Ukiyo, a South African edutech and youth development organisation, has launched a mobile app that brings education, funding, career opportunities and student support into one platform.
Dubbed Global Student Support Platform [GSSP], the platform aims to link young people to educational opportunities, bursaries and scholarships, career pathways, mentorship, accommodation, tutoring, student support services, wellness and psychosocial support, leadership development and work-readiness resources.
“South Africa does not have a shortage of ambitious young people. It has a shortage of integrated pathways into economic participation and systems that connect young people to what they need to succeed,”‘ said Nozuko Mzamo, Founder, Ukiyo. “We built GSSP to support the full journey, from finding a place to study and securing education funding, to building a career and accessing mentorship.
GSSP has registered over 4,200 users and has recorded over 1,300 click-throughs to scholarship and bursary opportunities and 2,100 to job opportunities. Users have also engaged with course information, events, international exchange programmes and student support services.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q1 2026, unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 stands at 60.9%, while about 3.9 million young people in the same age group are not in employment, education or training.
Ukiyo works with corporate partners, higher education institutions, funders and communities to design and deliver youth development programmes. As part of this work, Ukiyo has partnered with organisations including Thrive Accommodation, North-West University, The LINK by Airlink and Emeris to deliver student support and employment-readiness initiatives.
Ukiyo has also opened applications for the GSSP Campus Brand Ambassador Programme with plans to recruit 10 student ambassadors across higher education institutions in South Africa to champion GSSP on their campuses and support peer adoption.