Speech by the Deputy Minister in The Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli on the occasion of the opening of the Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit, Cape Town

Minister Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India,
Deputy Minister Mimi Gondwe, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training of South Africa,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the South African Medical Research Council Professor Ntobeko Ntusi
Head of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training at GIZ Mr Tobias  Muehler
Directors General,
CEOs,
Esteemed Guests,

It is my pleasure today to welcome you to South Africa for the 2026 Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit.

We are honoured to host this important global gathering in partnership with the South African Medical Research Council, GIZ, and all the partners who have contributed to bringing this Summit to life. We extend a warm welcome to all delegates who have travelled from across the world to be part of this important moment.

This Summit convenes a powerful coalition of leaders from government, private sector, philanthropy, multilateral institutions, and civil society. You represent not only institutions, but a shared commitment to rethinking how we finance development and how we deliver impact at scale.

At its core, this Summit speaks to one of the most urgent questions of our time. How do we ensure that every rand, every dollar, and every investment delivers meaningful, measurable change in people’s lives?

Ladies and gentlemen, across the globe, we are confronted with complex and interconnected challenges. Youth unemployment continues to rise in many regions. Poverty remains persistent. Education systems are under pressure to deliver relevant skills. Health systems are stretched. Climate change is intensifying vulnerabilities, particularly in developing economies.

At the same time, fiscal space is constrained. Governments are being called upon to do more with less, while citizens are rightly demanding accountability, transparency, and results.

It is within this context that outcomes based financing has emerged not as an alternative, but as a necessary evolution in how we think about development finance.

Outcomes based financing shifts the focus from what we spend to what we achieve. It moves us from inputs to results, from activities to impact, and from fragmented interventions to coordinated partnerships that are aligned around shared outcomes.

South Africa has embraced this approach as part of our broader commitment to innovation in public finance, governance, and service delivery.

We are proud to be among the countries that are not only experimenting with outcomes based financing, but actively implementing it at scale.

One of the most significant examples of this is the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund.

The Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund is one of the largest outcomes based funds globally focused on employment. It was designed to address one of South Africa’s most pressing challenges, which is youth unemployment.

Through this initiative, government has taken on the role of an outcomes funder, committing public resources to pay for verified employment outcomes rather than activities alone.

The design of Jobs Boost is deliberate and innovative.

It brings together government as the outcomes payer, implementing organisations who deliver training and placement services, independent evaluators who verify outcomes, and private sector partners who play a role in absorbing young people into the labour market.

The fund prioritises young people who are not in employment, education, or training, with a strong focus on inclusion, particularly for women and those in underserved communities.

Programme Director, what makes Jobs Boost particularly powerful is that it aligns incentives across the ecosystem. Implementers are rewarded for achieving real employment outcomes, not just for enrolling participants. Government pays only when results are achieved. And young people are supported not only to access opportunities, but to sustain them.

Since its launch, Jobs Boost has supported thousands of young South Africans to access work opportunities across sectors such as digital services, business process outsourcing, green economy initiatives, and traditional industries. Through the R300 million Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund, South Africa has already achieved over 9,100 verified enrolments and more than 6,800 verified job placements for young people, with over R220 million disbursed strictly against independently verified outcomes. This is not a pilot in theory. It is a demonstration, at scale, that outcomes-based financing can deliver real, measurable employment results.

Ladies and gentlemen, beyond the numbers, the jobs boost fund has generated critical lessons. It has demonstrated that outcomes based financing can drive innovation among service providers. It has shown that performance based incentives can improve efficiency and effectiveness. And it has highlighted the importance of robust data systems and independent verification in building trust and accountability.

We have seen, through our implementation partners such as BlueLever, Swift, and Afrika Tikkun, how this model is changing real lives.

We have met young people who entered these programmes without prior work experience, without networks, and often without confidence in their own prospects. Through targeted training, mentorship, and job placement support, they are now earning incomes, supporting their families, and building pathways into sustainable careers.

In the digital economy, young people trained through partners such as BlueLever and Swift are gaining access to opportunities in areas such as data annotation, digital services, and business process outsourcing, sectors that are not only growing, but that are opening doors to the future of work.

Through organisations such as Afrika Tikkun, we have seen young people from historically underserved communities transition from long-term unemployment into stable employment, often becoming the first in their families to access formal work.

One young participant shared that, for the first time, they are able to contribute to household income, support younger siblings, and plan for their future with dignity and hope.

These are not abstract outcomes. They are real transformations.

They remind us that outcomes-based financing is not only about efficiency or innovation in funding models. It is about restoring opportunity, building confidence, and unlocking human potential at scale.
 
Equally important, Jobs Boost has shown that government can play a catalytic role in crowding in additional investment and in shaping markets that deliver both social and economic value.

We have also seen similar progress in the Early Childhood Care and Education Outcomes Fund.

Through this initiative, government has partnered with implementers and private capital to improve early learning outcomes for young children, particularly in underserved communities.

This is a critical investment. Evidence shows that early childhood development is one of the most powerful drivers of long term human capital development, educational attainment, and economic participation.

By using outcomes based models, we are able to ensure that investments in early learning translate into measurable improvements in school readiness, cognitive development, and overall child wellbeing.

These initiatives are not isolated.

They form part of a broader strategic ambition to embed outcomes based approaches within our public systems.
 
However, the journey toward outcomes based financing is not one that government can undertake alone.

The success of this model depends fundamentally on partnership.

It requires collaboration between governments, investors, philanthropies, service providers, data and evaluation partners, and communities themselves.

It requires trust. It requires shared risk. And it requires a willingness to move beyond traditional silos.

We are encouraged by the strong representation at this Summit.

We see here governments that are exploring policy and regulatory frameworks. We see investors who are willing to align capital with impact. We see philanthropies that are de risking innovation. And we see implementers who are at the frontline of delivering change.

This reflects a growing global movement.

Esteemed Guests, at previous Outcomes Finance Alliance Summits, there has been a clear shift in the field.

We have seen a move from small scale pilots toward larger, more ambitious funds. We have seen increasing government leadership in acting as outcomes funders. We have seen stronger emphasis on data, evidence, and learning. And we have seen the emergence of more diverse applications across sectors, including health, education, climate, and social protection.

Importantly, there has also been a recognition that outcomes based financing is not only a technical instrument. It is a system level reform.

It challenges us to rethink how we design programmes, how we allocate resources, how we measure success, and how we hold ourselves accountable to the people we serve.

This Summit builds on that momentum.

Over the coming days, you will engage on critical themes, including scaling outcomes funds, integrating technology and data systems, expanding into new sectors such as climate and health, and strengthening the enabling environment for outcomes based financing.

But beyond the discussions, what matters most is what we do next.

We must move from dialogue to action.

We must identify practical pathways to scale.

We must strengthen the pipeline of investable opportunities.

We must build the institutional capacity required within governments and implementing organisations.

And we must ensure that the benefits of outcomes based financing reach those who need it most.

South Africa stands ready to continue playing a leading role in this global effort.

We bring to this space not only our experience, but also our commitment to innovation, inclusion, and impact.

We see outcomes based financing as a means to strengthen accountability in public spending, to improve service delivery, and to unlock new forms of collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Ultimately, we see it as a tool to advance human dignity and human development.

As we gather here today, we are reminded that behind every statistic is a person. A young person seeking opportunity. A child needing a strong foundation. A family striving for a better future.

Our responsibility is to ensure that the systems we build, and the financing models we design, deliver for them.

Programme Director, I encourage all participants to use this Summit as an opportunity to share lessons openly, to build meaningful partnerships, and to commit to concrete actions that will advance the outcomes financing ecosystem globally.

Let us work together to ensure that financing is not only mobilised, but that it delivers real, measurable, and lasting outcomes.

It is therefore my honour to declare the 2026 Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit officially open.

I wish you a productive and inspiring Summit.

I thank you.