Southern Arc Foundation, is a youth-led initiative reimagining how young people from low-income, BAME, and migrant communities can access real-world career opportunities.
Based in Cardiff's Southern Arc, an area where youth unemployment is almost double the national average and pathways into professional sectors remain rare, SAF are building a new model: hands-on innovation incubators where young people solve real problems, build real solutions, and develop real networks. Instead of lectures or classroom-learning, they run live problem-solving labs where young people aged 16-24 tackle challenges in sectors like AI, logistics, and e-commerce. The participants collaborate in teams, develop revenue-generating ideas, and are mentored by industry professionals with lived experience of the same barriers.
Alongside this programme, Southern Arc Foundation is developing programmes in Life Literacy, digital branding and marketing and a mentoring programme. Ultimately, their dream is for young people to create their own opportunities, not wait for them.
We started supporting Southern Arc Foundation when the organisation was at a very early stage. We were impressed by the approach they took to pilot their ideas and are looking forward to seeing how these develop.
