Zenex Foundation

In SA at the time...

Reconstruction begins
The democratic state focused on the immediate issues of desegregation along with the restructuring of the 16 previous apartheid-era departments of education into a single national system. The new government also prioritised addressing backlogs in the provision of basic infrastructure and resources.
By the end of 1995, the factors restricting the development of education programmes capable of providing appropriately prepared and trained people were seen as:

the lack of a widespread culture of teaching and learning throughout the system.
high levels of teacher dissatisfaction leading to endemic labour unrest.
ineffective school management leading to a lack of control by school managers and consequently, an inability to provide quality governance and professional leadership.
the undermining effects of the poor training teachers had received in the past.
a lack, in both quantity and quality, of appropriate educational materials supplied to schools.

Growth of the Zenex Foundation 1995-1997

Between 1995 and 1997 the Zenex Foundation grew to establish its own identity, which was independent of Zenex Oil. It formulated its own strategies, operating principles and managerial systems, enabling the Foundation to support a growing number of projects on a national scale.

By mid-1995, the Zenex Foundation had established itself as an independent grant-making organisation. In 1997, the Zenex Oil Trustees decided to sell the company to a black economic empowerment consortium, Worldwide Investment Holdings. An endowment fund was created and this provided the Zenex Foundation with a financially sustainable base.

The Zenex Foundation's support for educational programmes was wide-ranging and covered:

educational infrastructure (school buildings, community facilities and tertiary institutions).
human resources (adult basic education, career guidance, skills training, capacity building, management training and teacher in-service education and training).
educational resources (books, literature, study materials, equipment and furniture, teaching aids and demonstration materials).
tertiary institutions (academic support, staff development and outreach
programmes).
educational infrastructure (school buildings, community facilities and tertiary institutions).

The first projects supported by the Zenex Foundation by mid-1995 included:

a mobile crèche and child-minder resource centre serving the greater part of Soweto.
an agricultural training programme serving the farming community.
study assistance in Hotel Management and Catering serving pupils from deprived communities.

In this phase, the Zenex Foundation gave preference to year-long projects which were provided with once-off funding. These projects had to be focused on the achievement of economic and social benefits in terms of 'specific and quantifiable' outcomes, along with project performance criteria and evaluation plans. Thus, the Zenex Foundation prioritised monitoring and evaluation, even in the early stages of establishing itself as a functional grant-making organisation.