The Zizi Institute bridges the gap between skills development funders and beneficiaries
Positively impacting people’s lives with quality, industryrelevant training – that’s the vision at the heart and soul of Zizi Institute. It’s all about providing South Africans with the skills to empower and uplift themselves to grow as individuals, employers and entrepreneurs. This leads to a ripple effect as this capacity development naturally tends to empower others. BBQ spoke to the Founder of Zizi Institute, Sazi Gcume, for more insight.
Gcume graduated from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal with a B. Comm in Accounting in 2008. Even while still at university, Gcume’s skills were honed through his participation in a programme called Enactus (formerly SIFE) which later saw him become a programme director for South African operations, where he had to manage 27 university-based teams. “This exposed me to entrepreneurship and allowed me to set a clear vision on how I could make a meaningful difference. As a result, I consider myself a social entrepreneur.” Ever since then, Gcume has been working in the development space, focusing on financial education and youth development. After two years of intense experience in skills development training for the wealth management space, he decided to branch out on his own.
“The exposure I got from these roles actually helped me appreciate and realize what I was really passionate about. I decided to resign from my then employer and start my own business that would focus on using skills as a way to develop people.” Many entrepreneurs start up business as a means to break free from unemployment, but Gcume’s case was different. “Starting my business was a way for me to live my passion. It was relatively smooth at the beginning since my former employers became my clients. The idea was to use skills as a way to empower people to reach their goals, with a bias towards financial education and entrepreneurship. I believe that these skills are the best way that we can address the unemployment issue in South Africa. “
Bridging the gap between funders and beneficiaries
Zizi Institute’s main offering is Consumer Financial Education– a subject close to his heart.
“Growing up, my mother used to say. ‘In life, it is impossible to live debt free.’ This was difficult for me to accept. I made my mission to prove this theory wrong. That is why the topic of financial education resonated with me. In my previous role I was responsible for financial education for my employer and this included financial education on the Ukhozi FM radio Breakfast Show five days a week. We deliver this on behalf of financial services companies,” he explains.
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The service is aimed at financial services companies as a requirement of the Financial Services Charter. Training and mentorship in entrepreneurship are also part of the package. “We see ourselves as a bridge between those who fund skills development programmes and those in need but who cannot afford them. Understanding how money works and applying those skills in entrepreneurial endeavours can improve anyone’s quality of life,” says Gcume. Zizi’s clients are the organisations that fund skills development programmes for the benefit of trainees. Upon being appointed by the organisation as their service provider, they then recruit the beneficiaries in line with the client requirements and onboard them to the programme.
Some programmes are once-off and others delivered over a period of months, depending on the requirements of clients. “Some prefer to reach a high number of beneficiaries with a once-off workshop, while others prefer a smaller number with more than one workshop. For the entrepreneurship programmes, there is training on skills as well as mentorship sessions on how to implement what has been learnt in the business,” says Gcume.
Relevance and impact
Zizi’s programmes are highly regulated. They have to pass stringent monitoring and evaluation and audit processes to be acceptable to clients, who expect to receive further credits for their spend. “As a result, we are continually looking at ways to improve our offering to be more responsive to these requirements and to ensure that we maintain the necessary compliance requirements,” says Gcume. The Zizi Institute has reached over 70 000 participants in the past five years with its consumer education programmes. Monitoring impact is a challenge: “By the nature of these programmes, it becomes challenging to continually monitor the impact achieved. Part of the reason is that the target audience is LSM 1-8, and it may take time for some to implement what was learnt from these workshops. Monitoring this therefore can be expensive, and there is no reward for the client to incur this cost, but there are continuous efforts made by the industry to find ways to monitor the impact,” Gcume explains.
Adapting to disruption
For many small businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused terrible disruption. For many, it’s been a case of sink or swim. The Zizi Institute managed to adapt successfully to these challenging conditions“ The lockdown of 2020 was announced in the middle of our implementation. Our clients challenged us to complete the programmes online. It was not an easy task but we managed to do what was necessary at the time” At the same time, the pandemic has highlighted the need for communities to be empowered with digital technology if organisations like the Zizi Institute are to achieve their goals as effectively as possible. “We have come to appreciate that the target market we deliver these programmes to still struggles with the online alternatives to face to face delivery due to many reasons. This resulted in a very low uptake. Some clients have appreciated that the infrastructure needed is beyond what we can do. Until such time, we continue to use a hybrid of online conferencing platforms and face-to-face delivery methods. We continue to look for different solutions to this,” says Gcume. Zizi’s Information Technology programmes are particularly appropriate in this time. Gcume comments, “This is a new programme we have added to the our bouquet of services. The current pandemic has increased the need for these skills and we are in the process of packaging them to be ready for the market. Our intention is for the sponsored programmes to be delivered in communities that are outside the metros – communities where the need is much greater.”
Goals and inspiration
As founder, Gcume’s main responsibilities are strategy, research and development and quality assurance. At the same time, he is expected to demonstrate the flexibility of any successful small business owner and assist in other areas as may be necessary. “No role is too small. I just make it a point to remember that I am not the founder when reporting to one of my team members. I should always respect their authority in that role. ”Despite the many challenges South Africa faces, Gcume remains inspired by the people of our country. “Our humanity and the spirit of Ubuntu are what make us who we are as a country. I have facilitated in all the provinces of this country, and I am always humbled by the reception and the willing-ness to learn and grow. This desire to learn needs to be nurtured more with a bias towards entrepreneurship. We have a lot to offer as South Africans. With the right tools and skills, unemployment would drop drastically. ”Gcume’s future goals are firmly rooted in Zizi Institute’s purpose of making a positive impact. “I wish to establish Zizi as the leader in providing financial education and entrepreneurial development in South Africa. Not in terms of revenue but more in terms of the impact we achieve. I continue to challenge myself and the team to improve our offerings and collaborated with the best possible experts to make this dream a reality. Impact is the real measure of the difference we make,” he concludes.
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