Youth pedal to success with start-up

Cape Town - Two Du Noon youths, almost hope less for prospects due to unemployment, are pedalling their way to success as they zip through the city as part of the Green Riders team.

Green Riders is a proudly South African mobility start-up that harnesses the power of green energy through e-bikes to provide delivery job opportunities to over 200 riders from disadvantaged communities in and around Cape Town.

Anda Njwaxu, 21, and Siphe Mlawuli, 30, beam as they talk about their journey with the eco-delivery team.

Njaxu said he was without hope in his job search and just before joining Green Riders, he had been spending his days sitting idly on a beer crate.

"It has been a great journey so far. I like the freedom we have in terms of you get what you put in. I play sports as well so I can plan my time to do both and still make it back to make more deliveries.

I have aspirations to also start my own business and can now save towards my future and plan for that. I can invest and it’s through the training we get that enables me to see my own potential,” said Njaxu.

In April, Njaxu achieved a record-breaking take-home earnings in one week, for his 161 deliveries made during that time.

He also holds the current record for 32 deliveries made in one day.

Earlier this month, Mlawuli was named one of the top three female riders for the month.

She said being in the team has made her feel part of a family, rather than colleagues.

“I experience... love, care and respect. All I can say is this is working for me.

I was not working for about a year until I joined the family. Now that I’m working I can provide for my family. I’m also a senior trainer, encouraging the youth, telling them that we can do this,” said Mlawuli.

Working in a male-dominated space, Mlawuli said she didn’t feel discriminated against.

This week grim unemployment statistics were unpacked by Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), which revealed that the official unemployment rate in the country increased to 32.9% and the number of employed persons increased by 258 000 compared to 16.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The Green Riders mobility start-up hopes to create 50 000 sustainable jobs, said founder, Craig Atkinson, with a vision to roll out to more suburbs in the province.

“At Green Riders, we don’t just give employees a bike. We mentor them on how to budget, how to save and how to plan for the future. We want to empower our employees through the training programmes provided,” said Atkinson.

“With backing and support from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, we eventually want to have a full-scale assembly and manufacturing hub for e-bike parts like frames and battery packs – which we currently import.”

The company’s training academy programme is also supported by the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator and further appointed as an official Implementation Partner for Youth Employment Service South Africa – to offer thousands of young South Africans work experience and entrepreneurship opportunities within the e-mobility sector.

With the e-bike delivery industry expected to grow in South Africa over the next few years, Green Riders chairperson, Richard Clarke, said they wanted to give young people more than just a job.

“We currently have 200 riders and the goal is for each of them to be trained as a Green Rider, and then eventually enable many of them to become specialist trainers themselves, so that they can give back in some way and by doing that, allow them to eventually own their e-bikes and get into the SMME space.”

For more information on the Green Riders initiative, visit https://bit.ly/ 3MhxEyh

Cape Times

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