The Nxt Gen Foundation NPC is a confluence of extensive experience, innovation, and talent, coalesced around four fundamental elements, which is aimed to connect, “unexplored skilled youth candidates to city rejuvenation projects funded by local and global companies and institutes under safer and more secure conditions”.

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 Muhammad Hoosen, founder, coach and mentor who is well travelled and has an extensive background in information systems, analytics, logistics and business, has a passion for innovation that helps improve communities and believes that “the effort we put into the youth today is the only way we will sustain any development our city makes”.

Power of youth

The deputy chair of the Westville community policing forum (CPF), where he is commonly known as Moe Joe, has carefully handpicked young people from across eThekwini with a particular set of skills to contribute to the foundation’s aim of addressing “the cancer of unemployment”.

The skills of these young people are also channeled towards one of the foundation’s elements, which is rebuilding the city by regenerating public spaces and derelict buildings.

Hoosen hosts a 14-member fully youth-oriented crew who come from areas that include Newlands, Reservoir Hills, Pinetown, Westville, Palmiet, Sydenham, South Beach, Umbilo, and Chatsworth working in a compact space in Westville where innovation, honesty, and ethics combine to create solutions centered on the foundation’s four elements.

“We have an additional 100 young people that have signed the constitution and are located in various places,” said Hoosen.

These areas in eThekwini include Bhambayi, KwaMashu, Mayville, Clermont, Cato Manor, and uMlazi, whilst Hoosen said the goal is to widen the reach locally and across the country.

Hoosen explained how the foundation builds “unique app solutions” in-house, which help to put into effect the four fundamental elements.

“I use an agile method with the team, providing the problems and tools, and harness the takeaways from think-tank sessions, to develop new innovative ideas and visions, which is then worked on by our coding/programming in-house developer steered with tests and guidance from our youth directors,” he said.

The Nxt Gen platform, according to Hoosen, in a space of two weeks, already has over 100 Youth candidates, six companies, five potential projects, and is planned to cater for the community safety element in coming weeks.

Hoosen said companies can register under the platform’s investor (company) registration, become a member for free, and can play their role by providing the foundation with their opportunities where placements can be made at no cost, or they can sponsor an unemployed youth for an internship programme or more.

“If you look at the platform you will see that in a short space of time we have on-boarded over hundred kids that need opportunities but we have also in the same breath started getting companies to pick them,” he said.

Creating real-world solutions for eThekwini

The foundation, through its third element – rebuilding eThekwini or public space regeneration – has already identified sites in the areas of KwaDabeka and Mayville, among others, and the vision for these is that registered investors sponsor the regeneration project, while employing the on-boarded candidates from those areas where the sites are located.

“One of the sites is in Mayville, and we call it the White Castle. It is an ideal space to be converted into a youth training and skills development center,” said Hoosen.

The foundation’s fourth element has to do with safety and security, where Hoosen’s experience and role in the CPF becomes crucial.

Working with the Westville SAPS, with the station’s communications officer Sergeant Zwelethu Khathi running point, the foundation has been part of community discussions over security and crime concerns.

“We have formed a partnership with the foundation because the issue of unemployment contributes to the increase in crime, so they assist by finding people employment opportunities and by so doing, crime goes down,” said Khathi.

The foundation is also aiming at backing the CPF to refurbish a crèche in Banana City, which still uses a bucket system.

For more info or to support the programme, the youth, companies and others can register on www.nxtgenfoundation.org.

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