Solving youth unemployment through partnerships.
WHO WE ARE
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not-for-profit social enterprise that works with partners to find solutions for the challenge of youth unemployment. Our partners who, like us, are committed to results that can work at scale – include government, the private sector, civil society, and over 5 million youth. We are working to unlock jobs and break down the barriers that keep millions of young South Africans unemployed. Our vision is of a growing economy and a society that works, powered by the potential of young people.
Harambee is an anchor partner in a breakthrough platform called SA Youth which brings together many partners to create a single national network to allow young people to access a wide selection of jobs and skilling opportunities, and for opportunity holders to access young engaged work-seekers – for free!
4.6 million
work-seekers supported
1.6 million +
young people connected to earning opportunities
3,000+
employer partners
R45.2 billion
income for youth
Updated 11 December 2025
PARTNERS
HARAMBEE NEWS
Sector Growth, Youth Jobs and Inclusion: The Role of GBS and Digital Sector Bodies
The Global Business Services (GBS), IT Outsourcing, and Business Process Outsourcing sectors are increasingly recognised as powerful engines of economic growth, export competitiveness, and large-scale inclusive job creation. But competitiveness and inclusive youth jobs don’t emerge on their own, they are deliberately built through strong ecosystems, with sector bodies at the centre.
Harambee In the News – Jan – May 2026
Harambee in the News: A snapshot of where Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator was featured in the media each month, reflecting ongoing conversations around youth employment, inclusive hiring, and the partnerships helping to connect young people to meaningful work opportunities across South Africa.
The Global Economic Transformation Will Be Local
We are at the dawn of a new age: the climate transition is upon us, the era of hyper-globalization is receding, middle classes worldwide are under strain, and poverty reduction in developing countries faces new headwinds. Even without the destabilizing shifts brought about by US President Donald Trump’s international trade and foreign aid policies, the world would be desperate for new solutions.
A Review of South Africa’s Data on the Care Economy
The care economy is fundamental to the functioning of society and the economy — shaping how children are cared for and educated, how people access healthcare and social support, how older persons age with dignity, and how households and communities are sustained. Yet despite its critical role…
Beyond the Storm: Transforming the youth employment landscape through data and bold action
Fifty years after the student uprising that defined Youth Day on 16 June 1976, South Africa’s young people have secured their political freedom, but the struggle for economic inclusion continues. They face challenges on two fronts: the persistent systemic barriers of the past, and a world that is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. Current volatility in geopolitics and the resulting oil shocks are clouding the economic groundwork that must form the foundation of job growth.
Shaping the Future of GBS and Digital Work
The GBS and Digital sectors have been identified as a generator of an outsized proportion of youth employment opportunities. With the GBS and Digital Jobs Project, delivered in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, targeting the creation of 200,000 digital and GBS jobs in Rwanda and South Africa by 2030, these sectors must continue to be the focus of acute analysis to ensure the continent’s most excluded youth benefit from its growth.
Every single day, thousands of lives are impacted by the work of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.
Harambee has contributed to enabling inclusive growth, resilient cities, and sustainable economies in the partnerships that it built with business and government
Harambee has provided cutting edge insights - globally - on the barriers facing young people and what is needed to break them down
Harambee's work has created the leading example in nation-building by business, civil society and government.