Social Entrepreneurship, ICTs and Youth Development in South Af

The role of Social Entrepreneurs in Deploying ICTs for Youth and Community Development in South Africa

Milano School of Public and Urban Policy
The New School University,
New York, USA

This study presents the case study of an innovative program designed to use ICT to meet the educational needs of disadvantaged young people in different communities in South Africa. This research highlights the methods and experiences of Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu, a youth organization that harnesses the potential of ICT for educational, youth and community development. The case illustrates the best practices of social entrepreneurship with less financial and technological resources within the context an African society. The major challenges facing the young organization are highlighted and its successes are also identified. The activities of the IkamvaYouth organization reveal that, South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) need effective multilateral initiatives to meet their educational aspiration as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If properly and innovatively applied by the public and civil society groups, ICTs have the potential to improve the quality and access to secondary education in South Africa in particular and Africa in general.

Key Words: Secondary Education; Information and communication technology; Youth

“What struck me so forcefully was how small the planet had become during my decades in prison.... [ICT] had shrunk the world, and had in the process become a great weapon for eradicating ignorance and promoting democracy.”

This paper presents a case that represents a best practice example of how young social entrepreneurs harness the potential of ICTs^¹ (Information and Communication Technologies) to promote social integration, youth and community development in Africa. The aim of this research is to examine the modus operandi of Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu, a grass-roots youth development organization in South Africa. The objective of the study is to encourage governments, international development agencies and corporate entities to support social entrepreneurial ventures that target youths, particularly those that apply ICTs for education and community development in Africa. The aggregate activities of such non-governmental ventures in various communities promises to expand access to quality education for the youth, and also help to accomplish the millennium development goals in the region. In this age of “youth bulge,” (World Bank, 2006) it is a necessity to invest in young people who are critical actors in the development process. Failure to train millions of unskilled and low-skilled youth in Africa will amount to higher social and economic cost to the society in the feature.

Africa and other developing regions of the world are full of innovative ventures that exploit the potential ICTs for development ends. However, the practical knowledge of what works and challenges facing these development ventures remain largely unavailable to policy makers, donors and prospective social entrepreneurs, and where available fragmented and uncoordinated. This study attempts to bridge this gap by using IkamvaYouth to provide a “knowledge map” of what works and what is needed for a sustainable scale-up of existing models. The research is driven by three major questions: How do social entrepreneurs apply ICTs for youth and community development in Africa? What needs to be improved in the existing social ventures? What lessons can be drawn from them for the benefit of informed policy and investment for governments and prospective partners? This study uses the case of Ikamva Youth to provide answer to these questions. The case study is based on the positive youth development conceptual framework (EQUIP3/Youth Trust, 2005). The concept of Positive Youth Development promotes long-term investment in the development of the human capital of youths. It involves the engagement of the youth in the development of a long-term and sustainable plan, coupled with the support necessary for the implementation of such plan of action in the course of their lives. Positive youth development aims at preparing the youth to earn a livelihood^², provide for their family and contribute to the development of their community (EQUIP3/Youth Trust, 2005).

This research is an extension of a doctoral dissertation on collaborative partnerships and the transformation of secondary education in South Africa. In a region where there is a low supply and high demand for secondary education, and where the traditional system of curriculum delivery (i.e., direct instruction) and government efforts and resources have proved inadequate; technological intervention through public-private partnerships has become attractive and cost-effective. This research builds upon Haddad and Draxler’s (2002) analysis of the imperative for technology in education. In their study, Haddad and Draxler examined the increasing importance of both old and new forms of technology in teaching and learning today. As they argue, the increasing application of ICTs in education has rendered the rigid distinction between face-to-face and distance education meaningless. As the World Bank (2005) notes, access to secondary education in Africa cannot be increased without major changes in service delivery. This study highlights the importance of sustaining social entrepreneurs that use ICTs to improve secondary education and youth development in post-apartheid South Africa. Dhanarajan (2001) outlines many reasons why innovative approaches, including ICTs, are needed in youth and community development in South Africa. However, two of these reasons are of particular importance. Namely:

Haddad and Draxler (2002) note that the development of ICT networking and knowledge sharing has caused a paradigm shift in schooling. They contend that schooling systems designed for the industrial age should change to meet the educational needs of the present global knowledge environment (ibid). Thus, the information age calls for a conceptual shift and a new paradigm of schooling as shown in table 1 below.

This research adapts the rationale behind the application of ICTs in education in South Africa as presented by the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE, 2000). Like Haddad and Draxler (2002), the SAIDE identifies the following innovative potential of ICTs as the rationale behind technology-enhanced education (also known as resource-based learning), community development and the involvement of civil society groups in the process in South Africa: 1) to expand access to educational provision to significantly larger numbers of learners; 2) to shift the patterns of expenditure to achieve economies of scale by amortizing identified costs (especially investment in cost design and development and in effective administrative system); 3) to break down the traditional teacher-centered system of education, and direct a significant proportion of educational expenditure to the design and improvement of high quality educational resources. In essence, these scholars consider the application of ICTs in education, youth training and development as means to transcend structural and socio-economic barriers facing this education in South Africa.

Community development has been defined from different disciplinary perspectives. Hence, there is some ambiguity surrounding the concept (Lyon, 1989). However, many scholars (Lyon, 1989; Ledwith, 2005) agree that community development involves tangible and abstract processes that bring desirable changes in the social and economic conditions of people living in a given geographical community. The process of community development involves the participation of the people (self-help approach) and the involvement of government authorities (technical approach) in initiating and implementing strategies and projects that are geared toward enhancing the lives of people in the communities (Ledwith, 2005).

The use of ICTs such as mobile telephone, computers and the internet system to leverage development is gaining popularity in rural and urban communities in the developing world. For instance, the rapid diffusion of mobile phone technology in sub-Saharan Africa has exceeded any single technological innovation in the region in recent times. The region has the world's fastest growth in mobile phone ownership and this technology is playing an important role in reducing poverty (Development Magazine, 2006). This has no doubt affected the lives of people in the region in a positive way. As the Development Magazine (2006) reports:

At its simplest, a mobile phone allows farmers and fishermen to find out the prices in various markets, and allows a handyman to travel to nearby villages only when he is told by phone that there is a job available. In Kenya and Tanzania mobile phones are improving healthcare provision, where doctors use them to diagnose patients living in remote communities. (The Development Magazine, 2006, p.8)

In the same vein, the use of other modern technologies, albeit slow, has offered some glimmer of hope to the poor secondary education sub-sector in many African nations. The right to quality education for the youth is always considered the responsibility of the government. Although effective educational policy and regulatory framework remains the responsibility of the government, it must be acknowledged that the large and complex nature of education and knowledge acquisition in today’s world, particularly in a low-income region such as Africa, can no longer be left alone to the government. Rather, the enrichment of secondary education and youth development depend on a sustained collaborative partnership between African governments and social entrepreneurs from within and outside Africa. The ability to harness the benefits of ICT provides tremendous opportunities for developing the potential of African youths through education and training. Such collaborative partnership and the enabling environment provided by good policy frameworks are essential in stimulating a broad scale application of ICTs in youth and community development in Africa.

This study adopts a qualitative research approach. It is based on rich case study tradition of research. As Babbie and Mouton (1998, p. 270) posit in qualitative research, “the actor’s perspective (the insider’s view) is emphasized” and “the main concern is to understand the social action for its specific context rather than attempting to generalize to some theoretical population.” Further, Babbie and Mouton assert that, due to the interest of the qualitative researcher to understand human action in its natural setting and through the eyes of the actors themselves, there is emphasis on detailed description and understanding of phenomena within the appropriate context (1998, p. 279).

In pursuit of the above methodological principle, data for the study was collected from primary and secondary sources. The fieldwork for the study was conducted in the summer of 2005 as part of a doctoral dissertation research. Data was collected using interviews and discussions with officials. This was triangulated with official documentation and other relevant materials about the operations of the organization. In addition, personal observation sessions were also part of the field research. These approaches are used to collect data as case records on the IkamvaYouth program for case analysis. A large set of information used in the study comes from e-mails, internet materials, particularly those available on the Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu website as well as other websites maintained by civic groups responding to issues of ICT in education and community development in the developing countries.

Changing socio-economic and political realities in developed and developing counties have resulted in constant innovations and reforms in education (Adamu, 1994). This trend is supported by Durkheim’s view that:

Educational transformations are always the result and symptom of social transformations in terms of which they are to be explained. In order for people to feel at any particular moment in time the need to change its educational system, it is necessary that new ideas and needs have emerged in which the former system is no longer adequate (Durkheim, 1938 p. 167, cited in Adamu, 1994).

Education is considered essential because, as Psachraopoulos (1995), Mansel and When (1998) have noted, knowledge and human capital are vital aspects of development. This is more important in today’s competitive global economic system where knowledge is seen as an essential ingredient for production.

The quality, relevance and cost of secondary school training are among the various challenges facing youth education in South Africa and other African countries. This calls for innovative ways for knowledge creation, acquisition and sharing among the youth. In considering the use of ICTs for expanding access to secondary education and pedagogical quality in Africa, one needs to focus on the development challenges and how these are manifested in the education sector (Isaacs, 2002). The effective use of technology to support education in Africa locates itself within the goals of socio-economic transformation, reconstruction and development of countries in the region. As observed by Isaacs, any investigation into the use ICTs as a tool for the advancement of education in Africa covers three major contextual areas two of which are: educational and development issues, ICT issues and the interrelationship between these (2002). Major advantages of integrating ICT in education and community development frequently cited include, expanding access to educational opportunities, increasing efficiency in educational management and enhancing the quality of learning and teaching (Haddad, 2007; Howie et al, 2005; Tinio, 2003). See figure 1. In general terms, the effective application of ICT in education enables the youth to acquire 21^st Century skills essential for the knowledge societies. However, the knowledge of the prospects and challenges facing ICT-based skill training and educational improvement ventures for the youth remain largely unavailable to policy makers, donors and prospective social entrepreneurs.

Secondary education and youth development programs are faced by the challenges of low quality and equitable access to urban and rural communities in Africa. The use of ICTs by public and private organizations to improve quality and expand access promises to be a sustainable solution to these challenges. The purpose of educational technology policy is to provide a framework within which education planners, decision-makers, administrators, and educators and other actors and stakeholders in the education sector, will be able to make effective and productive use of technologies in their teaching, learning and administrative processes.

Thus, the low level of education provision and youth development in African countries, especially at the secondary level partly accounts for the low level of socio-economic development in the region. Primary school enrolments under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) in many countries in the region exceeded the most optimistic projections. For example, in Uganda, the gross enrolment ratio, which stood at 69 per cent in 1990 and 80 per cent in 1996, jumped to 124 per cent in 1997 (Kirungi, 2000). Unfortunately, African countries do not have adequate secondary schools to accommodate the increasing demand for secondary education by primary school graduates. As in most African countries, secondary education in South Africa is in crisis, both in quality and quantity. South Africa faces an acute shortage of skilled teachers needed to meet the increasing demand for secondary education. On the supply side, South Africa trains 6,000 teachers each year, most of whom will not go into teaching (Crouch and Perry, 2003), to meet the demand of 12.1 million learners (primary and secondary school-age combined) in 28,000 schools (6,000 are high schools, grade 7 to grade 12) (Fiske and Ladd, 2002; Peltzer, et al, 2005). In Nigeria for instance, 4.5million pupils enter primary school each year. With a transition rate from primary to Junior Secondary School (JSS) of 38 percent, about 1.5m primary school graduates annually are unable to enter JSS, while about 1.95m eligible JSS graduates are unable to enter Senior Secondary School (Mumah, 2004). The above challenges highlight the imperative of innovative approaches to youth development and education in Africa.

A planned and sustained integration of ICTs in teaching and learning will transform educational conditions in Africa. The economic potential of ICTs informed the recommendation of the panel of eminent persons, a body appointed by the U.N Secretary General, to focus on the application of modern technologies for youth development (Braimah and King, 2006). This strategy entails exploiting opportunities created by the potential of modern ICTs for social and economic development.

Many critics have questioned the wisdom behind the provision of ICTs for the poor in Africa, rather than providing them with nutritional foods, healthcare, good roads and basic education resources (e.g., employing more teachers and constructing more school classroom buildings) (Fife and Hosman, 2007). This criticism is the essence of what Fife and Hosman (2007, p.3) called the “bread vs. broadband” debate. Despite the saliency of the above argument, many scholars (Wilhelm, 2003; Fife and Hosman 2007) observe that investment in ICTs for the poor in the developing countries promises long-term economic benefits in the overall social and economic development of these regions. Among such core benefits are; improved cognition among learners, improvement in local small business entrepreneurship, tele-education and tele-health capabilities, and empowering local farmers by bringing knowledge of market prices for their crops (Wilhelm, 2003; Fife and Hosman 2007). Therefore, it is important to reject the notion that resource investment in ICTs for OOSY would be of greater value if invested in other areas. It needs to be emphasized that ICTs are tools, hence, they are not ends to themselves in terms of youth training, rather, ICTs are means to an end. This is because technology, according to Theodore Lewis (1999), is a manifestation of human creativity channeled towards problem solving.

A strategic investment in the youth through the deployment of information technologies either in vocational training or educational activities, provide opportunities for a “catch up” in human capital development. This is particularly important in South Africa where decades of the apartheid education system created an educational gap among different groups, which consequently stifled human capital development in the country. Besides, when viewed against the opportunity cost in time lost by many young people in Africa in social vices such as youth pregnancy, insurgency and prostitution to mention a few. As observed by James Knowles and Jere Behrman (2006), the private and social rate of returns to different investments in youth depends on the context of such investments. The rate of returns to the deployment of information and communication technologies for educational and vocational training for the youth can be understood within the context of the level of technology adoption in social and economic activities in South African. The application of modern communication technologies such as computers, the Internet (including Web 2.0 technologies)^³, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices and mobile phones in the country have reached a critical mass given that these technologies have become part of everyday life in both rural and urban South Africa.

Since the end of the apartheid system, South Africa has gone through several stages of reconciliation and reconstitution as a nation both in economic and socio-political terms. Despite some setbacks and slow pace of this process, the effort to revamp post-apartheid South Africa has generally been a successful endeavor. The success, especially in the area of education and social re-integration, can be attributed not only to the redistributive policy goals of the government, but also to the inspiring resolve of social entrepreneurs to collectively entrench a new social order in the country. To unlock and develop the large human capital potential that was either suppressed or undeveloped during the apartheid era, many social entrepreneurs and collaborative partnerships have embarked on a crusade to bring social change and sustainable community development in different part of South Africa. With the application of ICTs, many are finding innovative ways to educate the labor force and empower them to train themselves to meet the demands of the knowledge economy. Appropriate adaptation of the full range of ICTs can help to improve the livelihoods of the youth and communities in Africa by expanding educational opportunities, training and of course a better income prospect. This promises to be a sustained strategy for poverty alleviation in the region. One of such community development groups that adopts a social entrepreneurial approach to the development of youth is the Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu (which means The Future is in Our Hands in isiXhosa language) also known as IkamvaYouth, based in Khayelitsha Township, in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Despite recent developments efforts, Khayelitsha Township is in most part composed of squatter camps and metal shacks - a testimony of the ugly legacies of the oppressive apartheid system in South Africa. Notwithstanding the demise of apartheid in 1994, one can still observe the ravages of the 'Bantu education system', which used education to entrench white superiority, in South African townships. Khayelitsha, which is the third largest township in South Africa after Soweto and Sharpeville townships, has an estimated population of 1.5 million people. The township is composed of different ethnic groups, but approximately 90 percent of the population is Black African and 10 percent 'Colored' Muslims (Partners Across the Ocean, 2006).

Both from its business and social perspectives, entrepreneurs create value in the society. As Dee (1998) argues, the function of entrepreneurs is to revolutionize production processes. Ikamva is a change agent engaged in production, not of tangible goods, but of knowledge and services for Khayelitsha community in South Africa. The idea of a youth and community development organization was floated in 2003 by Makhosi Gogwana and Joy Olivier – two young researchers who were at the moment engaged in information technology research with other establishments in South Africa. What caught the attention of Makhosi and Joy was the level of poverty, unemployment and deprivation in Khayelitsha community, particularly among the youth, during a time when South Africa was undergoing some remarkable changes after the demise of the apartheid system. Based on their educational and research background the two young co-founders of IkamvaYouth came to the conclusion that lack of information and guidance, more than any other factors were the key obstacles facing youths in poor communities like Khayelitsha across South Africa. Together with other like-minded young South African volunteers, Makhosi and Joy formally formed the IkamvaYouth as a non-profit youth and community development organization (Olivier, 2005). IkamvaYouth’s mission is to:

… provide disadvantaged secondary school learners with the necessary skills and information, both academic and personal, to enable them to access the post-school educational or employment opportunities of their choice. In addition, it works to offer young people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to participate in the transformation of their communities. In achieving this mission, IkamvaYouth aims to redress the persisting educational and socioeconomic inequalities in South Africa (IkamvaYouth, 2009, p.4).

IkamvaYouth operates as a by-youth, for-youth community-based non-profit organization. Its primary objective is to help learners in the community accomplish their educational goals. Through mentorship, the organization assists young learners in the community to develop communication skills, self knowledge, and self-esteem – great qualities essential in today’s knowledge society. Hundreds of students, from grades 11 and 12, in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas are involved in various IkamvaYouth activities both on weekdays and on Saturdays. These activities take the form of tutorials in subjects like Mathematics and Physics. Besides, students benefit from mentoring/tutoring in English, Biology, Afrikaans, Geography, History, Business Economics, Economics and Accounting. Some IkamvaYouth learners have matriculated and cannot afford tertiary education while others have little or no formal education. However, all lack the skills and experience needed to find formal sector employment. Because of the efforts of the organization, these students are able to draw a new strength from opportunities offered by a broad range of kamvaYouth programs.

Generally, the activities of IkamvaYouth are based on five projects. These projects are: supplementary tutoring for high school students preparing for the final or matriculation examination; career guidance, life skills and mentoring; operation fikelela (e-literacy training); media image expression; and HIV/Aids awareness, counseling and testing (IkamvaYouth, 2009). These programs aim to help young learners realize their potential and contribute meaningfully to their communities. These programs, which are volunteer-based, are offered through the application of various forms of information and communication technologies. Though a small grass-roots organization without core funding, the organization is discovering that technology that seems so out of reach to many youths from poor families and neighborhoods can be deployed to meet education and job training needs of many youths.

The target of Ikamva Youth is to meet the multiple challenges facing youths in Khayelitsha. Among these challenges are: 1) high rate of youth unemployment (more than 65 percent); 2) lack of computer literacy skills and access to ICTs; 3) Lack of career guidance and relevant information needed to secure admission into higher institutions of learning; and 4) lack of individual academic (curriculum-specific) support (IkamvaYouth, 2005). The organization was formed generally to help indigent students in the above areas of need, and particularly to meet the increasing demand for computer literacy among learners in Khayelitsha.

Apart from free tutorials on different subject areas, the Ikamva Youth expects to improve the employability of youths in Khayelitha through computer training and other skills. As Olivier (2005, p.3) puts it, “The dearth of black matriculants with high grade (HG) passes in math and science is a big obstacle for South Africa, and the problems of unemployment and lacking (sic) capacity.” This is particularly important given the estimate that South African economy, which is the most buoyant in SSA, has between 300,000 and 500,000 vacancies for skilled people in the workforce (Stoppard, 2002). Thus, the challenge facing the youth in the country is not primarily high rate of unemployment, rather the lack of the required skills and training to fill the existing job positions in the economy. This problem is more serious among the black communities due to their poor performance in high school and matriculation examinations in the country.

With educational technology at its embryonic stage in Africa, IkamvaYouth aims to bring computers and the Internet to disadvantaged learners in the Khayelitsha community in the city of Cape Town. Despite the lack of computers and other information and communication technologies in sub-Saharan Africa, the International Labor Organization (ILO, 2001) contends that these technologies will continue to exert enormous influence on their ability to acquire knowledge and tap into global networks. To accomplish this objective, IkamvaYouth aims to use ICTs to assist the youth to realize their educational and career goals (Olivier, 2005).

The education of the youth is a major aspect of community development. The investment in the development of human capital of the youth through education is indispensable for the sustainable development of any community both in developed and developing countries. As in many developing countries, it is beyond the capability of the government to meet all educational needs of the people, especially, secondary education and computer literacy. However, as Fuller and Holsinger (1993 cited in Figueredo and Anzalone, 2003) report, there is a positive correlation between the education of youths, always measured with secondary education enrollment, and the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the developing countries. Figueredo and Anzolone (2003) took this further by arguing that due to its nature, primary education provides insufficient skills necessary for improved productivity in the economy. Secondary schooling and vocational training, according to them, are positively associated with high value-added production capacity for exports (human capital creation). The social and economic functions of secondary education and training are illustrated in figure 2.

As noted earlier, youth education, especially at the secondary school level is lacking both in quantity and quality in South Africa and Africa at large. The case of South Africa is overwhelming because of the large responsibility of educating both old and young adults, most of whom were denied the right to adequate education during the apartheid era. To a large extent, education remains the most effective instrument to “right” the “wrongs” of the past. However, the job of social reintegration and economic empowerment through education in South Africa is beyond the unilateral action of both the federal and provincial governments. The lack of adequate public resources and the magnitude of the challenge underscore the need for the involvement of civil society organizations to provide opportunities for young people to acquire computer literacy to increase their productivity in the economy.

Social entrepreneurs, according to Howard Stevenson (cited in Dee, 1998), do not allow limited or lack of resources to limit the pursuit of their mission. This assertion has been proved by the IkamvaYouth organization. Right from its inception, the organization has mobilized resources from wherever it could be found to pursue its social entrepreneurial objectives. The entire organization is volunteer-driven. In essence, the organization is managed and run by ex-learners who returned to serve as volunteers. IkamvaYouth for the most part, operates solely on the commitment, dedication and creative efforts of its volunteers. Hence, the diverse groups of its volunteers make up the organization’s backbone. Ikamva Youth volunteers are structurally organized in teams according to their area of interest and specialty (see figure 3).

Among its volunteers are: university students, employed graduates based in Khayelitsha, teachers and young professionals working in NGOs, government and the private sector (Ikamva, 2005). These volunteers perform all sorts of activities for the organization. Such activities range from supplementary tutoring, job-based training, e-literacy training to serving as management committee members (IkamvaYouth, 2009). The organization’s financial and material resources come from public donations. Public donations to IkamvaYouth range from refurbished computers, internet connectivity to office space. These resources enable the organization to provide youths from low-income communities access to modern communication technologies to improve their social and economic wellbeing. The computers are available to the learners and volunteers during library hours (Ikamva Youth, 2005). Besides, 12 grade students in the community are assisted in completing applications forms into higher institutions of learning, and the organization pay the application fees for students that qualify.

The above challenges facing secondary education youth development in South Africa and Africa in general call for innovative approaches to meet the educational and training needs of the youth. While social entrepreneurs work for social improvement of the community, they do not expect immediate or short-term pay-off. Rather they look for a long-term return to their investment with a sustained impact (Dees, 1998). As Dee (1998, p. 4) rightly contends, entrepreneurs are innovative, but “it does not require inventing something new; it can simply involve applying an existing idea in a new way or to a new situation.” Even though it may be difficult to measure value creation, the social and economic returns to the programs of IkamvaYouth are beginning to be felt.

Apart from improved Matric grades among students who participate in the IkamvaYouth tutoring programs, the organization provides many students from poor families the only opportunity to study outside their formal classrooms. The academic successes have paved the way for university admission and scholarship awards for many of the participants in IkamvaYouth programs. In 2006, 60 percent IkamvaYouth learners were accepted into tertiary education institutions (Ikamva Youth, 2006). This level of performance far exceeded the set target of 30 percent acceptance into tertiary education, and was a result of the hard work of volunteers and learners. The academic performance of IkamvaYouth learners in national examinations, particularly the Matric examination for 12^th graders, demonstrates the success of the organization in improving the social condition of youths in the community. For instance, in 2008, 90 percent of IkamvaYouth 12^th grade learners passed their national examination, with 42 percent of them passing with bachelors^⁴. In all, 71 percent of IkamvaYouth learners in Western Cape were admitted into tertiary institutions while 12 percent received employment (IkamvaYouth, 2009). The success of these young social entrepreneurs was aptly described by Joy Olivier, the executive director and co-founder of the organization when she wrote “IkamvaYouth enables young people to give themselves and each other a hand up out of poverty and into University” (IkamvaYouth, 2009, p.2). From its modest beginning in the Western Cape Province, the IkamvaYouth model of social entrepreneurship has been replicated in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng Provinces in South Africa.

With the support of private entities, IkamvaYouth developed a curriculum on educational technology for first-time computer users. The curriculum, which is aligned with the standards of the national curriculum and the South African Qualifications Authority, enable learners to build basic e-literacy and acquire skills on effective use of ICTs. For many young people in the Khayelitsha community, IkamvaYouth computer literacy program provides essential job-based trainings, which is important in the job market. The contributions made by this social enterprise are no doubt helping to combat the challenges of low-skill base, unemployment, lack of black professionals, brain drain, poverty and crime in Khayelitsha community (Ikamva, 2005). The knowledge-based character of today’s economy necessitates the training and retraining of the youth in knowledge skills. Obviously, young people with the skills and training in information storage, retrieval and production with the use of ICTs have an edge over others in the employment market. Some jobs in this category include secretarial duties, business and call center operators (i.e., small businesses that use ICTs to provide services such as local and international phone calls, faxes and the Internet services), customer services and a host of other opportunities. These ICT-related skills are predominantly service-oriented jobs that reflect the emerging globalized economic system with increased trade and movement of finances within and across countries. The training of the young people in these lucrative skills and areas fall within the operational framework of IkamvaYouth.

The social capital/value created among IkamvaYouth members was made manifest at the wake of the 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa. The May 2008 violence against poor immigrants in South Africa, particularly those from other African countries, rendered many families in Khanyelitsha and Manor communities homeless and without food. Out of desperation, about 700 victims of this xenophobic attack sought refuge in the Desmond Tutu Hall^⁵, where they were fed, clothed and protected by members of the IkamvaYouth organization. With the help of their supporters, the organization was able to raise emergency funds which enabled them to provide basic items such as food, baby food, medicines, toiletries, mattresses, blankets, cooking pots and other house items for the victims (IkamvaYouth, 2008). As the violence subsided, the organization helped to integrate the victims back into the community by paying the first month’s rent for some families (ibid).

Despite its successes so far, Ikamva youth faces several challenges in its efforts to harness ICTs for youth and community development in South Africa. One of its major drawbacks is the lack of sufficient number of computer hardware and the required software. This problem stems primarily from the lack of enough community buy-in in the Ikamva program. Although the organization has succeeded in attracting basic resources and infrastructure such as office space, finance and computer hardware from philanthropic sources, it still fall short of the needed resources to operate at full capacity. Right from its inception, the organization had relied on the goodwill of individuals and organizations for the donation of computers hardware, including used and refurbished systems. Besides, the organization shares office with a local public library. No doubt, the lack of enough number of computer systems and a separate office space had handicapped the activities of the organization, especially in the area of computer literacy classes for students from low-income families. For instance, without suitable server, switch and network cards, the computers donated to the Ikamva Youth by other groups, will not be utilized to full capacity, especially in the area of e-literacy and computer skill training. These and other technologies such as internet connectivity, computer sound cards, headsets and data projector for the enhancement of class presentations, are some of the financial and technology-oriented challenges facing the young organization. Furthermore, due to its present location (in a local public library), coupled with insufficient financial resources, the organization is unable to secure broadband access (ADSL or wireless connectivity). Ikamva Youth has improvised by using cached web pages that are saved onto the Local Area Network (LAN), which provides the learners a somewhat internet experience (Olivier, 2005). The availability of these technologies will enhance full participation of learners in program like the e-literacy and computer skill training.

In view of its potential in community development, Ikamva programs require local buy-in from the Western Cape provincial government and the private sector groups such as technology companies notable among which are Cisco, Microsoft and Intel. Their involvement and recognition of the strategic importance of Ikamva youth activities in the community will ensure stable resource inflow.

The sustainability of the Ikamva model of using ICTs for youth and community development is another area of concern. Private and government sponsorships are essential for IkamvaYouth to continue to carter to the educational need of youths in Cape Town. However, the future sustainability of Ikamva further depends on the judicious use of its scarce resources. This can be realized by having concrete and realistic goals and also by taking small achievable steps throughout its programs.

In the words of Olivier (2005. p. 8), “Much of what Ikamva Youth strives to achieve is unquantifiable,” as the impact of its present activities will be felt more in the future. This assertion is more credible given that the process of developing human capital potential is gradual and cumulative. This notwithstanding, the IkamvaYouth model of community development and youth empowerment is not without its challenges. However, these challenges are eclipsed by the large social benefits of the approach. IkamvaYouth serves as a model of how a youth-driven grass-roots organization can make sustained impact in youth livelihood. The success of a social entrepreneurial project in one community does not necessarily mean it can be replicated in another. However, the successes of IkamvaYouth demonstrate that the model is replicable across Africa, if supported by the appropriate organizational leadership, applicable technology and adequate financing. Alternatively, basic features of IkamvaYouth model of social entrepreneurship can be adapted to meet the challenges of youth and community development across Africa. Thus, IkamvaYouth asserts a challenge to public and private entities such as public libraries, institutions of higher learning and other civil society groups in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa. Such private and public institutions are entities that can either initiate or support existing youth groups in their immediate communities and neighborhoods using IkamvaYouth development models. Such collaborative approach is perhaps the most cost-effective way of building human and social capital among African youth. This approach will go along way to reduce poverty and social vices in many communities in Africa.

In part, the success of IkamvaYouth in the application of technology in education and social development can be attributed to the organization’s focus goals and priorities. Before the acquisition of computers, the organization knew how the technology will be used for the benefit of youths in the target community. Such a focused goal is contrary to the experience of many ICT in education programs in South Africa and other SSA countries where computer laboratories are built and equipped with the necessary hardware and software without knowing how such facility can be used to advance learning. This stems from the erroneous impression that ad hoc equipment of schools with computers will produce the much needed quality of education and prepare students for the knowledge of the 21^st Century. However, while ICTs can help to improve education process and community development, computers alone cannot bring a radical transformation of education in places like Africa. Rather a combination of ICTs, proper training of teachers and the involvement of community-based organizations such as IkamvaYouth, will help to realize the greatest social and economic returns to investments in educational technologies. To a large extent, the sustainability of Ikamva model is partly based on the practice, whereby a significant number of IkamvaYouth ex-learners return as volunteers. In fact, 80 percent of the organization’s management committee comprises ex-learners. This practice is a learning, development and sustainability strategy, which has enabled social learning within the organization. In this way, the model’s sustainability is ensured by achieving its mission: those who gain access into higher education and job-based training return to help others to do the same (Olivier, 2006).

Poverty in all its manifestations – hunger, illiteracy, sickness, unemployment, political disengagement – are directly or indirectly associated with lack of information. Hence, poverty thrives where there is little or no access to information. Thus, access to modern information technologies liberate and empower poor communities by giving them access to all human knowledge. Within the paradigm of social entrepreneurship, IkamvaYouth is playing an innovative role in knowledge creation/generation and transformation for community development in post-apartheid South Africa. ICT enables Ikamva to bring university and high school students together as co-learners and co-teachers to further their knowledge and effect positive community change. Thus, the educational needs of youths in the community are being met through innovative application of technology and human resources. In broad terms, IkamvaYouth is empowering disadvantaged youth to take advantage of improved opportunities made possible by democracy in South Africa. The organization sees ICT as an effective tool to bring change in the community. It recognizes all young people in the community, notwithstanding their ethnic origins, as assets for economic and social development. Ikamva works toward more inclusive education and employment practices to fully utilize the potential of South African young minds. These activities are in line with the declaration of the United Nations, “to develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work” (United Nations World Youth Report, 2005, p.13).

As Dee (1998, p.3) would argue, “The survival or growth of a social enterprise is not proof of its efficiency or effectiveness in improving social conditions.” Many indicators that Ikamva Youth is not only improving the condition of the youth, it is also emerging as a sustainable and replicable community development model. If we use the performance of high school student involved in the IKamva Youth programs as a measure of success, one can easily conclude that the organization is reaching its stated goals. The success of the IkamvaYouth organization is a clear indication that African countries may have available a practical model for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, the main challenge now is the political will or support to scale up what the Ikamva Youth is doing in South Africa through a strong community buy-in in the program.

Dr. Chuma Anyaka, Joy Olivier and Henry O. Uche provided useful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

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1 Information and communication technologies (ICTs) consist of the hardware, software, networks, and media for the collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of information (voice, data text, images), as well as related services (The World Bank, 2002)

2 EQUIP3/Youth Trust defined A livelihood as “occupation, work or other means by which one earns an income to provide necessities, growth and abundance for the individual and the family” (EQUIP3/Youth Trust, 2005, p. 5).

3 The “new web” or web 2.0 indicates second generation of web applications. This includes web tools such as blog, wikis, podcasting and social bookmarking.

4 The level of passing required for University admission in South Africa.

5 The office of IkamvaYouth Organization is located at the Desmond Tutu Hall.

From	To
A School building	A knowledge infrastructure (schools lab, radio, television, computers, internet connectivity, satellite)
Classrooms	Individual Learners
The teacher as the provider of knowledge	The teacher as tutor and facilitator
A set of textbooks and some audiovisual aids	Multimedia materials (print, audio, video, digital, interne)