Project 08 Southern Africa · Youth & Digital Infrastructure Powerhouse

Simba
Digital Hub

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
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"However long the night, the dawn will break."

— Universal African Proverb
13.1 Million
People to Reach
1,818,000
Decisions for Christ (3-Year Target)
$0.040
Cost per Person Evangelized
4
Nations Covered
3 Years
Strategic Plan Duration
01About This Project

The engine room for digital ministry across Southern Africa

The Simba Digital Hub is a state-of-the-art media production and innovation centre based in South Africa — the continent's most advanced digital infrastructure. The Hub produces professional-grade Gospel content that competes with global media quality, distributed across YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, and the dedicated Simba App.

Through Simba Studios, the Innovation Lab, the Gamified Leadership Academy, and an Influencer Talent Agency, the Hub trains a generation of bold, digitally-savvy Christian leaders who use technology to spread the Gospel, disciple nations, and address societal challenges — from Johannesburg to Gaborone.

YouthUrban MinistryLeadership DevelopmentTechnology
Our Vision

To see Southern Africa transformed by a generation of bold, digitally-savvy Christian leaders who use technology to spread the Gospel, disciple nations, and address societal challenges — producing the highest-quality Gospel content on the continent and distributing it to every corner of Southern Africa and beyond.

Countries Covered — 4 Nations
South Africa Namibia Botswana Eswatini

Hub Location: Johannesburg / Cape Town, South Africa. Distribution: Regional + Continental. Sources: World Factbook 2023, DataReportal 2023.

Digital media production hub — South Africa tech context
$0.040
Lowest cost per person reached
13.1M
People to reach over 3 years
Southern Africa urban youth — the challenge of spiritual disconnection
02The Challenge

Advanced infrastructure — but a critical shortage of authentic Gospel content

Southern Africa boasts some of the continent's most advanced digital infrastructure, particularly in South Africa. But this technological advancement has not automatically translated into spiritual vitality. Urban youth — navigating complex issues of identity, unemployment, and social injustice — are increasingly disconnected from traditional church structures they view as irrelevant.

The digital space they inhabit is dominated by content that contradicts Christian values. There is a critical shortage of high-quality, engaging, and authentically African Christian digital content that can compete for their attention in a world of Netflix, TikTok, and global streaming giants.

The challenge is twofold: create a production centre capable of generating content that matches the professional quality youth expect from global media — then distribute it in a way that builds a movement both digitally native and deeply rooted in biblical truth. The potential is immense but requires a strategic, centralised, and well-resourced effort.

Disconnected
Urban youth increasingly detached from traditional church — viewing it as irrelevant, culturally out-of-touch, and failing to engage their real-world challenges
Content Vacuum
Critical shortage of professional-quality, authentically African Christian digital content capable of competing with global streaming platforms
Infrastructure Ready
South Africa has the continent's best digital infrastructure — the tools exist, the Gospel content to fill them does not yet exist at scale
$0.040
The centralised Hub model drives down cost per person reached over time — making this the most cost-efficient project in the entire ADD portfolio
03Our Approach

A world-class production centre
focused on excellence, innovation & multiplication

The Simba Digital Hub is not just a ministry — it is a social enterprise and a training ground, producing content at global quality standards while raising Africa's next generation of Kingdom-minded digital leaders.

Centralised Content Production — Simba Studios

Establishing a professional studio for video, audio, and graphic design production — creating a library of reusable, scalable Gospel content. Short films, music videos, documentaries, and animated series, all produced at the quality standards African youth expect and deserve.

Innovation Lab — AI, VR & Blockchain for Ministry

Dedicating resources to researching and testing emerging technologies for ministry application — keeping Southern Africa at the forefront of digital missions and ensuring the Hub's content strategy evolves ahead of the next generation's digital habits.

Leadership Pipeline — Residency Programme

Running an intensive residency programme for young digital creatives from across Southern Africa — training them in both professional media production and biblical discipleship principles, so that every graduate carries Kingdom values into the digital industry.

Multi-Platform Distribution Network

Aggressively distributing Hub content through YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, and Instagram — while building the dedicated Simba App as a Gospel-centred community platform that is home to the next generation of African Christian digital culture.

Southern Africa sunrise — the dawn breaking, matching project proverb
Our Conviction
"However long the night, the dawn will break — and the Simba Hub is Africa's digital dawn."

10 Innovative
Digital Strategies
& Tools

Built on professional quality and technological innovation — from Simba Studios to the Blockchain Impact Tracker, every tool engineered to compete, inspire, and multiply Kingdom impact at scale.

01

Simba Studios

A full-scale production facility producing professional short films, music videos, documentaries, and animated series with Christian themes — streaming on YouTube and the Simba App at the production quality African youth expect from global platforms.

02

AI-Powered Content Personalisation

Artificial intelligence analyses user engagement on the Simba App and personalises content recommendations — ensuring each user sees material most relevant to their spiritual journey, maximising discipleship depth and platform retention.

03

Virtual Reality (VR) Campus Tours

Immersive VR experiences of university campuses with embedded testimonies from Christian students — helping incoming students connect with believing communities before they even arrive, closing the most vulnerable gap in young people's spiritual journey.

04

Simba Podcast Network

A curated network of podcasts on faith, culture, science, and careers — hosted by influential African Christian thinkers and practitioners, making the Simba brand the go-to destination for thoughtful Christian content in Southern Africa.

05

Gamified Leadership Academy

An online platform where youth complete "missions" — lead a Bible study, serve their community, memorise Scripture — to earn points, unlock levels, and access advanced training modules, making discipleship as compelling as any game.

06

Digital Prayer Wall

An interactive, map-based online platform where youth post prayer requests for their cities and schools and commit to praying for requests from others — turning the Simba App into a place of genuine intercession and community accountability.

07

Blockchain-Based Impact Verification

Blockchain creates a transparent and unchangeable record of lives changed through the ministry — building donor trust and providing powerful, verifiable testimonies that demonstrate Kingdom impact with the rigour the global giving community demands.

08

Hackathons for Social Good

Competitive events where Christian tech developers and designers create digital solutions to local problems — poverty, education, unemployment — sponsored by the Hub and intentionally linking innovation to Kingdom purpose and social transformation.

09

Influencer Talent Agency

A dedicated arm to manage, train, and promote Christian digital influencers — helping them secure brand partnerships, grow their platforms, and maximise their impact, turning social media fame into Kingdom-building influence at continental scale.

10

Data Analytics Dashboard

A sophisticated system tracking content performance, audience demographics, and spiritual decisions across all platforms — enabling data-driven strategy adjustments and providing donors with a transparent, real-time view of their investment's impact.

05From the Hub

Anger Transformed.
Skills Surrendered. Legacy Built.

A graphic designer who channelled rage into righteousness. A tech genius who found a purpose greater than profit. These are the lives the Simba Hub is producing.

Young African woman creative professional — Johannesburg South Africa context
True Story · Johannesburg, South Africa
Representative image · South Africa context
"

Lerato's
Story

Johannesburg · South Africa

"Anger can start a fire, Lerato, but only love can build a home. She encountered the Jesus who overturned tables in righteous anger but also wept for Jerusalem — and her entire creative vocabulary changed."

Lerato was a budding graphic designer in Johannesburg, her talent obvious in the powerful memes she created critiquing social injustice. But her anger was consuming her, making her art sharp and incisive but ultimately hollow. She entered a Simba Hub Hackathon for a campaign against gender-based violence. Her team's winning design was a powerful series of digital posters that went viral across South Africa.

A mentor from the Hub — a firm but gentle woman — praised her talent but challenged her fuel: "Anger can start a fire, Lerato, but only love can build a home." She invited Lerato into the Hub's residency programme. Surrounded by other creative believers, Lerato encountered the Jesus who overturned tables in righteous anger but also wept for Jerusalem. She gave her life to Christ, and her anger transformed into a passionate love for justice rooted in God's character. Today, she leads the design team at the Hub — her graphics now infused with a hope that cuts deeper than critique, her talent fully surrendered to the King.

Young African tech professional — Gaborone Botswana context
True Story · Gaborone, Botswana
Representative image · Botswana tech context
"

Kagiso's
Journey

Gaborone · Botswana

"He realised his skills were a gift to be stewarded — not just for profit, but for God's Kingdom. His keyboard became an instrument of worship, and his code became a form of prayer."

Kagiso was a tech whiz-kid in Gaborone, making money building websites for local businesses. He felt invincible, but also profoundly empty. He downloaded the Simba App out of curiosity for its sleek design. The AI recommended a podcast series — "The Tech Ethicist" — exploring the moral dimensions of technology and innovation. He was hooked. He started engaging with the app's Gamified Leadership Academy quests, initially for the challenge of them. But the questions about purpose and legacy began to hit a deeper nerve.

He joined an online small group for Christian entrepreneurs. Through the group, he realised his skills were a gift to be stewarded — not just for profit, but for God's Kingdom. He committed his life to Christ, and now volunteers his time to maintain the Hub's Blockchain Impact Tracker, using his expertise to tell the story of God's work across Southern Africa. He is also developing a simple app for small churches in Botswana — a digital loaf and fish, offered back to Jesus.

South Africa urban skyline — the engine room of digital missions in Africa
The Opportunity
"For just $0.040 — the lowest cost in the entire ADD portfolio — one more young African encounters the Gospel at professional quality."
06Projected Impact

Measurable outcomes — with the ADD portfolio's best cost efficiency

The centralised Hub model creates economies of scale — significant initial investment in Simba Studios infrastructure drives down cost per person over time, making this the most cost-efficient project across the entire ADD Continental portfolio at just $0.040 per person.

3-Year Portfolio Budget
$482,150
Adjusted final portfolio figure across 3 years
MetricYear 1Year 2Year 3Total
People Reached3,636,0004,121,0005,363,00013,120,000
Decisions for Christ545,400618,150654,4501,818,000
Follow-up141,804160,719170,157472,680
Digital Hybrid Groups95115135345
Multiplying Disciples1,1491,3021,3783,829
Believers Trained276312331919
Lifelong Workers Raised23262877
Cost per Person Evangelized — ADD Portfolio Best $0.040
A Thriving Social Enterprise — Built to Last

The Simba Hub is designed for high sustainability as a social enterprise. Revenue is generated through a "Simba Content Licence" — other African ministries pay to use the Hub's professional media library. The Influencer Talent Agency takes a commission on brand partnerships. The Hub also offers paid production services to Christian organisations and churches, creating a thriving enterprise that funds its own mission over time.

3-Year Sustainability Target
50% Self-Funded
15%
Year 1
Studio Launch
30%
Year 2
Content Licencing
50%
Year 3
Social Enterprise
07Collaboration

Strategic Partners

The JESUS Film Project
The JESUS Film Project
Modern HD remakes of key JESUS Film scenes for social media campaigns and Simba Studios co-productions
Global Church Movements
Global Church Movements
Ensuring digital discipleship pathways lead to local physical churches and church planting initiatives
Student Led Movement (SLM)
Content distribution and leadership recruitment on campuses — the Hub produces SLM's digital content
African Christian Record Labels & Artists
Co-producing music videos and live-streamed concerts — reaching massive youth audiences with the Gospel through music
South African Tech Companies
Pro-bono expertise, software, and infrastructure support — fostering corporate social investment in digital mission
Community TV & Radio Stations
Broadcasting Simba Studios productions and Simba Podcast Network content across Southern Africa

Invest in Africa's Digital Engine Room

Build a legacy of
digital leadership.

The Simba Digital Hub is the continent's most cost-efficient Gospel investment — at just $0.040 per person. Your gift doesn't just fund ministry; it builds the infrastructure for a generation of African Christian leaders who will shape the digital world for decades.

$100
Innovation Lab Seat

Sponsor a youth's full participation in the Innovation Lab — where tomorrow's Kingdom tech leaders learn to build AI, VR, and Blockchain tools for digital ministry.

Give $100
$5,000
Simba Studios Equipment

Help equip the Simba Studios with next-generation technology — cameras, audio gear, editing suites — empowering the Hub to produce at the quality level that commands the attention of Africa's youth.

Give $5,000
Other Amount
$

Ways to Partner

Every Gift, Skill & Resource Counts

There are many ways to invest in Africa's digital engine room. Choose the partnership model that fits your capacity and calling.

Financial Partnership

Give a cash donation — one-time or recurring — to fund Simba Studios productions, Innovation Lab research, and the Leadership Residency Programme for Southern Africa's youth.

Give Now →

Give in Kind

Donate professional cameras, audio equipment, computers, editing suites, or broadcast technology to equip Simba Studios with next-generation production infrastructure.

Donate Resources →

Skills & Services

Volunteer expertise in film production, podcast hosting, AI development, blockchain engineering, brand strategy, or influencer management to build the Hub's capabilities.

Offer Your Skills →

Organizational Partnership

Partner your company, church, media house, or tech firm in a formal collaboration — co-investing in the infrastructure that will power digital mission across Southern Africa for decades.

Partner With Us →

Join the Team · Make a Difference

Become a Volunteer

Use your time and skills to transform communities. Whether you are a digital professional, a storyteller, or a community champion — your gifts matter in this mission.

Apply to Volunteer →

Get in Touch

Send Us a Message

Have a question, a partnership idea, or want to know more about the ADD Project? Fill in the form and our team will respond promptly.

Or reach us directly at:

add.dsafrica@cru.org
USA Contact
Kelly Londoni
Africa Digital Strategies Director, Cru
Tel: +1 407 308 6621
kelly.londoni@cru.org
Cru, 100 Lakehart Dr.
Orlando, Florida, USA
Africa Contact
Kafah Mekwi
Africa Digital Discipleship Project Director
Tel: +237 6777 36 909
kafah.mekwi@zafcpc.org
DSC-ADD, P.O. Box 13,426
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Online Giving
All gifts processed securely through Cru's giving platform. 100% designated to the Africa Digital Discipleship Project.
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