SA INC - Season 6 - Telkom FutureMakers (11 mins)

Connecting Potential: How Telkom FutureMakers is Building South Africa’s Digital Economy. Telkom FutureMakers represents a deliberate, long-term commitment to transforming South Africa’s ICT sector by investing in people, small businesses and innovation. At its core, the initiative recognises a critical gap between education and employment, particularly within technology fields. By supporting skills development, enterprise growth and ecosystem collaboration, Telkom is helping to bridge that divide and create meaningful pathways into the digital economy. One of the pillars of the programme focuses on high-end ICT skills development. Through partnerships with specialised training providers, young graduates are equipped with practical, industry-relevant capabilities that align directly with market demand. These programmes do more than provide training—they prepare participants for real work environments and connect them to employment opportunities. Thousands of young people have been placed into new roles, closing the gap between learning and earning while strengthening the national talent pipeline. Beyond skills, FutureMakers drives transformation through intentional supply chain inclusion. The programme is designed to ensure that women, youth and people with disabilities participate not only as consumers of technology, but as creators and entrepreneurs within the ICT ecosystem. By investing in early-stage and growth-stage small and medium enterprises, Telkom enables businesses that might otherwise struggle to attract capital to scale sustainably. The IDF Future Fund plays a catalytic role in this ecosystem. By providing strategic investment and governance support, the fund helps technology businesses stabilise, expand and integrate into larger value chains. These investments have resulted in measurable growth—companies expanding nationally, diversifying their offerings from services into products, and creating new jobs in engineering, IoT and fibre infrastructure. FutureMakers also partners with venture builders to support startups from pre-seed through to venture capital readiness. This structured approach ensures founders receive end-to-end support, including governance, trade finance and founder development. The emphasis on building the entrepreneur alongside the enterprise strengthens resilience and increases the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Innovation is another defining feature of the initiative. From award-winning gaming studios transforming creative industries into viable technology businesses, to digital sports platforms connecting undiscovered talent with professional opportunities, FutureMakers enables ideas to move from prototype to market. Funding, mentorship, equipment support and market access collectively help these ventures commercialise and grow. IoT and advanced technology companies have similarly benefited from investment and collaboration. With support to build proprietary platforms, expand research and development capacity, and recruit specialised talent, these businesses are developing smart monitoring solutions for sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure and enterprise technology. In many cases, growth has accelerated significantly, with headcounts doubling and solutions scaling across environments. After more than a decade, Telkom FutureMakers has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem builder. Its focus is not simply on isolated funding interventions, but on collaboration, scale and continuous learning. By investing intentionally in startups and SMEs that contribute to job creation and technological advancement, Telkom is helping to shape a more inclusive and competitive digital economy. Ultimately, FutureMakers demonstrates how a telecommunications company can play a pivotal role in national transformation—creating equal access to opportunity, enabling innovation and fueling sustainable growth across South Africa’s technology landscape. ‪@TelkomRSA‬ ‪@TelkomGroup‬ ====================================================== Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:    / @regencyfn   RegencyFN films positive, authentic, inspirational and change-making ‘human-centred’ stories featuring the collaborative work of businesses, governments, NGOs, media influencers, labour & civil society. If you would like to join us & have your projects featured in our TV campaigns and/or if you'd like to work with us to uplift communities, please get in touch by emailing us at info@regency.org And visit our website at https://regency.org/ #SAINC #RegencyFN #InspiredStories #BusinessBelieves #RegencyFoundationNetworx