An additional 25 beneficiaries will receive fully-equipped cellphone repair containers, as part of a R19 million Cellphone Repair Programme that seeks to upskill 500 disadvantaged young people with the skills to repair handsets.
Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela is set to hand over the containers on Monday to beneficiaries in Sebokeng under the Wholesale & Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Development Programme.
Sebokeng is a large, middle-class township that is home to more than 200 000 people and is located 40km to 50km south of Johannesburg in the Emfuleni Local Municipality. Established in 1965 during the apartheid era, it is situated in the industrial Vaal Triangle region, near Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.
A media advisory notes that the Cellphone Repair Programme “forms part of the minister’s broader efforts to expand access to practical skills, entrepreneurship opportunities and sustainable livelihoods, particularly for young people, women and persons with disabilities in township and rural communities”.
Implemented by W&RSETA, in partnership with the South African Mobile Devices Distributors Repairs Association (SAMDDRA), the programme has trained 326 South Africans out of a targeted 500 since its inception in 2024.
No rent required
The SETA’s 2024/25 annual report, the latest available, records that the R19 million Cellphone Repair SMME Development project was set to run between April 2024 and the end of last September.
In its report, the SETA said the “initiative aims to train and support South African citizens in mobile device repair, integrating SMMEs into both formal and informal sectors”.
Equipment allocation and training is included in the programme, with highlights including 316 youth trained in 2024/25, as well as the provision of 50 business-ready containers to SMME participants.
Through the Cellphone Repair Programme, beneficiaries receive three months of technical training in basic cellphone repairs and a R3 500 monthly stipend, together with fully-equipped containers that serve as operational workshops.
“This model is designed to reduce barriers to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs by providing beneficiaries with a platform from which to establish and grow their businesses without the burden of rental costs associated with operating from malls and other commercial centres,” the media advisory states.
The upper hand
On its website, SAMDDRA says the initiative is open to South African citizens who have completed its cellphone repair programme and want to run their own cellphone-repair business. However, candidates with professional and traceable cellphone-repair experience have an advantage, it says.
SAMDDRA also says applicants who are Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) clients, or have completed SEDA business/entrepreneurial training, or similar training, have an advantage.
The project is intended to support technicians to run their own businesses, with priority given to young people, women and people with disabilities, its website says.
W&RSETA’s annual report says subsequent efforts will focus on business incubation and market-link support to ensure sustainability.
Separately, other projects have been run within the Gauteng province in conjunction with the Media, Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) SETA, which upskilled more than 140 youth, as well as another between MICT and SAMDDRA, with 61 graduates.
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