Selibeng Foundation
- Lesotho
Elevate Prize is aimed at supporting many individuals including problem-solvers like our organization. It is particularly targeted to those who make impact in their communities. At the present moment as the organization we need funding for capacity building purposes, with the sole purpose of amplifying our impact and efforts. This is because, although we have made positive strides in contributing towards transforming the economic and employment landscape in Lesotho, after some strategic thinking we have realized a need to enhance our capacities in seven areas of capacity building which will not only contribute in shaping us as the organization but will also boost our impact in the long-run.
The support offered through this prize- the strategic marketing and media expertise- can help in boosting both our impact and global presence. Also the mentorship support that is part of this prize will help us in gaining insights from the prominent individuals in the industry, which will ensure that both our efforts and programming are relevant. Another key feature of this prize is that it will help us is networking with those of like mind, which will help us in becoming part of the larger community of social saviors.
As an organization Selibeng Foundation was established with the central aim of helping in mitigating unemployment that was undermining Lesotho's economic potential. Through our website- selibeng.com- we act as the premier resource for connecting passionate to meaningful and exciting opportunities. We reach out to both those looking for their first job; those looking for better jobs or those who want to manage the direction of their careers and explore educational opportunities by offering needed resources.
Our vision is to have a society where a great majority of professionals have access to exciting opportunities and where young professionals have access to market responsive information to guide them in their career choices. Our purpose is to avail available information through both our website and offline, to our community with the aim of contributing towards a better society where individuals have access to decent opportunities and ultimately curbing poverty.
The plan is to have our services decentralized to reach even members of our remote rural areas in all the ten districts of Lesotho.
As an organizations we are contributing in solving the issues of unemployment coupled with poverty in Lesotho. This is because these twin issues continue to make life unbearable for many people and also undermine the development efforts done by the government. According to The world Bank in The World bank in Lesotho, "Unemployment remains high at 23.6% in 2018 coupled with high inequality and poverty". Also, Aaron O'Neill (2021) in Global Unemployment rate up to 2020 noted that, "In 2020, the global rate of unemployment amount to 5.42 percent". This shows that unemployment and poverty have been the public concerns and that innovative efforts are need to curb them.
Unemployment and poverty continue to cripple not only individual families but also national and international economies. Millions are affected by these challenges. Contributing factors include skill mismatch, lack of labor market experience, advances in technology that replaces many professionals as well as the recent pandemic- COVID-19.
As the organization we aim to contribute to a vibrant economy in Lesotho, where citizens know and exercise their responsibilities as active economic agents and in which the government offers needed assistance. Availing constructive content on our website will ultimately lead to working partnerships.
Our approach is to match the professionals and the employers through availing constructive online content including opportunities with the aim of ultimately leading to higher access to working knowledge of the job market. Our initiative works as a career portal in one sense, because we publish opportunities so that those professionals who both want the new job or a different job can readily find such. In one sense, we are a career clinic in that not only do we avail opportunities but we also offer career-related content with the aim of making sure that employers and potential as well as employees get an idea of what works.
We offer both research-based content and interviews with experts through our webinars where people get to learn about the needed skills that will revolutionize both their job-hunt and lives. This has been very disruptive to the way things were traditionally done. We also get to interact with those we serve so that our content is always in line with what they deem essential.
In order to effectively serve our community, we follow the following steps:
-We have some time devoted to hearing from them through either webinars or online reviews and suggestions. This time is used to gather information relating to their satisfaction and suggestions relating to new topics and/or perspectives.
-We carry our mini-researches so that we ensure the market relevance of our content. The idea is to make sure that we help in bringing the gap between the job-seekers and the employers. We also publish industry specific content with the aim of ensuring that our community remains up to speed with the changing economic and industrial trends.
-In some cases we host online webinars where we interview either expects or prominent individuals. This is geared towards helping our community to engage with these individuals, the opportunity which may otherwise be impossible for a great majority of them. During these webinars, members of our community can take notes and ask questions from experts.
-Lastly, we publish opportunities on our websites relating to either job openings or scholarship opportunities. This is aimed at availing the content that may otherwise remain unknown by the great numbers.
- Rural
- Peri-Urban
- Urban
- Poor
- Low-Income
- Middle-Income
- 1. No Poverty
- 2. Zero Hunger
- 3. Good Health and Well-being
- 4. Quality Education
- 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
- 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Education