Empowering Our Future

More than half (51%) of youth aged 18–24 years claim they do not have the financial means to pay for their tertiary tuition. That is over 1.4 million youths who will never be able to afford to take their education further and thereby increase their opportunities to progress in their careers and lives. This is the sad reality according to the Higher Education and Skills in South Africa report released by Statistics South Africa in March 2019.

- Robbie Stammers

Furthermore, despite the #FeesMustFall movement, current government funding is inadequate to support all students who qualify for tertiary education. So, where does that leave them?

Enter Feenix: an incredible initiative that began in June 2017, sparked by the belief that education is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty. The crowdfunding platform has already changed the lives of more than 900 students with funding in excess of R25 million. These 900 lives have been spectacularly changed for the better—and no doubt the ripple effect will become more pronounced among the youth of our country.

“Our objective is very clear”, exclaims Leana de Beer, Chief Operating Officer at Feenix. “We are here to connect communities to provide more South Africans the opportunity to study further and gain valuable skills. We believe that access to education and fulfilling one’s potential should not be dependent on wealth”. A bold and proud statement that certainly seems to ring true for Feenix.

As a technology startup and registered public benefit organisation, Feenix is able to combine the compliance, focus and impact of a traditional NGO model with agility and innovation.

Students register on the Feenix website, upload their fee statement and define a funding goal. The Feenix.org signup process allows students to register their financial needs for their current year of study, based on their official fee statement from the university.

Once this registration process is complete, they are able to reach out to their community: friends and family, individuals and businesses, who can all contribute to students’ funding. In addition, certain students will be selected to receive funding from the Feenix Pool Fund.