Our communities

Datatec is deeply committed to empowering people at the grassroots level to reduce poverty and inequality. It has been another successful year for the Foundation, which met its principal objective to improve the quality of education in South Africa and create opportunities for those less fortunate.

The Foundation provides funding support to organisations that aim to improve education within underprivileged communities in South Africa, with spend primarily directed into school-level intervention programmes for learners and teachers, and educational bursaries. Other initiatives include providing technology infrastructure and skills development for unemployed youth.

The Foundation's beneficiaries include:

• Afrika Tikkun provides sustainable care and educational development for vulnerable and orphaned children from birth until age 25
• Belgium Campus iTversity is an IT university offering IT degrees, diplomas, and certificates to graduates
• Kutlwanong Centre for Maths, Science and Technology – Promaths provides after-school and holiday mathematics and physical sciences tuition for Grades 10 – 12 learners in the Eastern Cape's Mdantsane township
• Maharishi Institute offers virtually free university access opportunities to unemployed youth, and increase employability after completing their degree courses
• OLICO Maths Education provides a blended use of extracurricular mathematics tutoring, custom-built online mathematics programmes
  (Grade 7 – 12 learners), and mathematics clubs aimed at primary school learners (Grades R – 6)
• PROTEC Pietermaritzburg provides enrichment education for disadvantaged children in Grades 9 – 12
• The Tomorrow Trust provides integrated academic and psychosocial support to orphaned and vulnerable children
• The Vula Programme is an educational outreach initiative at Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal, which services more than 100 under-resourced schools from previously disadvantaged communities

FY23 highlights

• OLICO's 2022 matric class significantly outperformed their peers from under-resourced schools, with two-thirds scoring in the top 20% of mathematics performers nationally despite a system-wide decline in mathematics performance
• OLICO's first matric cohort from Alex High more than doubled the average number of mathematics passes above 50% in the last decade at this school
• Tomorrow Trust achieved a 100% pass rate and 75% of learners actively engaged with the ITSOK Tech app, an emotional intelligence app used to assist in child safeguarding, to create a mental health environment through online platforms for all senior learners
• Kutlwanong Promaths distributed 270 learning devices to the learners in the Mdantsane Centre. The centre achieved a 100% pass rate and a 92% Bachelor pass rate
• The top learner in the Buffalo City Metro in the Eastern Cape for the 2022 National Senior Certificate is a Kutlwanong Promaths learner from Mdantsane Centre
• Datatec sponsored the purchasing of 120 iPads which were distributed for use across Afrika Tikkun's Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Emfuleni, Braamfontein, and Alexandra centres
• Maharishi Institute's third year Cybersecurity Academy students graduated in September 2022. Not only have each of them completed between 13 and 17 qualifications respectively (including a business degree, level 4, 5, and 6 national qualifications with the Media, Information and Communication Technologies SETA and up to 13 international qualifications related to cyber security), and a 100% pass rate on all of the qualifications.

Specific targets for FY24 include: Afrika Tikkun reaching 2 670 youth, a 100% pass rate for Promaths learners, the Maharishi Institute reaching its target of training 530 unemployed youth, a 90% pass rate for OLICO's learners, a 90% minimum pass rate for PROTEC Pietermaritzburg's learners, a 100% pass rate for The Tomorrow Trust's Grade 12 learners, and mathematics training for an additional 100 teachers on The Vula Programme.

For detailed information on the Foundation's community activities, including detailed FY24 targets and progress against the FY23 targets published in the 2022 integrated report, please refer to the Datatec 2023 Annual Report.

Bunmi Adedayo Foundation – mathematics teachers training.

Datatec head office staff – Mandela Day.

Datatec Flagship Project

In FY23, Datatec supported the Bunmi Adedayo Foundation's "Subject Enhancement Programme in Mathematics" which benefited 1 000 mathematics teachers from low-cost schools across three Nigerian states. Datatec has invested US$67 500 in the project, providing infrastructural support for 15 schools and operational support and training resources.

Datatec Emergency Fund

Datatec responded to the severe flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall in April 2022 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa by donating ZAR100 000 to Doctors Without Borders and Gift of the Givers to aid relief efforts.

Datatec donated US$50 000 to Concern Worldwide on their Turkey-Syria Earthquake Emergency Appeal to assist those affected by the earthquake in February 2023.

Mandela Day

Datatec head office and WestconGroup SA staff spent a day at OLICO's Diepsloot centre on Mandela Day painting the computer labs. Datatec also funded the installation of water tanks, fixing of toilets and a new short throw projector. Datatec also recently funded the installation of a second computer lab at this centre, funded a solar system installation, and purchased tablets for another OLICO centre.

Westcon International continues to adhere to its CSR policy to be a responsible business that meets the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. It is committed to working and partnering with organisations that align with its CSR philosophy on sustainability, e-waste, technology, and education. Westcon International is committed to the United Nations Global Compact and will readily act to promote its identity as a socially aware and responsible business.

Westcon International's Education in the Community portfolio consists of three programmes, each of which align to its core business and anticipated business needs, the community and social challenges that have been highlighted as being of concern in each of the regions that Westcon International operates in, and as being of importance to its people across the globe.

Westcon Iberia – Employee children Christmas party.

The Education in the Community Programmes include:

• Driving STEM: Supporting education in STEM to empower disadvantaged communities
• Diversity in technology: Facilitating interventions to increase the number of women and minority groups in the technology industry
• Skills for technology: Retaining staff through education, providing current and relevant training and attracting new talent to support them within the technology industry

A specific target for FY24 is the implementation of a volunteer scheme and policy.

For detailed information on Westcon International's community activities, please refer to the Datatec 2023 Annual Report.

Logicalis' social and community development goal is to improve education for the next generation and to support local charities in the communities that it operates in. Logicalis believes that by combining regional and local efforts under a divisional strategy and structure, it can facilitate the creation of meaningful, sustainable impact ­– for Logicalis and the world.

Logicalis continued to support future Architects of Change through education in FY23, implementing 15 strategic education projects across the US, EMEA, Asia, Australia and Latin America, exceeding its FY23 goal. This commitment, together with its intention to ensure that at least 50% of project beneficiaries are women and/or represent regional ethnic minority groups, is part of its long-term goal to implement at least 30 strategic education projects across Logicalis by FY25 – at least one in every country.

It continues to focus on supporting education in STEM, and enabling opportunities for women and minority groups to enter and be supported within the ICT sector. STEM subjects are widely recognised as having a positive impact on the economy and society, and by increasing access to STEM learning resources, Logicalis is able to actively work to address the STEM skills shortage at its root while supporting individuals and the wider global economy.

Logicalis Spain Innovation Challenge.

Logicalis SA homeless shelter donation.

For detailed information on Logicalis International and Logicalis Latin America's community activities, please refer to the Datatec 2023 Annual Report.

Cisco Women Rock IT event in Brazil.