Inkulukeko Collaborates on Rotary Global Grant
Host club: Rotary of Grahamstown Sunset, District 9370
Focus Area: Community Economic Development
About Makhanda:
Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) is located in the Eastern Cape, South Africa’s poorest province, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 47.1%. Makhanda is part of the Makana Municipality, which has the highest unemployment rate in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality. South Africa as a whole has extremely high unemployment, the highest rate across 82 countries monitored by Bloomberg at 44.4% (Naidoo, Bloomberg), with youth being particularly affected. Makhanda faces significant challenges, including one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the country, with half of its youth not engaged in education, employment, or training by age 25.
About The Project:
This project is a collaboration between Rotary Global, the Rotary Club of Grahamstown Sunset, the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Inkululeko, a non-profit organization in South Africa that supports motivated students from underprivileged backgrounds in Makhanda. The first objective of this initiative is to support youth from poor households (ages 18 to 35, particularly women) who are not in education, employment, or training. These individuals, engaged in or interested in developing skills to operate microenterprises and succeed in the local informal economy, will receive training and mentorship. The second objective is to investigate the feasibility of supporting the informal economy by marketing and exporting products sourced from the local informal economy, especially by former trainees.
Skills Development:
Approximately 40 individuals will benefit from this project through sewing skills, marketing, and entrepreneurial training. Each training course will last three months and be implemented three times a year, with continued support and access to equipment for at least three months after completing the course. This project aims to improve household income, enabling poor households in Makhanda's township to better navigate the challenges of living in an impoverished community that lacks reliable municipal services.
Project Initiatives:
Inkululeko aims to pave the way to employment for young women by establishing small businesses focused on creating and selling artisan sewing products. The program includes:
Sewing Training: Practical skills development in sewing.
Business and Marketing Training: Essential knowledge to start and sustain a business.
Ongoing Support: Professional photography services for product marketing and continuous business mentoring provided by local organizations and Rotarians.
Moreover, the project will collaborate with Creative Women of the World (CWOW), a Fort Wayne, IN-based NGO led by Rotarians. CWOW’s director travels globally to train female artisans in developing countries, helping them achieve economic self-sufficiency. The products created by these artisans are sold in the CWOW store in Fort Wayne and other fair-trade shops across the US.
This initiative offers young women, who are not currently employed or in formal education, the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and gain financial independence.
