UNIMA SA

What UNIMA SA does

UNIMA SA is an arts and social development non-profit organization based in Makhaza, Cape Town, South Africa, and the South African national branch of the Union International de la Marionette (UNIMA) — the first cultural organization established by UNESCO in 1929. Founded in 1972 and registered as a Not for Profit Organisation (NPO) in 2005, UNIMA SA uses puppetry arts as a multidisciplinary medium combining visual arts, theatre, storytelling, and performance to address social development needs in historically disadvantaged communities.

Its program portfolio is organized into four focus areas: Skills and Sustainability (Active Puppets youth-at-risk training and Child's Play creative workshops), Wholistic Development (Indawo Yobom Centre for Life and Izandla Zobomi crisis relief), Professional Pathways (Puppets Work career support), and Diversity and Social Cohesion (Out The Box festival and Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings international exchange). Programs serve beneficiary segments including youth at risk, children without arts access, families in need (100 families supported via Izandla Zobomi), and emerging and professional puppeteers connected to international networks.

The organization is funded primarily through donations, grants, and partnership funding (notably from ROKPA International for Izandla Zobomi and the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape for Pro-Vocation), with no commercial pricing. Operating with approximately 9 employees, distribution is community-based via the Indawo Yobom hub, schools, festivals, and international exchange platforms.

Name

UNIMA SA

Legal name

UNIMA SA

Website

https://unimasouthafrica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UNIMA SA is a Cape Town-based non-profit and South African branch of UNESCO-founded UNIMA, using puppetry arts to deliver social development programs across four focus areas — skills, wholistic development, professional pathways, and diversity — serving disadvantaged communities, youth at risk, and emerging puppeteers through grants and partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Education and Social Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)

Keywords

• Puppetry arts education
• Arts social development
• Community arts programs
• Youth creative training
• Nonprofit arts organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Makhaza, Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a Not for Profit Organisation (NPO) registered in 2005, UNIMA SA relies on donations, grants, and partnership funding to support its programs and operations.
2. Partnership Funding: Projects like Izandla Zobomi are made possible by funding from partners such as ROKPA International.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UNIMA SA is an arts and social development organization that uses puppetry to promote transformation and social development within historically disadvantaged communities in South Africa. It delivers community-based programs in four focus areas (Skills and Sustainability, Wholistic Development, Professional Pathways, and Diversity and Social Cohesion), provides training and creative-skills workshops for youth at risk, children without arts access, and emerging puppeteers, and supports a network of professional artists through distribution, fundraising advice, and international exchange opportunities.

Product overview

UNIMA SA is an arts and social development organization focused on puppetry arts in South Africa. It operates multiple programs organized into four focus areas: Skills and Sustainability (Active Puppets and Child's Play), Wholistic Development (Indawo Yobom and Izandla Zobomi), Professional Pathways (Puppets Work), and Diversity and Social Cohesion (Out The Box). The organization also runs Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings as an international exchange program. These programs collectively use puppetry as a medium for artistic expression, social development, skills training, and community building across historically disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Active Puppets Program that works with youth at risk, providing support, training and opportunities to create complete works of puppet theatre, with focus on socially urgent communications such as literacy, cultural and gender diversity, and environmental sustainability. Delivered through community-based theatre-makers and professional puppeteers.
• Child's Play Program providing creative skills to children who do not have access to arts and innovation in their educational environment, through workshops, imaginative productions, and parades.
• Izandla Zobomi (Hands for Life) Covid-19 crisis relief project that supports life through essential nourishment of the body and creative spirit, providing food parcels for families in need, creative materials and puppet building manuals for children, a food garden at Indawo Yobom, and income generation through handcrafted toys and puppets. Reaches 100 families across Makhaza, Delft, Site C, Zwelithemba (Worcester), and Paarl.
• Indawo Yobom (The ROKPA UNIMA Centre for Life) The ROKPA UNIMA Centre for Life located in Makhaza, Cape Town - a centre for growth and regeneration that supports quality of life through food security, physical wellbeing, creative performance, technical capacity and handcraft, building income generation and emotional resilience for community puppeteers and families.
• Puppets Work (Professional Pathways) Program supporting emerging and professional artists in building successful and financially viable careers in puppetry arts, through distribution of commercial work, production and financial management training, funding application advice, and participation in local and international performances and networks.
• Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings International exchange program on puppetry arts in Africa that supports academic and artistic exchange, presented in partnership with the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at the University of the Western Cape and the UNIMA Professional Training Commission.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 families supported through Izandla Zobomi project
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at University of the Western CapeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024CHR at UWC (lyatsiba Lab) partners with UNIMA Professional Training Commission and UNIMA Africa Commission to present Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings - An International Exchange on Puppetry Arts in Africa (November 20-23). This flagship event supports academic and artistic exchange in puppetry arts.
• UNIMA Professional Training CommissionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024UNIMA Professional Training Commission presents Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings international exchange, partnering with Centre for Humanities Research at UWC and UNIMA Africa Commission to promote professional training and exchange in puppetry arts across Africa.
• UNIMA Africa CommissionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024UNIMA Africa Commission co-presents Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings international exchange on puppetry arts in Africa, working with UNIMA Professional Training Commission and Centre for Humanities Research at UWC.
• ROKPA InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerROKPA International partners with UNIMA SA on the Izandla Zobomi project (Hands for Life), focusing on Covid-19 crisis relief in Cape Town. The project supports life through essential nourishment and creative spirit, providing food parcels, creative materials, educational support, and income generation opportunities to families and community puppeteers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Bakuba Cultural Productions: South African puppetry and community arts organization using traditional and contemporary puppet forms for social messaging. Comparable arts-for-development positioning within the same South African market.

Direct peers

• UNIMA Africa Commission: Continental UNIMA body focused on African puppetry development that co-presents international exchanges with UNIMA SA. Direct peer in mission and puppetry medium, with broader Pan-African geographic scope.
• Centre for Humanities Research (University of the Western Cape): Academic partner that co-presents the Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings international puppetry exchange with UNIMA SA. Operates in the same Western Cape geography with overlapping arts-and-humanities programming.
• UNIMA International: Parent/umbrella body of UNIMA SA, established by UNESCO in 1929 to promote world peace through puppetry arts. Direct peer in mission and medium; the international federation that UNIMA SA is a national centre of.
• ROKPA International: Core strategic partner running the Izandla Zobomi project jointly with UNIMA SA. ROKPA is a humanitarian NPO that combines crisis relief with creative/cultural programs — overlapping with UNIMA SA's Wholistic Development pillar.
• Puppeteers for Famine Relief: South African puppetry NPO using puppetry as a development and education medium, including for historically disadvantaged communities. Closest direct peer in medium (puppetry) and in social development focus within South Africa.

Broad incumbents

• Assitej (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People): Global network using theatre and performing arts to engage children and young people. Comparable mission (performing arts for youth development) but broader in medium and geographic scope than UNIMA SA's puppetry-specific focus.

Regional players

• Fordsburg Artists' Studios: Johannesburg-based community arts NPO offering arts skills programs to disadvantaged communities. Comparable in the NPO + community-arts-development model, though in Gauteng rather than Western Cape and broader in medium than puppetry alone.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PuppetrySA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unima-sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UNIMA SA