André Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Citi South Africa with Mi-Change Ambassador Dylon Jordaan. Photo Credit: Mi Change
Look out for the lanyard at the robots! Mi-Change’s digital vouchers, already a hit in Cape Town, are now live in Joburg. Each one buys a meal, a shower, clean clothes or a safe night’s sleep.
Johannesburg, South Africa (14 October 2026) – Mi-Change has just launched its digital voucher system in Joburg, giving residents a safer and more direct way to help someone who is struggling.
Each voucher costs R15. You buy one by scanning a QR code with SnapScan – you’ll find the codes on lanyards worn by homeless participants across the city. The participant can then redeem it at U-turn Homeless Ministries centres and MES (Mould Empower Serve) Centres of Hope across the metro. In return, they receive either a hot meal, a shower, clothing, or a safe place to sleep.
Look out for a Mi-Change lanyard, scan the code, and you’re done. There is no need to carry cash or worry about whether the money will be used well, and participants also have their own lanyards to collect and redeem vouchers.
Photo Credit: Mi Change
“It puts a spotlight on homelessness in the city, while giving donors a simple, trusted way to act on it,” says Jonathan Hopkins, Chief Strategy Officer at U-turn Homeless Ministries. Because SnapScan is already familiar to most South Africans, he adds, there’s “no learning curve and no hesitation.”
Joburg isn’t the first city to try it. Since the digital vouchers launched in Cape Town in July, more than 12,000 have been redeemed in just the first three months!
The Johannesburg rollout is backed by a US$500 000 (R8.2 million) grant from the Citi Foundation. It comes through the foundation’s US$25-million (R412-million) Global Innovation Challenge, which supports community-led solutions to homelessness around the world.
André Ross, CEO of Citi South Africa, says homelessness is one of Johannesburg’s toughest social challenges, with no single or simple fix. What appeals to him about Mi-Change is that it combines technology, community participation and human dignity, while connecting people to organisations that can offer meaningful support.
The official launch took place on 13 October at the MES BG Centre in Hillbrow. Guests tried interactive activations showing how one QR scan turns into real support on the ground. A panel discussion with representatives from Mi-Change, U-turn, MES and the Citi Foundation followed, looking at what the programme could mean for the city.
From left Nyeleti Magadze (Jozi My Jozi Social Development lead) Leona Pienaar (CEO of Mould Empower Serve), Dylon Jordaan (Mi-Change administrator) André Ross (CEO of Citi South Africa) and Jon Hopkins (Chief Strategy Officer of U-turn). Photo Credit: Mi Change
The most powerful voice at the launch belonged to Dylon Jordaan, who knows exactly what a R15 voucher can do.
As we reported in July, Dylon spent 12 years homeless, battling heroin addiction on the streets of Mitchells Plain. Today he is 33, three years sober, living independently and working for Mi-Change as an administrator. He helps run the very programme that helped him off the streets.
His turning point came on a cold, rainy day when there were no taxis to wash. A friend handed him a voucher and suggested he visit a nearby U-turn centre.
“There were days I’d wash taxis for small change, just to get through the next few hours,” he told guests in Johannesburg. The voucher, he says, “opened a door – to dignity, and to a community of people who believed I could change, at a time when I couldn’t see that in myself.”
Photo Credit: Mi-Change
“Johannesburg needs that same door for so many more people,” Dylon says. “This isn’t about a handout; it’s about giving someone a reason to take the next step.”
Next time you’re sitting at a robot, wondering how you can help the person looking back at you, keep an eye out for a Mi-Change lanyard. If they don’t have one, tell them about it. If they do, helping them is as quick as a scan.
That R15 could give someone a meal, a shower, clean clothes or a safe bed for the night, and perhaps even the push they need to take the next step. To find out how else you can get involved, visit michange.org.
Sources: Be Cause.
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