enke means “ink” in SeTswana and “take it” in SeSotho—reflecting our belief that young people should be the authors of their own futures. enke activates leadership, agency, and opportunity, supporting young people to create positive change in their lives and the communities they are part of.
enke exists to reverse the patterns of exclusion that limit young people’s opportunities. We build on the strengths young people already have, developing entrepreneurial mindsets and critical power skills that enable young people to become active contributors, innovators, and leaders in society.
Through leadership and entrepreneurial development programmes, enke supports young people aged 15–35 with the skills, networks, and confidence to realise their value and thrive. Young people apply what they learn through action that creates value for themselves, their communities, and the wider economy.
We connect young people within, through, and across diverse backgrounds—building relationships, social capital, and trust. These connections expand opportunity, strengthen social cohesion, and enable collaboration across difference.
We equip young people with entrepreneurial mindsets and critical power skills—real world capabilities such as self leadership, problem solving, and adaptability that unlock pathways to long term success.
We inspire a bias toward action, supporting young people to apply what they learn in pursuit of personal, professional, national, and global development.
youth in South Africa are not in education, employment or training (NEET)
of youth in Sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $2 per day
of South African youth do not have direct access to people that can help them find work or other opportunities
youth unemployment rate in South Africa
enke sees the individuals behind the stats. We give youth a chance to be the solution to the challenges they face in life and in their community.
Our work advances the Sustainable Development Goals as follows:
Quality Education – Target 4.4. Increase the number of people with relevant skills for financial success; and Target 4.7 Education for Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship.
Gender Equality – Target 5.5. Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making
Decent Work & Economic Growth – Target 8.3 Promote policies to support job creation and growing enterprises; Target 8.6 promote youth employment Education and Training.
The vision for a better world drives us to drive our youth.
We take pride in developing young people who possess the desire and ability to identify, access and place themselves in opportunities to build a more positive future for themselves and others.
Read more impactful storiesHere’s what some of our alumni say about us.
Hurlingham Office Park,
59 Woodlands Ave,
Hurlingham,
Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa
