JustBusiness: Bridging Rural Communities and Youth: Core Africa's Vision
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On JustGospel's Just Business with Lindi Tshabangu, entrepreneur and Core Africa founder discussed innovative solutions to South Africa's twin crises: youth unemployment and rural neglect.
Who is She?
A mother (daughter named Moon), entrepreneur, and self-described "bridge builder" connecting people and ideas across divides. Her journey began in banking, meeting diverse people—students seeking loans, families building houses, entrepreneurs starting businesses. Drawn to entrepreneurship, she and her husband launched a creative business, discovered TED Talks, and brought TEDxJohannesburg to South Africa, amplifying local ideas to match global platforms.
The Youth Crisis
South Africa's youth face a paradox: more educational opportunities than the apartheid generation—university choice, NSFAS funding—but no jobs waiting post-graduation. "It's scary to be a young person in South Africa today," she explained. The economy hasn't expanded enough to absorb graduates, creating 41% youth unemployment.
Core Africa's Solution
Core Africa is a youth-based organization working across 12 African countries, training graduates in community-led development and human-centered design. They don't directly provide jobs but equip young people with skills, resilience, and alternative pathways beyond traditional employment at banks, mining houses, or IT companies.
The Model: A Year of Service
Core Africa places trained graduates in rural communities for one year. Volunteers identify local needs—struggling schools needing tutors, ECD centers requiring support, farmer groups seeking assistance—and contribute their skills and education to address them. The goal: make youth more employable while catalyzing rural development.
Year One Results
Starting with 35 young people in Northwest (Mahikeng, Taung) and Limpopo (Polokwane, Tzaneen), Core Africa facilitated remarkable transformation. Projects launched include:
Poultry businesses selling chickens
Small-scale farming supplying retail shops like USave and SaveMalls
Gold farming projects
Piggeries and bakeries
School vegetable gardens (principals report significant savings, students take vegetables home)
"We're not solving unemployment immediately, but we're training communities in self-reliance and entrepreneurship," she emphasized.
Year Two Expansion
Week one of the second cohort just began with 40 volunteers in the same provinces. The vision: scale from 30 to 40, then 100, eventually thousands. They seek partners—government and corporates—not for CSI but strategic investment in youth and rural South Africa.
The Digital Divide
Traveling deep rural South Africa revealed shocking realities: high schools without computers, teachers lacking digital access. One volunteer saw her first computer at university just before COVID forced online learning. "Here's a laptop, email, data—start learning online. But what if you don't know Zoom or how to do assignments digitally?"
Skills Mismatch Crisis
Universities aren't educating for 21st-century economies. Students study subjects with no market demand while industries need IT, AI, clean economy, and renewable energy skills. "Day one on campus, let's talk about jobs—where will you work in five years? Google? NASA? Without these conversations, we'll stay at 41% youth unemployment."
The G20 Disappointment
Working in youth summit groups, she found South Africa missed its historic opportunity hosting the first African G20. "We didn't seize the moment. Lots of events but no action or transformation. We lost the chance to engage 20+ countries and learn from global counterparts."
Her Call
Young people must take up space in industry, not just politics. "Switch off social media for a month and focus on school. Maybe in 10 years, we'll have different statistics."
Find Them: coreafricta.org (July applications open annually)
Who is She?
A mother (daughter named Moon), entrepreneur, and self-described "bridge builder" connecting people and ideas across divides. Her journey began in banking, meeting diverse people—students seeking loans, families building houses, entrepreneurs starting businesses. Drawn to entrepreneurship, she and her husband launched a creative business, discovered TED Talks, and brought TEDxJohannesburg to South Africa, amplifying local ideas to match global platforms.
The Youth Crisis
South Africa's youth face a paradox: more educational opportunities than the apartheid generation—university choice, NSFAS funding—but no jobs waiting post-graduation. "It's scary to be a young person in South Africa today," she explained. The economy hasn't expanded enough to absorb graduates, creating 41% youth unemployment.
Core Africa's Solution
Core Africa is a youth-based organization working across 12 African countries, training graduates in community-led development and human-centered design. They don't directly provide jobs but equip young people with skills, resilience, and alternative pathways beyond traditional employment at banks, mining houses, or IT companies.
The Model: A Year of Service
Core Africa places trained graduates in rural communities for one year. Volunteers identify local needs—struggling schools needing tutors, ECD centers requiring support, farmer groups seeking assistance—and contribute their skills and education to address them. The goal: make youth more employable while catalyzing rural development.
Year One Results
Starting with 35 young people in Northwest (Mahikeng, Taung) and Limpopo (Polokwane, Tzaneen), Core Africa facilitated remarkable transformation. Projects launched include:
Poultry businesses selling chickens
Small-scale farming supplying retail shops like USave and SaveMalls
Gold farming projects
Piggeries and bakeries
School vegetable gardens (principals report significant savings, students take vegetables home)
"We're not solving unemployment immediately, but we're training communities in self-reliance and entrepreneurship," she emphasized.
Year Two Expansion
Week one of the second cohort just began with 40 volunteers in the same provinces. The vision: scale from 30 to 40, then 100, eventually thousands. They seek partners—government and corporates—not for CSI but strategic investment in youth and rural South Africa.
The Digital Divide
Traveling deep rural South Africa revealed shocking realities: high schools without computers, teachers lacking digital access. One volunteer saw her first computer at university just before COVID forced online learning. "Here's a laptop, email, data—start learning online. But what if you don't know Zoom or how to do assignments digitally?"
Skills Mismatch Crisis
Universities aren't educating for 21st-century economies. Students study subjects with no market demand while industries need IT, AI, clean economy, and renewable energy skills. "Day one on campus, let's talk about jobs—where will you work in five years? Google? NASA? Without these conversations, we'll stay at 41% youth unemployment."
The G20 Disappointment
Working in youth summit groups, she found South Africa missed its historic opportunity hosting the first African G20. "We didn't seize the moment. Lots of events but no action or transformation. We lost the chance to engage 20+ countries and learn from global counterparts."
Her Call
Young people must take up space in industry, not just politics. "Switch off social media for a month and focus on school. Maybe in 10 years, we'll have different statistics."
Find Them: coreafricta.org (July applications open annually)
