Six years since the launch of the Youth Chamber of Shipping in Africa (YCSA), its founders are battling for funding, recognition and members.
The brainchild of six young black women, the organisation was intended to create awareness among young black people about the shipping industry and the career opportunities it offered.
“We have already started doing this through educational visits to schools in and around KwaZulu Natal as well as predominantly rural areas in and around Richards Bay,” said founding director, Nomfundo Mkhize. “We have also run a nationwide awareness campaign in partnership with the Transport Education Training Authority, who provided the funding, and the Department of Higher Education.”
She told FTW that YCSA was the first organisation of its kind in South Africa and had high hopes of partnering with government to encourage interest among young people in port developments and projects in the country and the continent. The chamber was also keen to cultivate and foster a spirit of entrepreneurship which meant the grooming of young black people so that they would not only be able to create their own businesses in the industry but also grow and develop them.
Founding director Nomcebo Sithole told FTW that the chamber was looking for government sponsorship for an integrated graduate programme that it wanted to develop. But it’s been far from plain sailing for the organisation in an industry which Mkhize describes as “very traditional”.
“Most of the decision makers in the maritime sector are usually much older, male and white. “When we first started, we reached out to the big players in the industry but we didn’t get a very good response because we’re a different face from what is usually found in the industry, different voices to what the industry is used to,” she said.
And she believes that this is not necessarily because people in the industry are unwelcoming, but rather because it’s difficult for them to step out of their “comfort zones”. Mkhize said that getting support from government was no easier than trying to get funding from the private sector. But she said while the private sector was open to discussion, with government the chamber had had no response.
“We’ve reached out to the board of Operation Phakisa countless times but we’ve never heard anything back, even though we have the knowledge and skills and are ready and willing to help and be a part of this initiative,” she said.
Additionally, Sithole pointed out that attracting members – specifically blackowned companies within the shipping industry – was proving to be especially challenging. “This is simply because none exist. Black entrepreneurs are unaware of the multitude of opportunities along the entire value chain.
“Black entrepreneurs always seem to think trucking and roadfreight, they don’t know about sectors like freight forwarding or warehousing.”
The YCSA is currently run by four of the original founding members who have all studied at a tertiary level in different aspects of the maritime industry.
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Black entrepreneurs are not really aware of the industry in terms of the ability to turn it into a business. – Nomcebo Sithole
