Ride-hailing firm Bolt has partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator − a not-for-profit enterprise that tackles youth unemployment at scale − to connect young unemployed South Africans to free transportation to assist with their job-seeking journeys.
Harambee develops African solutions for the global challenge of youth unemployment, by building what it calls a “breakthrough model” to support unemployed work-seekers in coalition with the private sector, government and civil society.
The accelerator says it continuously pursues innovative solutions to youth unemployment through various upskilling programmes and a focus on breaking the barriers that keep youth locked out of employment opportunities.
As part of the partnership, Bolt will offer free travel vouchers to the young Harambee job-seekers to and from training sessions and job interviews.
“Our partnership with Harambee, made possible via the Bolt for Business platform, supports Bolt’s vision of driving progress by helping young South Africans to access work opportunities across the country,” says Gareth Taylor, regional manager for Bolt in Southern Africa.
According to the companies, an entry-level worker living in Soweto and earning the legislated minimum wage of R3 500 per month working in Johannesburg, would spend an average of R672 on transport, leaving them just R2 828 for the rest of the month for rent, food and other basic requirements.
Harambee’s Breaking Barriers – Transport report confirms that lack of access to transport and high transport costs are the biggest financial barriers to employment.
This is made worse by the apartheid-led geographic inequality that sees lower-income groups still living further away from jobs and paying more for transport to get to work than more affluent groups.
This is why the accelerator believes enabling access to transport is one of the key factors in overcoming poverty in SA, where nearly 60% of youth are unemployed.
“The partnership with Bolt has already contributed to the success of some Harambee candidates by enabling them to timeously reach and attend job interviews and contract signings,” says Kuben Nair, chief brand officer of Harambee.
“Our offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town have come to depend on the Bolt service to support work-seekers to respond quickly to employment opportunities, as many need to take multiple taxi rides to get to interviews, further increasing expense and time spent on transport.
“This partnership between Bolt and Harambee is a long-term investment in connecting unemployed young people with work,” Taylor adds. “It’s only through understanding the very real challenges faced by job-seekers, such as the real high costs of just applying for a job and going for interviews, that SA can start to effectively address its unemployment crisis.”
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