Mergon

Mergon partners with Christian ministries and organisations across Africa to bring about lasting change.

29/10/2026

Mozambique is a young country, with a median age of just 18. Yet for many children, childhood is cut short: one in two girls is married before her 18th birthday, and the country has one of the highest teenage birth rates in the world.

MOZaic Upliftment is working to give children a different story.

Through its child protection movement, Ku Vikela Nwana (‘child protection’ in Shangaan), MOZaic is building networks of care across more than 30 rural communities. It equips parents, teachers and children’s ministry leaders to create safer environments where children can grow and thrive.

At the heart of this work is helping children understand their God-given worth. Protection dolls give boys and girls a hands-on way to understand their bodies, recognise personal boundaries and speak up when something doesn’t feel right. The goal is to place a doll in the hands of 5,000 children every year.

‘Every child deserves the safety and freedom to grow into their God-given future. That’s the future MOZaic is working to protect.’

🔗 https://mozaictrust.co.za/

27/10/2026

By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa will be home to over one billion Christians, the largest Christian population of any region in the world. The need for grounded leaders, equipped to disciple believers into maturity, has never been more urgent.

Yet access to formal theological education in Africa is limited. Most pastors and leaders are formed through non-formal pathways: mentoring by local leaders and faith modelled in community.

The future of Africa’s church depends, in part, on strengthening these pathways.

But how?

Biblical literacy matters, but the deeper goal is transformation. So what’s working, what’s missing, and what will it take to get there?

These were the questions at the heart of last month’s Round Table on non-formal pastoral training in Cape Town, drawing together African leaders and global funders to listen, learn and explore how best to strengthen these pathways together.

Read more in our latest blog here: https://mergon.co.za/strengthening-pastoral-training-in-africa/

22/10/2026

‘When the gospel touches the hearts of young people, everything starts to change’, says Joseph Mbange, director of Awana.

Awana reaches children and youth across 140 countries - 40 in Africa alone - through clubs in schools and churches, training everyday volunteers to share the gospel, disciple and mentor young people.

What does this change look like? 'Academic performance is improving, kids are coming back to class and kids once disengaged are becoming more open to learning’, shares Joseph.

The ministry’s reach across Africa is growing too. Through partnerships with organisations like Scripture Union, Awana has recently been invited into more than 13,000 public and private schools, reaching over 6 million learners.

‘God didn’t give us a window. He gave us a floodgate through which we can serve a nation and a continent.’

https://www.awana.org/

20/10/2026

Africa’s plan for Africa.

That was the theme for Trigaventures annual conference earlier this month, which brought together entrepreneurs and investors for two days of connecting and rich discussions around redemptive business in Africa.

The energy was literally palpable - as new friendships were formed, conversations rekindled, and God’s plans for Africa’s marketplace were explored.

Triga, thank you for the role you’re playing in shaping business for good in South Africa and across the continent.

It’s a privilege to partner with you.

15/10/2026

In 1980, Mergon founder Francois van Niekerk stood on a pavement outside the Land Bank building and asked God for help. It was there, in desperation, that he made God a promise: 30% of the business, if He would save it. ‘What I didn’t consider,’ Francois says, ‘was that 30% of a near-bankrupt business was no gift at all.’

What followed was a four decade journey of faith and growth, marked by some of the most inspiring examples of what can happen when God is at the centre of business.

Read ‘Doing Business with Purpose’ - Mergon founder Francois van Niekerk’s account of the journey from a near-bankrupt startup to an international investment company and resource partner to hundreds of ministries across Africa.

Available now on Takealot: https://www.takealot.com/doing-business-with-purpose/PLID102009816

13/10/2026

Dumelo was serving a 23-year prison sentence when someone handed him a Reach4Life Bible. Inside its pages, he found something he hadn’t expected - that he was forgiven, and could start over. He read it again and again until he believed it - and then he wanted everyone else in that prison to believe it too.

Over the years that followed, Dumelo worked alongside Reach4Life, mentoring young men and leading small groups through its 40-week programme, which combines the New Testament with lessons and stories shaped around the challenges and temptations facing South African youth.

When Dumelo walked out a free man 16 years later, he had trained 29 peer mentors who are now taking this message of hope into prisons across the country.
Reach4Life equips young people to reach their own - across schools, prisons, churches and communities. Over the past 22 years they have impacted more than 3 million youth in 40 countries, with resources translated into more than 40 languages.

https://www.biblica.com/reach4life/

07/10/2026

When it comes to corporate giving, the question is usually, ‘how much should we give?’ But what if the better question is, ‘How can everything in our business - our relationships, influence and skills as well as money - serve something greater than the bottom line?’

These were some thoughts Mergon CEO Pieter Faure shared at last month's C12 regional gathering in Cape Town.

Pieter also explored what this could look like practically: moving beyond transactional partnerships, approaching capital with an abundance rather than scarcity mindset, and considering how everyday business decisions, from supply chains to stakeholder relationships, can contribute to meaningful change.

It's a conversation that echoes something that matters deeply to us at Mergon: stewarding resources in ways that create lasting good.

29/09/2026

'For 24 years I thought I was the only one doing this work - now I know otherwise.'

This was one delegate's reflection at the Round Table gathering for non-formal theological trainers, recently hosted by Mergon.

‘Over three days, 24 pastoral leaders from across the continent gathered for honest and open sharing, learning and discussion that would challenge assumptions about what Africa needs, and doesn't need, when it comes to theological training' says Mergon's De Wet Spies.

‘Alongside the learning, collaboration stood out as a key takeaway. More than ever we need partnerships to see Africa transformed.’

22/09/2026

Talent and potential don't always translate into opportunity. For many young people, access to quality education is shaped by circumstances beyond their control.

For some MOI Program families, monthly income is modest and often stretched across large households, with many relying in part on social grants.

This financial pressure, limited access to opportunity, and a lack of support can make it difficult for even the most capable learners to pursue their full potential.

MOI exists to help change that reality by identifying high-potential learners and walking alongside them through a five-year journey of educational, personal, and leadership development. This creates access not only to quality schooling, but to meaningful long-term support.

*MOI is a holistic bursary program supporting tomorrow's young leaders.

17/09/2026

On inner-city streets where crime and homelessness have long been part of daily life, there are people writing a new future for themselves - one of freedom and dignity.

MES (Mould Empower Serve) is an organisation that walks with at-risk individuals and families from crisis to sustainable independence.

They meet people at every life stage - preschoolers who need a safe start, school-aged learners who need support to stay resilient, school-leaving youth needing mentorship and skills, and adults and families needing rehabilitation, work training and a path to employment.

Step by step, MES is helping people become whole and healthy - and become the ones who change their own cities.

www.mes.org.za

Address

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Stellenbosch
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http://www.mergon.co.za/

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