JA Africa’s Member Nations Pivot to Digital Programming

In this unprecedented time, JA Africa is not taking a step back in ensuring that Africa’s youth are receiving the right training to prepare for the 21st century workforce. Given the operating disruptions, casued by the COVID 19 pandemic, JA Africa’s member nations have pivoted from in-person programs to digital programs, leveraging on technology to provide our students with educational content to sharpen their entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy skills. Here are some digital programs to explore from JA;

JA Ghana

JA Ghana held a webinar themed ‘How You can Prepare for the World of Work’ for young graduates heading into the world of work. The webinar aimed to help students develop knowledge and skills that are required to get and keep jobs.

They also kicked off the digital JA Company Program (JACO) in June. Participants were taken through a 4-week JA Company Program module online which teaches Students how to put together competitive business plans with support from volunteers from the business community. After the lessons, the students formed teams to compete in the Virtual National Company of the Year competition and stand a chance to win a $1,000 ultimate prize and a host of other amazing prizes at the end of the competition.

JA Mauritius

JA Mauritius has transitioned to digital programming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and has launched the ‘Online Work Readiness Program.’ The program is an adaptation of the JA Career Success program and incorporates online communication platforms with Kahoot and Google Slides.
They also held the first edition of the JA Mauritius Fun Quiz which was launched on Friday 31st July 2020, and was open until Sunday 2nd August 2020. The JA Mascareignes Fun Quiz is designed as a challenge, set on Kahoot, where the participants compete in a quiz, while learning valuable information about Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Work Readiness. Read more

JA Nigeria

JA Nigeria, in the wake of the pandemic, is adopting a virtual approach to running the JA Company Program. Their 5-week online program engages students via zoom and teaches them how to start and run a business by identifying problems in their community and coming up with innovative business solutions. Read more

On July 23, JA Nigeria hosted Osaretin Oswald and Chukuka Chukuwa, authors of ‘In Pursuit: Journeys in African Entrepreneurship’ for a webinar to help learners get insights into the world of entrepreneurship.

JA Nigeria organized a series of Instagram live takeovers which featured inspiring young Nigerians who shared their experiences and important lessons from their professional and entrepreneurial journeys.

JA South Africa

JA South Africa is offering students an opportunity to sign-up for one of two flagship JA Programs: Young Enterprise Development Program (YEDP) and Enterprise program. Four additional courses have also been made available to encourage students to keep learning at home. Read more

To commemorate South Africa's National Women's Day, JA South Africa hosted a webinar on "Keeping Your Brand Alive" to help young entrepreneurs grow their brands whilst staying safe during the pandemic. The webinar engaged experts in, online presence, online security, and brand development. The panelists included Beth Malatji from Go Daddy; Christi Maherry Founder of Lawtrust, and Zama Hlophe, the Strategy Director at Yellowwood. Read more

They recently also launched a virtual Be Entrepreneurial Program for grade 9 students. The program introduces learners to experiential entrepreneurship, product development, advertising and business planning. Read more

JA Zimbabwe

JA Zimbabwe has launched a digital learning platform to give young Zimbabweans access to 15 JA courses which will build their skills in Entrepreneurship, Financial literacy and Work readiness. Read more

Learning continued with a series of Zoom mentorship classes organized by JA Zimbabwe to give students insights into preparing for professional life and making good financial decisions.