Soweto Township Towers

Our Vision

Seriti will actively support the increased vibrancy, dynamism, and inclusivity of township economies to increase trade both within the community and with external markets to provide resilient and decent jobs and livelihoods, economic inclusion, climate resilience, gender equality, and early childhood development.

Our Mission

Seriti will be the go-to NGO for government and the private sector to provide facilitatory and administrative support in its effort to build dynamic, economically active, sustainable, and inclusive township ecosystems in South Africa.

Seriti is embarking on a 3-year strategic plan to support the development of dynamic townships that deliver goods and services, jobs, decent work and a sense of community for people living and working within the township ecosystem.

Seriti’s role in this process will be to act as a facilitator within township ecosystems, bringing together funding, partners, government, communities and micro, small and growing enterprises to champion change that transforms the lives of those less privileged. In this way, it coordinates efforts across different sectors in society to strengthen the township ecosystem.

We will achieve our vision by harnessing our significant experience and strengths in working with communities, our extensive expertise in managing systems and our track record acting as a facilitator and intermediary between government, private sector, communities, and other NPCs. We will build cross-sectoral partnerships that provide a holistic and supportive program for the needs of our beneficiaries. Our focus will be on micro and small enterprises that operate within the township enterprise ecosystem to help them grow with some becoming medium-sized enterprises.

Through this endeavour, Seriti promotes decent work, early childhood development, gender equality, youth development, sustainable development, and climate action in its effort to champion the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across South Africa.

Seriti’s TED Support Strategy

Seriti’s TED strategy is to take a more active role in the South African government-driven Township Economic Development programs and to collaborate with businesses, think tanks and other NGOs.

Building on our strong administrative and systems capability as well as community facilitation expertise, which was honed during the past 10 years of work on the CWP program of the SA government.

We will develop specific projects within the following two areas of work:

  • Township Enterprise Development (TEnD)

  • Township Enterprise Ecosystem Development (TEEcD)

The two work streams will work side by side:

The Township Enterprise Development workstream (TEnD) will feed into the Township Ecosystem Development workstream (TEEsD), and both will contribute towards the government’s overall objective of fostering township economic development. Both workstreams will have multiple projects in townships in which Seriti operates. During the first three years, we’ll focus our attention on important achievements and to develop a pilot model or models, that we’ll expand over time as we increase our reach across more townships.

Township Economic Development Strategy

The first program area (TEnD) focuses on individual enterprises operating within the township ecosystem, by providing access to finance, ESD, mentoring and market linkages.

The second program area (TEEcD) will focus on the broader township ecosystem, by identifying sectoral or nodal specific interventions that will stimulate enterprise growth within the township across sectors, supply, and value chains. As these programs develop, Seriti will also join the dots between sectors and nodes to support the building of an integrated and fully operational township ecosystem where local enterprises can trade with local township dwellers as well as supply into the mainstream economy.

The key areas of activity that Seriti will undertake to drive the success of its TED Strategy are as follows:

  • Building partnerships with government, the private sector, NGOs, academic institutions, think tanks, funders & grantmakers, business and sector associations & organisations, financial institutions and any other institution or organisation that can advance Seriti’s objectives and make positive impacts on the township ecosystem.

  • Identify existing initiatives that are aligned to Seriti’s objectives within the township ecosystem to support them administratively and to access finance, training, enterprise development support (ESD) and any other areas of support that the enterprises need and which Seriti can provide.

  • Design detailed initiatives and interventions that will attract funding and support work that is taking place within the TED space.

  • Build partnerships with research institutions and data-driven organisations to build the evidence base needed to design interventions.

  • Build models and a community of practice that integrates the needs of township enterprises across sectors and areas of support needed to make township enterprise ecosystems thrive.

  • Become an intermediary under the National Credit Act so that Seriti can administer funds on behalf of micro and small enterprises.

Crisis Response

Seriti’s crisis response is rooted in the agency of communities themselves to respond effectively to a crisis in a way that offers pathways to longer-lasting forms of relief. We aim to work with vulnerable communities to help them move from needing food and other emergency relief to becoming resilient to shocks. A partnership approach to delivering relief is critical and the kind of partner plays an important role in enabling access to communities and facilitating smoother delivery.