Youth portal launched to drive employment and entrepreneurship
Author: ACTIVATE! Change Drivers

Zimele Africa, a youth news portal to assist young people with understanding business and preparing them for the workplace, or to start their own businesses as entrepreneurs, has been launched by the ACTIVATE!
Academy, the free education arm of leading South African youth NGO, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers.
The youth NGO has already successfully trained almost 5,000 South African youth nationwide in leadership and social entrepreneurship skills over the past nine years. Through its new online education arm, the Activate Academy (activateacademy.org.za), it hopes to accelerate its learning programmes and impact. It will begin on boarding students in early-2021 for its free training courses to prepare the youth for entrepreneurship and business environment. The courses are designed to be mobile friendly and training videos are short to take into account data constraints, and to ensure the material is accessible to all youth.
Zimele Africa (zimeleafrica.org) is a place where the youth canbe inspired and encouraged to build their futures through a series of articles and conversations – whether it is by furthering their skills/education, starting their own businesses or starting work. It is a free online resource with information and advice from experienced educators, news and inspirational stories about the youth and written by the youth, plus mentorship from young business leaders. The goal is to get the youth confident, hopeful and working either for themselves or on a career path in a business.
“With Zimele Africa, our intent is to provide a community for young people to find work; get work; prepare themselves for the work environment; create their own work; build businesses; and find the tools that make them effective leaders – both within their own communities and in the workplace – ultimately as employers,” says Chris Meintjes, Executive Director of ACTIVATE! Academy.
“The portal will also signpost the youth to the ACTIVATE! Academy where they can enrol for free short courses, including: Leadership, Turning Ideas into Reality; and Self-care. Our express courseware includes: Introduction to Innovation, Building your CV; and establishing a Side Hustle.
“The vision of the ACTIVATE! Academy is to create a network of young South Africans who are committed to their own growth and their destinies. We see this network as having a positive impact on the youth of SA, and in turn their families, communities and the country. Its mission is to enable young South Africans, utilising an accessible blended learning platform, to change their capacity and life trajectory.”