Sibeko tackles youth’s IT skills needs
SOCIAL entrepreneur Thuli Sibeko is the brains behind a non-profit organisation aimed at teaching young people muchneeded IT skills, and how to solve the world’s mounting problems.
Sibeko, 39, from Soweto, is founder of consulting firm TS Management Consultancy based in Craighall, Johannesburg.
A public speaker and master of ceremonies, Sibeko matriculated from St Anne’s Diocesan College, a prestigeboarding school near Pietermaritzburg.
Her passion for identifying and trying to fix social ills saw her establish her first company – Anglo-african Events – at the age of 26 in 2006.
The marketing and events company, which has since folded, was aimed at addressing the scourge of youth unemployment.
For that reason, its staff was mostly made up of youth, says Sibeko, a former member of Community Youth Empowa’ment, an organisation committed to social upliftment through community-based initiatives. through her company they run events and activations for their clients.
“We are able to pay our bills at the end of the month,” says Sibeko, who was a director at Ideology Agency but left after a fall-out with her business partner.
“We are growing. We are busy building our brand,” she says.
She would also like to grow the company to a “manageable amount”, because she does not want to be overwhelmed, as there is another programme she runs on the side, she adds.
Through her non-profit organisation – Girls Invent Tomorrow – Sibeko runs a programme to equip high school girls with IT skills, as the world embraces the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We teach them basic computer skills and how to solve the world’s problems,” she says, emphasising that her consulting firm is not about chasing profits.
She says they are concerned about community upliftment and would always avail themselves to making a difference, no matter how small.
But that’s not all for Sibeko, who has won numerous awards for business excellence. She also founded thenextgenleadership programme, which serves as a network helping young people share their experiences and motivate and empower each other.
Sibeko also runs career days and a Saturday school in Soweto.