2025 in Review: A Year of Growth, Momentum, and Collective Impact
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: when organisations come together with purpose, clarity, and trust, real momentum follows.
For YD Co-Lab, 2025 was not simply a busy year; it was a year of acceleration. A year where collaboration moved from intention to action, where capacity building deepened across the ecosystem, and where our community grew stronger, more connected, and more confident in its collective power.
Against a complex and tightening funding environment, the youth development sector continued to show resilience, creativity, and resolve. YD Co-Lab’s role, as a neutral convener, connector, and capacity builder, became more relevant than ever. And the response from the ecosystem was clear: collaboration is no longer optional; it is essential.
Growing the Collective: Strength in Numbers, Power in Connection
One of the clearest indicators of this momentum was our membership growth. In 2025, YD Co-Lab grew from 91 to 153 member organisations, a 68% increase in a single year. This growth reflects more than numbers; it signals a sector actively seeking shared infrastructure, peer learning, and coordinated support.
As our community expanded, so did our responsibility. We invested in stronger onboarding, improved membership systems, and deeper engagement touchpoints to ensure that organisations were not only joining the network but meaningfully participating in it. The continued development of Yubuntu, our digital community platform, played a central role in enabling connection, visibility, and collaboration across geography and focus areas.
A broader, more diverse membership has strengthened YD Co-Lab’s credibility as a representative voice for youth-serving organisations, and enhanced our ability to convene, advocate, and support collective impact at scale.
From Conversation to Collaboration: Programmes that Built Capacity and Confidence
Throughout 2025, YD Co-Lab’s programmes created intentional spaces for learning, relationship-building, and joint problem-solving.
Our Collaboration Junctions, hosted both virtually and in-person across Johannesburg and Durban, brought organisations together to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and explore partnerships grounded in shared purpose. These were not networking events for the sake of networking; they were platforms for trust-building and collaboration in action.
The Knowledge and Skills Exchange series tackled some of the sector’s most pressing questions, from demystifying funding and understanding national youth employment strategies to storytelling as a tool for collective identity and influence. These sessions connected members directly with funders, policymakers, and sector experts, equipping organisations with practical insights they could apply immediately.
Capacity building extended even further through structured programmes such as the Digital Literacy and Tools Programme and the Executive Leadership Programme, supporting organisations to strengthen their internal systems, leadership practices, and operational resilience.
Together, these initiatives reinforced a simple but powerful idea: when organisations are better supported, young people are better served.
Convening the Ecosystem: The Power of Shared Reflection
A defining highlight of the year was the Second Annual YD Co-Lab Summit, held in October under the theme “Rethink & Explore: Honest Conversations, Bold Solutions.” Bringing together over 150 practitioners, leaders, and partners, the Summit created space to pause, reflect, and challenge the status quo.
Across keynote dialogues, member spotlights, and breakout sessions, participants engaged deeply with questions of inequality, sustainability, youth pathways, organisational wellbeing, and systemic change. The conversations were candid, the insights practical, and the appetite for collaboration unmistakable.
Beyond the Summit, curated engagements such as the Cape Town Stakeholder Dinner and participation in national and global platforms, including the Y20 Summit and the National Pathway Management Network, further positioned YD Co-Lab as a trusted convener within the broader ecosystem.
These moments mattered. They strengthened relationships, surfaced shared priorities, and laid the groundwork for collaboration that extends far beyond individual events.
Strengthening the Backbone: Building for Sustainability
Behind the scenes, 2025 was also a year of important organisational strengthening.
The appointment of a Managing Director, the establishment of a Management Sub-Committee, improved financial systems, and the migration to Salesforce CRM all contributed to a more stable, accountable, and effective organisation. These investments in governance and operations were critical in supporting programme delivery and stewarding the trust placed in YD Co-Lab by members and partners.
While the funding environment remains challenging, disciplined financial management and a focus on sustainability have enabled YD Co-Lab to continue delivering value, even amid uncertainty. The year reinforced an important lesson: strong ecosystems require strong institutions at their centre.
What 2025 Taught Us
2025 reaffirmed that collaboration is not a “nice to have”; it is the foundation of impact in a complex system. It showed us that youth-serving organisations are eager to learn from one another, to work together, and to build solutions that go beyond isolated interventions.
It also reminded us that capacity building is ongoing, that resilience must be intentionally nurtured, and that shared infrastructure, digital, relational, and strategic, is essential for long-term change.
Most importantly, it highlighted the power of community. When organisations feel connected, supported, and heard, they are better positioned to support young people in meaningful and sustainable ways.
Looking Ahead: Carrying Momentum into 2026
As we move into 2026, YD Co-Lab does so with clarity of purpose and renewed energy. Guided by our Build, Understand, Advocate, and Community pillars, we will continue strengthening organisational capacity, generating shared knowledge, amplifying collective voice, and nurturing the community at the heart of the Co-Lab.
The year ahead is about deepening what works, expanding Member Collectives, growing Yubuntu, advancing ecosystem research, and strengthening partnerships that enable youth development organisations to thrive.
2025 was a year of growth and capacity building for YD Co-Lab, for our members, and for the ecosystem we serve. The momentum is real, and the opportunity ahead is even greater.
Together, we are building a more connected, capable, and resilient youth development ecosystem, one collaboration at a time.
Join the network & become a YD Co-Lab member, contact Community@ydcolab.org.za