Corporates that Care: ‘For South Africa to thrive, we need vibrant communities’ – Rob Kelso, CEO - SA Home Loans
In this week’s edition of Corporates that Care, 702 shines a light on SA Home Loans’ Sekela Programme.
FILE: SA Home Loans CEO Rob Kelso In The 702 Studio With Bongani Bingwa. Picture: Karabo Tebele/702
702’s Bongani Bingwa speaks with Rob Kelso, CEO of SA Home Loans.
Listen below:
The Sekela programme is SA Home Loans' flagship social impact initiative.
It focuses on uplifting and empowering youth and small businesses in KwaZulu-Natal through holistic, long-term support.
Kelso says SA Home Loans has always tried to make a caring atmosphere through their work and understands that homeownership is about building communities.
This led them to develop the Sekela programme to build up communities, specifically focusing on education and entrepreneurship.
“For SA Home Loans to be successful - for South Africa to be successful - we need healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities.”
- Rob Kelso, CEO - SA Home Loans
The word 'Sekela' means ‘to support’ in isiZulu, which is something Kelso believes budding entrepreneurs in South Africa need.
Through their programme, they offer financial support, mentorship, skills development and more.
Every year, they take a few small business owners, usually around 20, into their structured programme to help them build and run their businesses.
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Kelso says this helps entrepreneurs and leads to job creation to uplift the whole community.
“We’ve seen a business owner go from a single employee to quadrupling her turnover and now employs 15 to 20 people and has gone on to win awards.”
- Rob Kelso, CEO - SA Home Loans
Scroll up to the audio player for more.