Shows
Voices of ResilienceThe Global Workforce Shift: Africa’s Role in the Future of WorkWelcome to Voices of Resilience Season 3, brought to you by Na'amal, a non-profit and social enterprise dedicated to empowering forcibly displaced individuals through dignified remote work. In this episode, we delve into the exciting and sometimes challenging landscape of AI and Africa's digital future.In this compelling episode, we sit down with Sharmi Surianarain, Chief Impact Officer at Harambee, to explore why the future of work is not just in Africa, but is African. Sharmi shares her two-decade journey connecting young people to meaningful work across the continent and makes a powerful case for Africa's demographic dividend...2025-07-0452 min
The Money ShowMultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport; Harambee drives smart youth hiring via SA Youth platformStephen Grootes speaks to Sharmi Surianarain, Chief Impact Officer at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, about new youth unemployment data and how employers can hire smart through the SA Youth platform. In other interviews, Jan Vermeulen, Editor at Mybroadband on MultiChoice's potential plan to unbundle SuperSport from DStv channels. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering y...2025-06-161h 21
The Money Show32.9% of South Africans without jobs & Suez Canal cuts fees to revive tradeStephen Grootes speaks to Sharmi Surianarain, Chief Impact Officer for Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator about South Africa's rising unemployment crisis, with the official rate hitting 32.9% in Q1 2025 and the expanded rate reaching 43.1%, highlighting a challenging job market. In other interviews, Timothy Walker, Maritime Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria about Egypt's Suez Canal Authority offering a 15% discount on transit fees for large container ships to boost trade and offset rising insurance costs following recent security improvements in the region. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio p...2025-05-131h 19
The FlipBuilding Africa's Outsourcing Industry - A Case StudyWhat's particularly exciting about remote work is that it's not constrained by the demand from the local market. The jobs can come from anywhere in the world.But it leaves us with a big question: why are global employers looking to hire African talent? And how can African markets take advantage of the opportunity and capture more of these jobs for its citizens?This episode is another case study, on what it looks like to develop the global business services industry in a country like South Africa.3:50 - Understanding how the global business...2023-02-2618 min
RSA EventsRethinking what good work means todayThe ways we work have seen huge changes in recent years. Technology has reformed entire sectors, remote working has become commonplace and age demographics have shifted as more people retire early or rethink their chosen careers. Such huge change means that the ways we measure good work are now outdated, with familiar notions of productivity criticised as being unfair to women and having more relevance to the industrial economy than to the knowledge economy. There is much to reflect on and much we need to understand about this new world of work. Over the past 12 mo...2022-09-2346 min
The DGMT Learning LunchThe Learning Lunch - Stronger together: building strategic coalitions in civil societyIn South Africa, young people continue to be disadvantaged in a labour market where the youth unemployment rate is higher than the national average. In increasingly tough times, unemployment statistics paint a bleak picture. Unfortunately, and counter-productively, young people are often blamed for their own predicament. There is a prevailing perception of them as lacking drive, optimism and motivation. But this could not be further from the truth.Many organisations in the youth development sector are working to change these perceptions and unlock opportunities for young people. The sector is no short of innovation, but...2022-08-2324 min
Voices of AfricaSharmi Surianarain, Harambee Youth Employment AcceleratorMarcus talks to Sharmi Surianarain who is the Chief Impact Officer at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. The Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not for profit social enterprise that's building African solutions for the global challenge of youth unemployment. She leads research, knowledge, and insights, focusing on the impact of Harambee’s capabilities to change the system and contribute to solutions for the African continent.
The focus is International Women's Day, 8th March. We look at the systems change grant from Co-Impact which has been incredibly valuable as a thought partner in deepening their approach to understanding gender issues. Harambee al...2022-03-0740 min
Harvard Center for International DevelopmentInclusive Employment for South African Youth: Lessons from HarambeeThis podcast was originally recorded on Friday, December 3rd, 2021 for the CID Speaker Series featuring Sharmi Surianarain, Chief Impact Officer of the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. Surianarain continued the conversation with our CID Student Ambassador, Jamar Williams, after an appearance at the virtual CID Speaker Series event.
South Africa has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world. Annually, approximately 1 million young people exit schooling and enter the labor market. Within a year, nearly two-thirds are unemployed and discouraged, meaning only one-third find any kind of work or continue to further education. Harambee develops solutions to promote inclusive growth and...2021-12-1521 min
HumanWorkz podcast with Anish Lalchandani5. Sharmi Surianarain: Creating Inclusive Jobs and Accelerating EmploymentGuest Profile: Sharmi Surianarain serves as the Chief Impact Officer for Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in South Africa. Sharmi is a fierce advocate for opportunity and social justice for young people and women across the African continent, and is a keen analyst and thinker on the future of work. Sharmi leads on Harambee's impact, and systems change agendas and oversee Harambee's work in new markets. Sharmi is the Founder of Making Caring Count, a social enterprise that aims to build impactful solutions around care work in Africa. Sharmi brings extensive experience in human capital management, education, and facilitating links t...2021-11-2232 min
The Brenthurst Foundation PodcastThe case for industry without smokestacks: Leveraging BPO services to address unemployment in AfricaIndustries without smokestacks – tradable services like tourism and transport – could hold the key to future meaningful employment for millions across Africa.
Following on from last week’s episode with Sharmi Surianarain, Marie-Noelle spoke to Antoinette Eckersley, Founder and Group CEO of KGI Holdings, whose focus on business process outsourcing is changing the way we think about what work could look like in South Africa.
Join the conversation on: Twitter - @BrenthurstF / Facebook - @BrenthurstFoundation / Instagram - @brenthurstfoundation2021-05-1226 minThe Brenthurst Foundation PodcastThe future of work: A pathway to employment in Africa with Sharmi SurianarainAutomation. Artificial intelligence. Remote working. These are just some of the terms and phrases often deployed in conversations around the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ and the future of work.
Africa’s growing population will necessitate the creation of new jobs and industries to accommodate the millions more than will enter the job market over the next few decades. Covid-19 hasn’t changed that, it’s accelerated it.
This week, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator’s Chief Impact Officer, Sharmi Surianarain, gives Marie-Noelle an insight into what the future of work on the continent might look like.
Join the c...2021-05-0533 min
Shaping the Post-COVID WorldThe Future of Work in AfricaContributor(s): Professor Kenneth Amaeshi, Kojo Boakye, Oyin Solebo, Sharmi Surianarain, Dr David Luke |
Africa is a 1.2 billion person market on the cusp of dramatic and transformative growth. It is adopting new technology and fostering new entrepreneurial ventures to address challenges to its development. At the same time, it is the continent with the largest rate of population growth with the number estimated to double by 2050.
With this growing population, there is a challenge of addressing youth unemployment as it is estimated that 18 million new jobs need to be created annually in order to compensate for the youth that will...2021-03-161h 31
African DialogueUN statisticsThe recent UN statistics reveal that by the year 2040, Africa will have two billion people living on the continent and will a home of two out of five of the young people in the world. This shows that a lot of investment and development needs to be focused on the youth population as a future venture. Yaya Toure, the Ivorian professional footballer, this past Friday wrote an article focusing on youth development in Africa published by the Guardian, partnering up with the Bill Melinda Foundation. Toure say that "young minds must be fed.Girls and boys must have equal access...2015-07-1359 minAfrican DialogueUN statisticsThe recent UN statistics reveal that by the year 2040, Africa will have two billion people living on the continent and will a home of two out of five of the young people in the world. This shows that a lot of investment and development needs to be focused on the youth population as a future venture. Yaya Toure, the Ivorian professional footballer, this past Friday wrote an article focusing on youth development in Africa published by the Guardian, partnering up with the Bill Melinda Foundation. Toure say that "young minds must be fed.Girls and boys must have equal access...2015-07-1359 min