How one not-for-profit social enterprise is helping thousands of South Africans with their careers… this is the story of Harambee, Nandos and Neo Maphaka.
The secret behind the success of Nando’s, one of South Africa’s most loved brands, apart from their delicious PERi-PERi chicken, is their people.
Nando’s is not about chicken. It’s never been just about chicken. It’s about pride, passion courage and integrity. And most of all, family.
“These are the values that we live by. We work hard and play hard while making the best chicken, in the world, as a family – and that is what sets us apart from the rest,” explains Doug Place, Nando’s Chief Marketing Officer for Africa, Middle East and India.
One of Nando’s true champion employees (fondly called Nandocas), who embodies the brand’s values, is Neo Maphaka. Born on 11 January 1991 in Orlando West in Soweto, Neo says her journey with Nando’s came by complete accident.
“After school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My friend brought a newspaper to my home one day and I saw an advert for Harambee. I got the number and spent my last R20 on airtime so that I could complete the online registration. A month went by before I got a call back. It was then that I was introduced to the wonderful world of Nando’s,” explains Neo.
Neo is one of the many successful candidates from Nando’s partnership with Harambee, a youth employment accelerator that helps young job-seekers with high potential enter the formal economy.
Harambee is a not-for-profit social enterprise with extensive experience building solutions and innovations that can solve the global youth unemployment challenge. They partner with business, government, young people and many others who are committed to results that can work at scale.
Neo says that despite not knowing that much about the Nando’s brand, apart from the delicious PERi-PERi chicken of course, she soon fell in love with everything Nando’s stands for.
“There are so many things I love about working for Nando’s. I love that I get to work with great Nandocas on a daily basis. Even better, I get to make a difference in their lives. We are a brand that literally lives out our values,” says Neo.
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SPAR Celebrates 9 Wins at the 2026 Food & Home Awards!Neo started out as a runner, but knew she was destined for greater things at Nando’s and never lost sight of her goal of going into management.
“After six months I knew I wanted to be a manager because I could learn so much more. I was lucky because Harambee has a programme called a “bridge to success” where you can go on a course for 40 days to get a feel for what it means to be a manager. It really helped me to move up in my career,” explains Neo.
Neo has since joined the Nando’s Human Resources department in the Learning and Development function. Neo believes that it is imperative for young people who are starting out in their career to step out of their comfort zone.
“Don’t become comfortable with where you are in your career. You have to find challenging situations, whether they be in your individual capacity or professional. Challenge yourself, and constantly ask what you can do to improve yourself,” explains Neo.
From a female perspective, Neo believes that women need to share their journey and learn from each other’s past failings.
“Never doubt yourself, the sky is the limit, and empower other people. I feel that as women we don’t stand together or empower each other enough, but if women in power come together and shared their wisdom and expertise, this would give rise to other women of power. I just think that we constantly forget that there is power in unity,” concludes Neo.
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