Tshepo 10 000 (“Hope”)

Objective

To equip unemployed with technical and business skills to increase their employability and to encourage entrepreneurship.

Overview and Main Activities

Tshepo (which means “Hope”) is a partnership between Barclays Africa Group and the Tshwane municipality (specifically the economic development department) in South Africa. The programme provides technical and business skills training based on local needs. Training began in November 2013 and concluded in July 2014 and participants were not compensated. Following the training, participants formed co-ops that acted as suppliers to the municipality and received work contracts. Barclays paid for all of the business support training.

The 10,000 participants of the programme are clustered into groups of 2,500 people to form cooperatives that service municipal and government contracts in industries such as construction, ICT, freight and logistics. Participants receive training tailored to each area, which enables them to work in the respective area. The type of work that participants perform includes pothole repair, street light fixing, general building repair (plumbing, electrical), traffic light repair and environmental management.

After successful completion of the programme, participants have the chance to receive full-time positions with the municipality. In addition, participants are registered on the procurement portal that provides them access to employment and contracting opportunities. The aim is for participants to graduate as mainstream suppliers to the municipality and other organizations. Since the first programme has not yet concluded, information on full-time positions is not yet available.

Though Barclay’s funds both the technical and business training, it delivers only the business support training via modules on Financial Management and Group Dynamics. Technical training was delivered by the University of Pretoria and Tshwane University of Technology – mainly via training centres such as the Absa Centre of Entrepreneurship, which is a support hub for SMEs to provide financial and business training, as well as mentorship and networking opportunities.

The municipality has earmarked South African Rand, 1bn in procurement spend for the Tshepo co-ops. Co-ops can register on the Absa Procurement Portal as basic members at no charge to unlock additional market opportunities. Barclays will provide business support to the co-ops on an ongoing basis through its Centre of Entrepreneurship.

Success Factors and Challenges

Most critical success factors:

• Partnership with local authorities and their commitment to provide business opportunities and access to markets
• Provision of technical and business support to participants
• Provision of development finance in the absence of security and collateral

Main challenges:

• Negotiation with local authorities
• Credit/funding of cooperatives
• Coordinating diverse stakeholders to ensure continued alignment and meeting of defined deadlines and milestones
• Sufficient resources to deliver on scope of programme

Recommendations for Others

Local authorities should consider rolling out these types of initiatives in a phased approach on an ongoing basis, and shortening the lag time between training beneficiaries and issuing work contracts to them.

Replicability and Scalability

How easily could other organizations implement this initiative?
Difficult: Major competitors will have to change ED strategy, align ED spend to these types of initiatives and replicate the bank’s procurement portal to allow for mass registration.

How easily can this initiative be expanded to include a larger number of participants?
Easy: The initiative can be rolled-out to the other municipalities..

About the Organization

Website: www.barclaysafrica.com
Sector: Banking and Capital Markets
Size (number of employees): 50,000+
Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa

For Further Engagement

Contact name: Ana Millan
Contact position: General Director, Spanish Accenture Foundation
Email: [email protected]