TechWays
BUILDING DIGITAL PATHWAYS FROM SCHOOL TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
TechWays Foundation
Student Pathway | Youth Pathway | AI-Enabled Education
One connected pathway — from early digital exposure, to accredited skills, to entrepreneurship, to income opportunity.
TechWays graduates, De Aar — Northern Cape
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TechWays Foundation
TECHWAYS
01 · ABOUT TECHWAYS FOUNDATION
Our impact
TechWays Foundation NPC 2021/110880/08| Registered PBO 930077098 | NPO APPL26-102617 | Section 18A | B-BBEE aligned | Multi-province delivery
17,000
Learners Reached
1,000+
Teachers Empowered
15,000
Certificates Awarded
50%
of tracked NEET Youth
Earning Income
* Figures as of end of Q2 2026�
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TechWays Foundation
Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellow 2025
TechWays Foundation is a South African nonprofit building connected digital, AI and entrepreneurship pathways from school to economic opportunity.We combine practical skills, accredited progression and real-world application to help young people build the capability, confidence and pathways they need to participate in the digital economy.
Multi-
Province
Programme Delivery
TECHWAYS
02 · THE CHALLENGE
The opportunity gap begins
long before youth unemployment.
Too many learners leave school without practical digital capability. Once they become youth, the gap between education and economic participation only gets harder to bridge — the problem does not start at graduation, it starts in the classroom.
1
IN SCHOOL
Limited digital exposure and outdated, theory-only training leave learners without market-linked skills.
2
AFTER SCHOOL
Youth enter adulthood with no practical capability, no portfolio, and no bridge into paid digital work.
118,000
ICT professionals South Africa needs right now
85M
projected global skilled-worker shortage by 2030
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TechWays Foundation
Sources: Collective X, Decoding ICT Job Demand in South Africa (2025); IITPSA, 2024 ICT Skills Survey & Research Report
#1 SKILLS-GAP DRIVER
Lack of training & education at basic level
TECHWAYS
03 · OUR MODEL
One connected pathway, from
early exposure to income.
1
GRADE 4 - 9
Digital & AI Skills | From Early Digital Literacy to Income-Generating Skills | TechWays Certification
2
GRADE 10 & 11
New Venture Creation | QCTO Skills Programme
SP-210401 | NQF Level 2 | 32 Credits
3
YOUTH
Technopreneur |
QCTO Skills Programme
SP-220328 | NQF Level 4 |
60 Credits
4
SKILLS
Work & Enterprise Pathways | From Skills to Paid Work, Enterprise & Sustainable Income | Employer & Industry-Linked Opportunities
5
INCOME
Generating Income | Building Financial Independence | Expanding Economic Opportunities
A single pathway a learner can follow from a Grade 4 classroom to a sustainable income.
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TechWays Foundation
TECHWAYS
03 · OUR MODEL
The TechWays Foundation ecosystem
Two connected pathways, with an enabling programme that strengthens both.
STUDENT PATHWAY
Grades 4 – 9
125+ digital & technology courses building progressive AI and digital capability throughout the school journey.
YOUTH PATHWAY
Post-school youth ( 18 – 35 )
NQF Level 4 Technopreneur accredited programme.
Practical skills → accredited learning → entrepreneurship / freelancing → income opportunity.
+
ENABLING PROGRAMME
Teacher & Staff AI Upskilling
Teacher capability is developed alongside learner access, helping schools sustain digital and AI learning beyond the funded intervention..
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TechWays Foundation
Grades 10 – 11
NQF Level 2 New Venture Creation accredited entrepreneurship programme turning digital capability into practical business, enterprise and income-generating skills.
TECHWAYS
04 · STUDENT PATHWAY
Student Pathway: Grades 4–9
Learners get access to TechWays' 125+ digital and technology courses — allowing them to progressively develop digital and AI capability throughout their entire school journey, from first exposure to Grade 9.
125+ Courses
Game Development
Web Development – Front-End
Web Development – Back-End
Mobile App Development
Python Coding
Cyber Security
Data Science
PROGRESSIVE
Capability builds year on year — not a once-off intervention.
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TechWays Foundation
“My HTML course with TechWays was the reason I applied and got into Computer Science at UCT.”
— Tidimalo Mokgatle, High School Graduate
We measure:
participation → course completion → digital capability progression → portfolio evidence → accreditation → post-school progression.
TECHWAYS
NEW
05 · STUDENT PATHWAY
The Grade 10–11 Student Pathway New Venture Creation QCTO Skills Programme SP-210401 NQF Level 2
A new two-year pathway that turns senior-phase learners into confident, portfolio-ready digital creators before they leave school. NQF Level 2 QCTO aligned entrepreneurship programme turning digital capability into practical business, enterprise and income-generating skills.
GRADE 10
BUILD
Learners build core digital and AI capability through structured, hands-on courses.
GRADE 11
APPLY
Skills are applied to real projects and briefs — turning capability into a portfolio.
GRADE 12
ENTER WITH OPTIONS
Learners leave school with accredited skills, a portfolio, and real post-school options.
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TechWays Foundation
TECHWAYS
YOUTH PATHWAY
05 · YOUTH PATHWAY
From learning to earning.
Programme Evolution
2025 — Web Development Pathway�2026 — AI Digital Marketing Freelancing Pathway�2027 — Data Analytics & AI Business Support
Umoya Energy Cohort 1 2025 Web Development Pathway
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TechWays Foundation
The AI-Enabled Digital Creator Programme is the bridge: post-school youth move from practical skills, to accredited learning, to entrepreneurship and freelancing, to real income opportunity.
TECHWAYS
05 · YOUTH PATHWAY THEORY OF CHANGE FOR AI-ENABLED DIGITAL CREATOR PROGRAMME
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TechWays Foundation
One Pathway. Three delivery models. Multiple routes into economic participation.
LEARN → BUILD → APPLY → EARN → GROW
TECHWAYS
05 · YOUTH PATHWAY
Three ways we can deliver it
Same core programme and outcomes. Different infrastructure and support model — TechWays does not need to build a training centre every time it enters a new community.
1
Fully Remote Online
Learner joins independently, anywhere → own device & connectivity → TechWays LMS → remote facilitation & mentorship → assessment → portfolio → client / income pathway.
2
NGO / NPO Partner Model
Local organisation recruits & supports learners → partner provides venue, devices, connectivity → TechWays provides curriculum, LMS, delivery, assessment, mentorship & M&E.
3
TechWays Facilitated In-Person
Community cohort → physical venue → devices & connectivity → TechWays facilitator → structured daily programme → practical projects, client work & mentorship → income / enterprise.
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TechWays Foundation
TECHWAYS
05 · YOUTH PATHWAY
Early Results: Skills in Action
Umoya Energy Moorreesburg Cohort 2 & Tutuwa Community Foundation Cohort 4 / AI-Enabled Digital Creator Pilot| Course 1 & 2 Results
Pilot metrics use different denominators according to the outcome measured; sample sizes shown where applicable.
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TechWays Foundation
TECHWAYS
05 · PROOF IT WORKS
Success stories, in their own words
Real learners, real geographies - the outcome isn't limited to one project or one province.
DE AAR, NORTHERN CAPE
Phoebe van Reenen�From students to Facilitator
In 2024, in De Aar, a young woman with almost no experience using technology joined the TechWays Youth Development Pathway.
Today, Phoebe Van Reenen is a TechWays facilitator, helping other young people build digital skills and begin their own journey towards financial independence.
VICTORIA WEST WEB DEVELOPMENT COHORT 1
Tasmiah Erasmus
Click on the image to watch the video
MOORREESBURG AI-ENABLED DIGITAL CREATOR COHORT 2 PILOT
Tristan Adams
Click on the image to watch the video
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TechWays Foundation
“Before TechWays, I didn't even know how to open a Word document. TechWays didn't just teach me technology — it gave me the confidence to believe I could lead.”
TECHWAYS
School Partners
Urban · Peri-urban · Rural
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TechWays Foundation
Corporate & Funding Partners
NGO & NPO Partners
06 · OUR REACH AND STRATEGIC PARTNERS
TechWays
LET'S BUILD IT TOGETHER.
Help us build the pathway from digital access to economic opportunity.
The opportunity is bigger than digital skills. Together, we can build a pathway that starts in the classroom, develops real-world capability, creates access to accredited learning and entrepreneurship, and gives young people the tools to build their own economic future.
From learning to earning.
From potential to possibility.
Heather Blackstock
heather@techways.online · 082 448 0884 · www.techways.online
Facebook · Instagram · YouTube
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TechWays Foundation