WE CO-CREATE STRONGER PLACES AND THRIVING ECONOMIES.
Ranyaka is a South African non-profit organisation and professional Place-Based Practice working with communities, businesses, municipalities, funders and other partners to strengthen the places where people live, learn, work and do business.
Developed over more than a decade of on-the-ground practice, our THRIVE Framework grew from the conviction that lasting transformation requires a different approach: one that puts people, place and collaborative partnerships at the centre. The four pillars of THRIVE, Clubs, Hubs, Networks and a shared Platform, are some of the key mechanisms through which the framework takes shape in practice.
We bring people, knowledge, investment and practical solutions together to strengthen the economic, social and environmental conditions that help places become more productive, resilient and regenerative.
By the end of 2025, our work had reached 38 communities across 15 towns in 8 provinces in South Africa. This includes our role as national implementation agent for the Nedbank-funded Proud of My Town programme.
WE WORK WITH
PLACES
The place is our starting point.
No two places are the same. Every community has its own relationships, assets, businesses, institutions, challenges and opportunities.
We start by understanding the place – bringing together different disciplines, partners and resources around one shared purpose:
HELPING A PLACE FUNCTION BETTER,
WE WORK WITH
PEOPLE
We work with local stakeholders, strengthening change agents, facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration and integrating citizen-led initiatives into the over-arching strategy for the area.
Our objective is collective, as opposed to isolated impact.
THROUGH COLLABORATION, WE TACKLE WHAT IS WRONG AND UNLOCK WHAT IS STRONG.
WE WORK WITH
PIONEERING INVESTORS
We develop smarter ways of investing in societal transformation. Our objective is sustainability, real impact and maximum return on investment.
Nedbank’s Proud of my Town initiative which is a prime example of Ranyaka’s place-based framework and smart investment in action.
SMART INVESTMENT LOOKS BEYOND ISOLATED INTERVENTIONS.
Thrive: How communities rebuild together
Building thriving communities and strengthening local economies has always been at the heart of Ranyaka’s work. Since 2013, we’ve used a collaborative framework to guide this journey. This framework is called Thrive. Thrive was born from the conviction that we need a...
The business of rest
About the Building Business SeriesThis story forms part of a series featuring the 22 entrepreneurs who participated in the 2025 Ranyaka Building Business (RBB) programme in Polokwane, Limpopo, and their journeys towards building stronger, more sustainable businesses....
Growing opportunity from the ground up: Phillip Makoela’s farming journey in Polokwane
About the Building Business SeriesThis story forms part of a series featuring the 22 entrepreneurs who participated in the 2025 Ranyaka Building Business (RBB) programme in Polokwane, Limpopo, and their journeys towards building stronger, more sustainable businesses....
Stirring heritage back into modern kitchens: The African Nosh journey
About the Building Business SeriesThis story forms part of a series featuring the 22 entrepreneurs who participated in the 2025 Ranyaka Building Business (RBB) programme in Polokwane, Limpopo, and their journeys towards building stronger, more sustainable businesses....
Voices from the Ground: Young entrepreneurs take to the stage in Umlazi
Introducing Voices From The Ground At Ranyaka, much of our work through the Nedbank-funded Proud of My Town programme happens alongside people and organisations who are deeply embedded in the communities we serve. Our local coordinators work across towns and townships...
The CoCreate Hub – a THRIVE space in action
A journey that started in the town of Stellenbosch in 2018 has unfolded in a way that demonstrates so clearly the power of place. Not just a physical structure, but something intentionally shaped to invite connection. When a space is welcoming, accessible and designed...
Building Business in Polokwane
A thriving community depends on a thriving local economy. When local businesses grow and create jobs, it brings stability to the people who live there, invites further investment into the area and builds resilience. Over close to a decade, the Ranyaka Building...
Pacaltsdorp – What two years have taught us about community, partnership and possibility
Across South Africa, towns face complex challenges: unemployment, unsafe public spaces, limited economic opportunities and fractured local ecosystems. And yet in every community, there are people, ideas and pockets of potential that simply need the right conditions to...
Changemakers in action: The spark of youth
Reimagining the power of youth“It feels good to be a champion. When we’re together, we feel safe and grow stronger, learning how to care for ourselves, our environment, each other, and the places we call home.” – Owami, 2025. (Changemaker) The word changemaker has...
Building a thriving Umlazi: From gogos on the field to changemakers in action
When purpose meets play“It’s not just soccer — it’s healing, joy, and belonging.”– Gogo Duduzile Buthelezi In the vibrant township of Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, the heartbeat of community life continues to grow stronger, powered by passion, unity, and purpose. Here,...
Places that shape: Inspiring tomorrow’s leaders today
The future of every nation is held within the fragile hands of its children. How else can we build the future? In the end, all the greatest monuments of a nation, its structures, streets, and systems, would be left empty without the people that inhabit them, and most...
When women join forces, communities thrive
‘Imagine with me towns where people are not just surviving, but flourishing. Where dignity is restored. Where every child sees a future. That is what we pursue. That is what we build. That is what we call THRIVE.’ – Sithembiso Malevu, Chief Executive Officer,...
From listening to lasting change: inside Ranyaka’s co-creation model
Listening is where every one of our journeys at Ranyaka begins. Sometimes it’s a cup of coffee with a community leader. Sometimes it’s a room filled with people, colourful Koki pens, maps and ideas. Both moments matter. Because trust is built in conversation. And...
ABOUT US
In 1996, two young town planners from very different backgrounds reported for duty at a local municipality in Gauteng. Only two years had passed since the dawn of democracy in South Africa.
WHAT WE DO
Ranyaka works hand-in-hand with communities, local stakeholders, all levels of government and investors to develop and implement transformation strategies for towns and communities.
WHERE WE WORK
By mid-2020, Ranyaka will be working in 13 towns and neighbourhoods in 9 towns across seven provinces throughout South Africa. We focus mainly, but not exclusively, on under-resourced communities.