Awards & Recognition
Standard Bank Top Women Awards
Our co-founder Carmen Di Rito, was selected as one of the top 5
finalists for the 16th annual Standard Bank - South Africa Top Women
Awards. Carmen was a finalist in the category of Top Entrepreneur of
the Year.
Ashoka Fellowship
In 2008 Pat DS Pillai became an Ashoka Fellow for the work of LifeCo. Ashoka Fellows are the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. They champion innovative new ideas that transform society’s systems, providing benefits for everyone and improving the lives of millions of people. Pat was also selected as an Ashoka Globalizer Fellow - a group of 35 Ashoka Fellows drawn from approximately 2 800 fellows.
Ashoka Fellows define the new roadmaps that allow people to thrive in this new environment, while providing solutions and demonstrating the how-to’s. They are the ultimate role models in today’s world.
COSY Project
Creating Opportunity for South Africa’s Youth (COSY) aims to enable
young people, particularly young women, in rural and semi-rural areas to be more active agents in achieving sustainable growth in South Africa by building their capacity to become entrepreneurs and by increasing their employability.
Target groups: young people aged 15 – 25 years, community leaders and civil society organisations
Focus areas: Creative, digital and social enterprise
Working in 4 provinces and 8 communities
Hoping to reach 10 000 people, 100 leaders and 50 civil society organisations
The project is coordinated by the British Council, in partnership with
Business and Arts South Africa, LifeCo UnLtd South Africa and Livity
Africa. All partners have extensive experience in different areas of
youth development in South Africa.
Click to view COSY Mapping report below
Global Entrepreneurship Summer School (GESS)
The Global Entrepreneurship Summer School (GESS) is a seven-day
programme of the Social Entrepreneurship Akademie organized in
cooperation with six leading university-based entrepreneurship centers in Munich, Shanghai, Mexico City and Cape Town. GESS works on the UN Sustainable Development Goals aiming to empower students to become young responsible leaders who create positive change in our society.
At GESS, students will work in international and interdisciplinary teams on region-specific problems to develop their own idea that presents both a sustainable impact on society and a self-sustaining, profitable business model.
The first GESS LifeCo UnLtd hosted was in 2018. Click here for more
information.
ChangeMaker Schools
In partnership with Ashoka Africa, LifeCo UnLtd worked with 4 schools in KwaZulu Natal, offering the schools strategic engagement
opportunities to amplify their learners’ and teachers changemaking
skills. Learners designed entrepreneurial solutions to social and
environmental challenges. At the same time, LifeCo UnLtd worked with selected champion educators on their personal and professional development. LifeCo catalysed them to become conduits for curriculum innovation that allows learners to develop skills around critical thinking, communication, teamwork and empathy.
