Connecting youth to, and through opportunities

About Us

Who we are

Connect Southern Africa (CSA) is a determined and ambitious youth led regional non-profit social enterprise, responding to the challengesfaced by youth in the SADC region, such as youth unemployment, the gender digital gap, financial illiteracy and digital illiteracy.

Our story

Upon completion of a B.Sc. Agricultural Economics and Development Hons Degree from the Midlands State University in 2015, Ashley Mupfawa was excited and ready for the next step of his life; employment. Surprisingly, most decent jobs advertised for Agricultural Economists required at least five years of experience; he hardly had a year of experience obtained during work related learning.

More-to-that, most entry level jobs that he could apply for required a driver’s licence and soft skills such as; administration, social media, digital marketing, self branding and Microsoft packages. During one of the interviews he got invited to, he was asked if he had any certification in administration and Microsoft Office, unfortunately he didn’t so he couldn’t get the job. Worried if he was the only one facing this challenge Ashley asked his fellow graduates if they had these kinds of certifications and found that they also didn’t. A small survey he did showed that out of ten graduates only one had an administration course. This led to the identification of the “gap” and so Ashley, together with four others namely Lista Dube, Farai Masiyambiri, Mbulelo Mwanza and Milton Jack all involved in the small survey embarked on a journey of discovery -

• Was it just them or were many more facing a similar challenge?
• If they were not the only ones facing this challenge, what could be done to remedy it?
• What about those that were still in High school and University – could they be assisted to obtain such certificates before they graduate to ensure they stand out in the job application process once they are done with their studies?

Although these are short courses in nature one still struggles to obtain them due to the exorbitant fees charged by training institutions. This in many cases results in prolonged waiting while one is trying to gather the funds. During this wait one might end up involving themselves in the social ills that result from unemployment which may include but are not limited to theft, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution, unwanted pregnancies and family disputes.

Ashley decided to invite his fellow graduates mentioned above and together they came up with an intervention strategy in form of an online training programme that would be accredited by an academic institution. The vision was to see to it that every graduate leaves high school or tertiary education holding certificates in Administration, Microsoft Office, Financial Literacy and Digital Literacy to complement their formal qualification hence making them more employable. These skills are equally important to young people that might choose to start their own income generating projects aiding to the government’s objective of promoting an entrepreneurial culture among the youth and thus Connect Southern Africa was formalized and got registered as a Trust on the 15th of March 2018.

Events

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