Bridging the divide, youth are uplifted through scholarships & employment

Credit: Regency Global / SA INC

Absa has played a vital role in educating the youth by providing 6500 scholarships to date as well as offering courses to boost employment prospects.

Johannesburg, South Africa – Duduzile Radebe’s dream came true the day her acceptance letter arrived in the post. She was finally going to become a doctor. She had worked so hard for that moment, the moment that envelope arrived in her postbox.

Flooded with relief and sheer joy, she read the acceptance letter over and over, unable to believe it was all finally happening. Dudu would be the first person in her family to go to university. Her mother was so relieved, knowing her daughter would go on to do well in life. The only hurdle left to overcome to reach her dream, was the incredibly high university fees, especially for a long degree in medicine.

Absa saw Dudu’s potential and made her a beneficiary of their scholarship programme. Dudu was grateful that someone finally saw her potential and says they are helping her become the woman that she sees herself become one day.

Duduzile Radebe. Credit: Regency Global / SA INC

The African continent has a population of which almost 65% are under the age of 35. As an African bank, Absa is committed to uplifting this generation – Africa’s future inventors and innovators – and have, to date, supported over 6,500 young people through their scholarship programme.

Absa not only offers scholarships to deserving students, but they also run a ReadytoWork programme which facilitates the critical transition between completing education and entering the workforce. Through this programme, candidates are taught valuable skills that will benefit them in finding meaningful employment. The programme teaches them how to handle themselves professionally within the workplace environment, along with learning critical financial skills.

As Absa is a financial institution, they firmly believe in equipping young South Africans with much-needed financial literacy and financial management skills. Absa have curated a partnership with City Press and MoneyMakeover, in which they support South Africans in understanding and shifting debt, along with how to use and grow their money.

Howard Hindoga. Credit: Regency Global / SA INC

The MoneyMakeover Challenge has a winner each year, and in 2017, Howard Hindoga was named the winner. Since winning the challenge, Howard has gone from a security officer with no tertiary education and bleak hopes for his financial future, to successful property entrepreneur, ensured of a comfortable retirement.

Howard had been ill-advised and took out expensive personal loans to expand his rental property portfolio which almost cost him his business. Thankfully, Absa connected Howard with a Small Business Development expert to assist him in repairing his business portfolio. Elton Govender worked with Howard, and he is now a financially literate entrepreneur who can invest back into his community.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the growth of South African economies. Another one of Absa’s programmes, the Enterprise Development programme has assisted entrepreneurs like Anda Peter, with the tricky transition from the corporate environment to running a successful business.

Apart from learning business management skills, Anda feels that she is part of a supportive network which alleviates the loneliness of running one’s own business. From successful youth development programmes to financial literacy and enterprise development programmes, Absa believes in playing a shaping role in society and is passionate about contributing to an economically stable and prosperous South Africa and the continent it calls home.

As part of the #SAINC nation-building initiative, Absa is joining a network of purpose-driven brands to share stories of positive progress in South Africa. These stories are being featured across social media in small snippets, just like the one below, but you will also be able to watch the full-length features live on television. You will find the airing times below.

21 April 2019 – eTV Open News – 18:30
22 April 2019 – eTV Open News – 15:30
04 May 2019 – SABC 2 – 14:30
26 May 2019 – eTV – 12:00
4 June 2019 – Business Day TV – 16:00
6 June 2019 – Business Day TV – 12:00

Watch a snippet of the story below:

Sources: Regency Global

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