State of Social Enterprise Africa 2025

CASE STUDY 2 RLabs Reconstructed Living Labs (RLabs), a social enterprise co- founded in 2009, demonstrates how technology and training enable inclusive and sustainable development. Operating from “third spaces” in vulnerable communities such as Cape Town’s Cape Flats, RLabs empowers marginalized women and youth with digital skills, enterprise development and social inclusion.RLabs uses a hybrid revenue model, blending grants with corporate contracts and income from its Zlto rewards platform, to subsidize free training.51 With livelihood creation at its core, this model has supported more than 6,100 businesses, graduated 2.5 million learners and has contributed to the generation of 110,000 jobs. Its impact cycle, which reinvests revenue into expanding non-profit programmes, has been successfully replicated in 24 countries, showcasing scalable, sustainable change across communities. Credit: RLabs, South Africa The State of Social Enterprise: Unlocking Inclusive Growth, Jobs and Development in Africa 25