In 7 years, Livity Africa, trained over 85,000 people in digital skills and content development and launched over 500 careers through various training programmes. With the primary target being the youth, these professionals have come to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves, evading the scourge of poverty altogether for themselves and their families.
Speaking on the rebrand, founder and managing director of Digify Africa, Gavin Weale, said,
“This rebrand is really a consolidation of our purpose, to align better with who we have evolved to become and where we are headed as a social enterprise. Looking at our strategic direction as an organisation, it is in ‘Digify Africa’ that we find a clearer expression of what drives us and motivates us daily. And it is in the knowledge that for Africa to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution, we need to get ‘digified’ to close the digital divide. Our mission is to do this by equipping young people with digital skills so that they can create and sustain their own livelihoods.”Rebranding to Digify Africa is an intentional intervention aimed at confronting the digital divide, which is worsened by existing socio-economic inequalities in the country that stand in the way of access to resources and education. Since 2014, the organisation created and delivered demand-driven digital training programmes for various professions and sectors.
These programmes formed part of a learning model, which was tried, tested and practically-oriented to equip the youth to thrive in the modern workplace and in the economy. Beneficiaries of these programmes now form an alumni community that includes entrepreneurs, digital marketers and artists who make a living through their talents and digital skills.
Head of strategy, Qhakaza Mthembu said:
"At this point, the organisation has two touch points, the first is the Academy, which focuses on training. Through the academy, we equip young people with either free or affordable digital skills training. The other touchpoint of the organisation is the Network, which focuses on helping our alumni gain sustainable livelihoods, through collaborating and partnering with them to offer services to brands and corporates such as social media strategy and management, content development and other digital marketing needs."The rebranding process will happen over the next two months, with Livity Africa making way for Digify Africa. All brand touchpoints will reflect this newer, fresher, and actualised brand. Digify Africa will continue to lead, in the same vein as Livity Africa, an impassioned intervention that meets the demands and challenges of the South African socio-economic landscape.
From Digify Africa, young people, partner organisations and clients will continue to engage with the excellent team that disrupt the status quo and deliver impactful work that not only changes lives but also industries.
Under the new brand, the organisation will continue to recognise the need for transformation as a business imperative in corporate South Africa and to meet this imperative by simply helping young and previously disadvantaged people to access various industries and equip them with the right skills to thrive and succeed in them.
This holistic, impact-led approach to skills development earned Livity Africa won the 2017 Bookmarks Award for Transformation in the Digital Industry. The organisation will remain a leading example in achieving a transformed workplace - Digify Africa currently boasts a staff complement with 92% young black women.
