Lutendo Mabogo was mourning her fledgling door-to-door sales business that had been shut down by the pandemic, and she figured 2020 was going to be a squandered year in her efforts to finish her university degree.
Then the 22-year-old, who shares a metal shack with her mother and five sisters near Johannesburg, was scrolling through social media on her phone and saw an ad for free entrepreneurship coaching and computer skills training on LinkedIn. Just a few months later, she’s now getting ready to start a new job as a customer service specialist, with a salary that will help her save for her return to college and cover her little sister’s school fees as well.