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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

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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

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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.

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IN SCHOOL

Limited digital exposure and outdated, theory-only training leave learners without market-linked skills.

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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

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03 · OUR MODEL

One connected pathway, from

early exposure to income.

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GRADE 4 - 9

Digital & AI Skills | From Early Digital Literacy to Income-Generating Skills | TechWays Certification

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GRADE 10 & 11

New Venture Creation | QCTO Skills Programme

SP-210401 | NQF Level 2 | 32 Credits

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YOUTH

Technopreneur |

QCTO Skills Programme

SP-220328 | NQF Level 4 |

60 Credits

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SKILLS

Work & Enterprise Pathways | From Skills to Paid Work, Enterprise & Sustainable Income | Employer & Industry-Linked Opportunities

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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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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.

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YOUTH PATHWAY

Post-school youth ( 18 – 35 )

NQF Level 4 Technopreneur accredited programme.

Practical skills → accredited learning → entrepreneurship / freelancing → income opportunity.

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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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Grades 10 – 11

NQF Level 2 New Venture Creation accredited entrepreneurship programme turning digital capability into practical business, enterprise and income-generating skills.

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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.

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TECHWAYS

NEW

05 · STUDENT PATHWAY

The Grade 10–11 Student Pathway New Venture Creation QCTO Skills Programme SP-210401 NQF Level 2

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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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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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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.

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05 · YOUTH PATHWAY THEORY OF CHANGE FOR AI-ENABLED DIGITAL CREATOR PROGRAMME

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One Pathway. Three delivery models. Multiple routes into economic participation.

LEARN → BUILD → APPLY → EARN → GROW

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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.

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Fully Remote Online

Learner joins independently, anywhere → own device & connectivity → TechWays LMS → remote facilitation & mentorship → assessment → portfolio → client / income pathway.

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NGO / NPO Partner Model

Local organisation recruits & supports learners → partner provides venue, devices, connectivity → TechWays provides curriculum, LMS, delivery, assessment, mentorship & M&E.

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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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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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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.

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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.”

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School Partners

Urban · Peri-urban · Rural

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Corporate & Funding Partners

NGO & NPO Partners

06 · OUR REACH AND STRATEGIC PARTNERS

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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