Social entrepreneurship programmes by rise focus on economic development through job creation, skills development, and entrepreneurship, specifically in the built environment, by linking aspiring local entrepreneurs with essential resources needed in order for their enterprises to flourish.
This has come about in response to an urgent need to help Africa’s young people, many of whom are vulnerable and in crisis. Nearly 40% of the population are youth, aged between fifteen and thirty, living below the poverty line of less than $2 per day. They are unable to find work, and more than 54% of them will have lost one or both parents by the time they are 17.
The Enterprise Hub, the first of its kind in the country of Lesotho, will tackle this situation by empowering young people to create jobs providing local goods and services. This will stimulate the economy, bring money back into the community, put roofs over people’s heads, and put food on their tables.
The purpose built facility will house up to 100 young entrepreneurs at a time. It will be designed and built by local talent as part of the Rise Fellowship Program, where recent university graduates learn vital skills through socially impactful community design build projects.
Within the hub there will be a focus on the creative, artisanal, design, and construction sectors. It will include workshop spaces along with a tool library, sample library, marketplace, referral system, and fully functional coworking space, business and technical coaching, and support services. It will be a supportive environment that offers mentoring and promotes networking among the young entrepreneurs, as well as encouraging innovative thinking and ethical business practices.
The hub will enhance and expand the achievements of the rise Fellowships, which in 2018 and 2019, saw success, the alumni’s monthly incomes increased by 56.7% within 12 months of graduating from the in loco Fellowship, and 16 startups launched collectively, creating 29 jobs for others.
By focusing on upskilling entrepreneurs in the design and construction sector, we help job seekers become job creators. These practical skills are easily shared, which means more people are able to build their own homes, as well as everyday items such as clothing and practical goods like furniture. Unaffordable things become accessible, people buy locally, GDP increases, and the cycle of poverty starts to crumble.