International recognition for the SEF

With the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) at its helm as fund manager, the SEF has created 140,000 jobs across more than 6,000 sites nationwide since its inception in 2021. As part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme, under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTIC), SEF has partnered with thirty-seven civil society organisations and 1,100 community partners. 

These collaborations have spread work opportunities across the country in areas such as urban transformation, community health and caregiving, early childhood development, combating gender-based violence, education, greening, arts and culture to name a few.

The SEF was one of three nominees in the Prosperity Catalyst Category, alongside Places for London, UK and Prosperity in Buffalo, USA – both well-deserving programmes.

“The SEF stood out for us as it supported local organisations to unlock social value while increasing the quality of life, access to work and levels of education for its participants and beneficiaries,” said Larry Lye Hock Ng, jury member for The Bay Awards.

“The SEF has demonstrated its contribution to addressing inequality, relieving poverty and restoring natural systems to build resilience and sustainability. It has the capacity to inspire other cities and communities, worldwide, to serve as prosperity catalysts and has proven through its programme that creating prosperity can also serve the common good.”

Dr Kate Philip, representing the Presidential Employment Stimulus, explained the underlying rationale for the SEF, “Unemployment makes people feel as if they have no value to add to society. But even when labour has no market value, it has – and can create – social value. Societies need instruments to unlock that value, and to use labour as a resource for development. The Social Employment Fund is such an instrument.”

The SEF is a bold and ambitious fund aimed at tackling unemployment through strengthening partnerships with a wide range of social and civic partners, enabling them to create ‘whole of society’ initiatives for greater scale and impact across South Africa.

It supports ‘work for the common good’ in communities – employing people, mainly youth and women, to address a wide range of locally identified community needs. Participation in work not only provides much-needed income through stipends but participants also gain self-esteem, work experience and various skills. Real community development impacts are evident.

The SEF encourages and supports participants to transition from the programme into self-employment, further, their studies or use the work experience gained to facilitate their access to employment in the wider labour market.

According to SEF programme lead, IDC’s Bhavanesh Parbhoo: “This international recognition means a lot to everyone who has turned the idea of social employment into reality and has seen the impact on participants and communities. Now, more than ever, South Africa needs a collaborative approach and strong partnerships to tackle unemployment, by investing in innovative community interventions. We also need to properly harness the power and abilities of civil society – these are key role-players in solving very complex socio-economic issues. 

“To date, R3.5bn in public investment has been committed to the SEF, with the private sector and donors contributing an additional R150m to deliver change. This has allowed our implementing partners to intensify the impact and low for greater spending on skills transfer, tools, equipment and more. However we need to take this to the next level,” says Parbhoo.  

“The Fund seeks committed partners in the private sector and beyond and has robust screening, reporting and accountability systems able to meet the most stringent of audit requirements – creating a mechanism for fund management that supports the SEF goals.”

For more information on the SEF, go to www.socialemploymentfund.co.za #SEF #SocialEmploymentFund #workforcommongood #empoweringlives