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.
Hello, Port Elizabeth!
Proud of my Town (PoMT) has spread its wings to the township of Zwide in Port Elizabeth and last week, we had the privilege of working with Ubuntu Pathways to help bring relief to vulnerable families in need. Thanks to the Nedbank Proud of My Town fund in Port...
COVID-19: Hope in a time of havoc
Image by Alfred Thorpe | Vuurtoring MediaThe year 2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as a year when a pandemic turned the world upside down - bringing disruption, despair and even devastation on a global scale. At the same time, the Proud of my Town team has...
Supporting the homeless in Tshwane
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown affects every single South African and the most vulnerable members of our society are undoubtedly the hardest hit. As part of Nedbank's Proud of my Town programme, we had the privilege today to support two shelters in the City of...
Community in a new light
Community. It has become such a loaded term in our society. And the textbook answer would be that a community is a group of people who find themselves living within the same geographical area. That’s it. Plain, clear and very simply defined. Is it really just that? I...
The fight against COVID-19 in Magaliesburg
As part of the fight against Covid-19 in the area, the West Rand District Municipality launched its public spaces sanitizing programme in Magaliesburg last Wednesday. Work continued this morning after rain halted the process over the weekend. Ranyaka's local...
Food for hungry families
The clock was ticking. There were less than 12 hours to go before South Africa went into full lockdown. A group of volunteers from multiple churches and NGOs in Stellenbosch (and across South Africa, we can safely assume!) were braving the endless queues in grocery...
Our hands can harm. But our hands can also heal.
The message is clear. Wash your hands, do not touch your face, do not shake hands. It is easy and natural, in times like these, to feel helpless and to wonder about what one could and should be doing to make a difference. We would like to urge NGOs, NPOs, faith-based...
Building Business in Magaliesburg
Our very first product showcase for community entrepreneurs in Magaliesburg had our team scurrying for (plenty of) extra chairs when more than double the number of RSVPs registered to participate on the morning of the event! A whopping total of 54 entrepreneurs from...
Empowering women
In 2019, Jamestown-based NGO, Usiko, launched a programme aimed at empowering a group of 20 dynamic women from the community to take them to reach new heights in their lives – and equip them to become local change agents. The project is funded by the Distell...
Hope behind the green door
Last week, we had the privilege to peek behind the Green Door in Jamestown when we handed over twenty care packs donated to the project by Santam and Ranyaka in collaboration with an anonymous donor. What we discovered behind the green door was an unexpected treasure...
Hello, Kanyamazane!
This past weekend marked a special milestone in the Ranyaka journey - and the unfolding story of Nedbank's Proud of my Town programme. Thank you to the community of Kanyamazane, Nelspruit in Mpumalanga for welcoming the Ranyaka team into your midst!A group of 80...
My story counts
The sound of laughter can be heard as one enters the Boomhuis Art Gallery at the Woodmill in Stellenbosch. Twenty high school learners from different communities are gathered for a week-long holiday programme with a difference. The Chalkboard Project brings hope 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.