Microsoft South Africa and SABC Plus have announced a new collaboration to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) fluency and digital skills training into the SABC Plus platform, marking a major step in expanding access to future-ready skills across the country.
The partnership was unveiled on January 29 at the Microsoft AI Tour in Johannesburg and is being driven by Microsoft Elevate, the company’s skilling and employability initiative. It builds on Microsoft’s 2025 AI Skills Initiative, which committed to training one million South Africans by 2026.
“AI can be a powerful bridge to opportunity. By partnering with SABC, we aim to embed digital and AI skills into the daily lives of millions,” said Tiara Pathon, Microsoft Elevate AI Skills Director for South Africa.
Launched in 2022, SABC Plus is a free-to-air, internet-based streaming platform that provides live television, radio, catch-up programming and on-demand content. With nationwide reach — including rural and underserved communities with limited broadband access — the platform plays a key role in supporting the SABC’s public mandate to educate and empower citizens.
Through this collaboration, SABC Plus will serve as a distribution channel for several Microsoft Elevate programmes, including Ikamva Digital for TVET colleges, ElevateHer for women, Civic AI for non-profit organisations, and the YES 50K Certification Programme aimed at improving youth employability.
The initiative comes amid growing global demand for AI skills, now ranked among the fastest-growing competencies worldwide. In South Africa, AI adoption rose to 21.1 percent in 2025, according to Microsoft’s AI Diffusion Report.
Analysts estimate that AI adoption could drive up to a 50 percent increase in Africa’s GDP by 2030, fueled by productivity gains and the emergence of new industries. A separate study, Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed by SAP, projects that artificial intelligence could add $1.5 trillion to the African economy by 2030 if the continent captures just 10 percent of the global AI market.
Experts say initiatives like Microsoft Elevate are critical to closing the continent’s skills gap, reducing unemployment and creating pathways into high-demand digital and technology-driven sectors.
