By Kagiso Bonoko
Brand South Africa’s strategic partnerships include the promotion of education in South Africa to fight poverty and inequality. For this reason, Brand South Africa, through its Play Your Part programme partnered with the College of Africa (CoA) to promote access to education among the disadvantaged youth.
The College of Africa (CoA) recently held a graduation ceremony to celebrate students who benefitted from the Brand South Africa “Covid-19 Tertiary Bursaries” scheme. CoA was founded in 2019 with the aim of becoming one of Africa’s awarding educational private TVET colleges as well as one of Africa’s top leaders in tertiary financial assistance. CoA believes that all the days of the college should be great days with no financial burden.
The Campus Director, Fhulafhelo Mukwevho congratulated the class of 2024 saying; “I hope that each one of you takes pride and joy in this achievement and aims to soar to even greater heights. We wish you a life and career full of joy, new and better opportunities, and greater fulfilment. As you cherish the fruits of your hard work, we wish that success keeps following you in everything that you do.”
The bursary initiative, launched at the height of the pandemic, back in 2021, has thus far assisted 10,000 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds across South Africa. It was introduced in response to the financial hardships brought on by the pandemic, that negatively impacted household incomes and led to many students dropping out of tertiary education due to a lack of funding.
This bursary scheme stands out because beneficiaries are not required to repay the funds or work for the bursar after completing their studies, unlike other forms of educational financial aid. Education and information are great tools to equip young people in order for them to steer their lives to greater heights in the future.
“In the spirit of Brand South Africa’s Play Your Part initiative, it is important just to start where you are with what you have, to join the many active citizens who make meaningful contributions to their communities. As you move on to pursuing your dream fields of choice, do remember that as you let your own light shine, you automatically allow others to do the same. Go therefore and conquer, take space, make a positive impact, and carry the South African flag high. As Brand South Africa, we want you to use this platform to encourage you to understand that finding solutions to our national problems is not just for government or business but includes everyone who calls South Africa home, and who believes that they too have a role to play in making it a country we can be proud of.” – Lerato Legodi, Strategic Relations Manager: Government.
In his keynote address, Deputy Minister Mr. Itiseng Kenneth Morolong said, “Today we are recognising you as graduates, and as we celebrate you, we wish you success beyond the classroom. This is a significant milestone in your life, on a day that marks the beginning of your adulthood journey. Ladies and gentlemen, the essence of the Play Your Part campaign is about recognising that each one of you has a role to play in shaping our country’s future in various forms, and your contribution matters. As Brand South Africa, our partnership with CoA is a commitment to society to create a skills base that can serve the community in various ways for the future.”
Brand South Africa salutes Ms. Ipfi Maumela, an ambitious young black woman and founder of CoA for not only being an entrepreneur who adds economic value but also for contributing to positive societal change and benefit.
