South Africa’s unemployment rate (31.9%) is one of the highest in the world, with youth aged 15–24 years (58.5%) particularly vulnerable and more than two-thirds (68.1%) of the population living in poverty. When the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Presidency and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) came together to design the Social Employment Fund (SEF), they recognised that no single sector could solve South Africa’s unemployment and socio-economic challenges. Through this fund, the state provides scaffolding – policy, funding and oversight; while civil society provides the heart and networks – the ability to reach deep into communities.
Since 2022 the SEF has been tackling systemic unemployment by enabling a range of civil society actors to create initiatives with greater scale and impact. The SEF is managed by the IDC and works with up to 40 civil society organisations known as Strategic Implementing Partners (SIPs) per annual cycle. The SIPs onboard unemployed people through their extensive networks, partnering with over 1,000 community-based organisations and grassroots structures to implement work programmes for the common good.
The SIPs operate in various community-benefiting sectors such as: early childhood development, community health, community safety, food security, environmental clean-up and rehabilitation, placemaking and the arts. The SEF funds temporary work for participants who earn a stipend and learn valuable skills. The programme aims to boost confidence and improve employability among participants, while rebuilding resilience in disadvantaged communities.
According to the SEF, more than 155,000 people across the country have participated in and benefitted from the programme; 65% are youth and 70% are female, with 65% of the work conducted in rural and peri-urban areas.
The power of partnerships
Our economy does not lack talent. It lacks alignment – a shared sense of purpose across the social and economic spectrums. Our societies have suffered from a steady decline in social capital in communities and institutional trust between citizens and government.
Partnerships can change this by transforming isolated efforts into systems of mutual benefit:
- Civil society creates the social infrastructure – educated children, safe communities, cohesive neighbourhoods – which businesses rely upon.
- Business generates the economic infrastructure – jobs, innovation and investment – which civil society needs to sustain its mission.
- Government provides a regulatory compass to keep us moving towards inclusion and accountability.
When these elements work together, unemployment falls, productivity rises, and dignity returns to work.
The SEF enables new forms of partnership between government, civil society and communities. The rollout of the SEF is supported by the Social Employment Network (SEN), a learning and support network managed by the Economic Development Partnership (EDP), which facilitates a regular meeting space for SIPs.
SIPs openly share challenges and successes within the SEN, which are also shared with the IDC. Where possible the IDC makes recommended changes to optimise programme functions for those on the ground.
Growing social capital and institutional trust
The SEN maximises the impact of the SEF and catalyses synergies among the SIPs, enabling them to complement each other’s skills and resources. Networks of support generated by the SIPs create social capital, contributing to innovative solutions, such as cross-pollination of ideas and joint initiatives to address societal challenges. Partnerships drive success – no SIP operates alone; each success is a collaboration.
The SEF’s adaptive governance model focuses on co-creation and strengthens relationships, which builds institutional trust between the SIPs, and between SIPs and government. It encourages stakeholders to see each other as partners with whom they can collaborate to ensure sustainable change and longer-lasting impact, beyond the duration of the programme.
Across these partnerships, the SEF numbers tell a powerful story: thousands of participants have progressed to better jobs; over the three rounds of funding, at least 10 % of participants have pursued further studies; and of the hundreds of micro-enterprises started or sustained during SEF, at least 45% are sustainable post the intervention of the programme.
Transforming communities
SEF collaborations have transformed communities into genuine systems of change. A prime example is the agrinode implemented by the Seriti Institute in Deelpan, North West province, a rural village historically struggling with widespread unemployment, food insecurity and climate vulnerability.
Here, more than 590 participants were employed to support 64 smallholder farms and community gardens, while building local food systems that could outlast the programme. They cultivated fresh produce, donated over 1.6 tonnes to vulnerable households, and trained farmers in sustainable techniques – soil preparation, composting, irrigation, and basic agribusiness management. Today the node produces over 250,000 seedlings per production cycle.
But a deeper story lies in the connections: through SEF, Seriti linked these farmers to local markets and cooperatives, enabling them to sell to nearby supermarkets and school feeding schemes.
According to the Deelpan Impact Report:
- More than 250 jobs are created through the programme each year.
- 91% of households now grow their own food.
- 74% of participants sell surplus produce.
- 60% have moved beyond SEF stipends to earning independent income.
- The entire site operates off-grid using climate-smart agricultural practices.
- The solar-powered water system runs everything – from groundwater pumping to full irrigation – reducing both energy costs and environmental impact.
It’s a practical example of how social employment and sustainable technologies can work together to drive resilience, livelihoods, and trust.
Blueprint for change
The SEF’s successful model of cross-sector collaboration is a blueprint for inclusive and sustainable change. It increases employment opportunities, while bolstering support systems and resilience in disadvantaged communities.
The SEN has been recognised as an innovative collaborative model within the SEF by winning the Third Sector category (collaborations led by NGOs, charities, or civil society organisations) at the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW) 2025 Awards in London. This recognition affirms the SEN’s role in extending the SEF’s impact beyond that of a public employment programme.
