| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Nicola Galombik |
| Location |
|
CEO | Kasthuri Soni [1] |
Key people | Maryana Iskander |
| Website | harambee.co.za |
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a South African nonprofit founded to address the youth unemployment crisis by connecting employers to first-time job seekers.
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not-for-profit social enterprise that works with partners to find solutions for the challenge of youth unemployment. Their partners who, like them, are committed to results that can work at scale – include government, the private sector, civil society, and over 4 million youth. They are working to unlock jobs and break down the barriers that keep millions of young South Africans unemployed. Their 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!
Harambee has been the recipient of a number of grants and awards, including the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, [2] a finalist for the 2019 Conscious Companies award [3] and the Global Center for Youth Employment award. It was one of the Aspen Institute's 2015 John P. McNulty prize laureates [4] and also received recognition from USAID [5] and a $3.5 million grant in 2020. [6] In 2019, they were voted the 8th most popular brand in South Africa in the "Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth 2019" category. [7]
Harambee was founded in 2011 by Nicola Galombik, who is also the Executive Director at Yellowwoods, a global investment group based in South Africa. The name "Harambee" is Swahili for "we all pull together". [8] The organization was incubated by Yellowwoods in partnership with the South African Government's National Treasury's Jobs Fund. [9] Maryana Iskander took over as Chief Executive Officer in 2012. According to Iskander, their initial goal was to "scale and place 10,000 people into their first jobs". [3] In 2015, Harambee made an on-stage commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative to provide unemployed youth in South Africa access to 50,000 jobs and work experiences. [10] As of June 2019, Harambee had connected 100,000 young South Africans to employment. [11]