking to raise funds for this project as one of its sanctioned projects, specifically looking to help fund the delivery costs of students (see the cost per student on this page).  We have also partnered with the iHub team in providing volunteer professional Coach-Mentors through our Stay & Serve initiative as well as other on-site posting opportunities for individuals wanting to come in person to assist the iHub team grow and refine their program.  An example of this on-site support is our latest Trauma Counselling Training posting taking place in April, 2023 where 3 Canadian professional counsellors will be delivering customized, trauma-informed training to the iHub leadership, facilitators, coaches, and student leads.

HFI will continue to provide the program support and mentorship through Andy as the leadership team implements the next stages of their strategic roadmap, including:

    • Consolidating to a single, higher capacity hub location at the Media Mill in Johannesburg for 2023;
    • Refining intake processes to filter down from over 1,400 applicants to 60 awarded seats following rigorous boot camp qualification weeks in February;
    • Launch a newly-refined, three-stream program (4th edition) in March, all delivered from a robust and feature-rich LMS platform;
    • Access local Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) funding which will allow the Innovation Hubs to operate sustainably longer-term;
    • Continue to expand their network of Placement Partners to provide greater numbers of internship opportunities for their program graduates;
    • Design and Launch a Digital Marketing Agency that operates out of Johannesburg but services clients worldwide, as a secondary onramp for graduates to enter the digital marketing marketplace as an entrepreneur;
    • Explore new cities within South Africa and or the continent where they can expand the reach of the program; and
    • Explore launching new digital skills training streams including those in fields of Fintech, Cyber Security, Low/No Code and AI.

Join us as we help our Delivery Partner HAF to “Build Lives that will Build a Community, a Nation, and a Continent.”