Frequently asked questions about Bighearts Africa: services, programmes, and how to get involved.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most often.
In sponsor-funded placements, the young person's stipend is covered by the sponsor, so the main costs to your business are operational: supervision time, a workspace, and the tools the role needs. Some programmes ask hosts to contribute a portion of costs, and arrangements differ between sponsors, so the exact split is confirmed in your hosting agreement before anything starts. That's why hosting is often described as subsidised labour — the salary barrier is removed, not every cost.
Four things, essentially: meaningful work (a real role, not just errands), day-to-day supervision and mentorship from someone in your team, a safe and lawful workplace, and basic admin such as confirming attendance and joining periodic check-ins. You don't need an HR department — many hosts are very small teams, and the programme partner carries the contracting and administrative load around the placement.
The Village Dashboard is the platform that connects SMMEs to the network — placements, support, and tracking run through it. To get started, register your interest through the Bighearts Africa website and the team will guide you through onboarding, including what's needed to qualify as a host. If specifics like onboarding steps or requirements have changed, the website carries the current process.
Sometimes — and we're deliberately honest about how often. Across our network, roughly 25–30% of placed youth are currently absorbed into employment, most often by the business that hosted them. That's a meaningful outcome, but it isn't a guarantee, and no credible programme should promise one. What a placement reliably provides is a year of real experience, a track record, and — for hosts — a low-risk way to develop and evaluate someone before making a permanent hiring decision — which is exactly how many of our absorption stories start.