Who We Are
The Emerge Project is a storytelling project that highlights the ways in which Black entrepreneurs and community leaders drive growth and development at the grassroots level in South Africa and Brazil.
All around the world, Black people tend to be seen as needy, troublesome, incapable of generating solutions without outside direction. Our project aims to show that, in fact, the opposite is true: Black people–ordinary, everyday people–are constantly building and rebuilding foundations, using their ingenuity and limited resources to change the world around them.
We use short films, photo essays, articles and blogs to show the real people and the real movements that are driving change at the grassroots level, with an initial focus on Johannesburg, South Africa and Salvador, Brazil.
Featured Videos
Articles
South African Townships: Can Anything Good Come From Them?
The other day I was doing some research on Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, and came across a TripAdvisor review site. Some of the comments read: “There is no reason to go to Alex. You can drive through it on London Road…” “I do not even know why this would show on...
read moreSouth African women making a difference in the townships of Gauteng Province
by Wendy Mothata Many people would say starting a business is not for the faint hearted, and a lot has been said about the role of small businesses in the townships, where many Black people live, and in the South African economy as a whole. Young African women...
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