South Africa - The Long Term

Incema has strengthened its long-term sustainability through a cross-subsidisation model that protects access to specialised psychosocial services for vulnerable children. Supported by Gender Links capacity-building, the organisation has enhanced financial systems, governance structures and digital tools, enabling more resilient and ethical service delivery.

Incema has undergone a significant organisational transformation through the introduction of The Long Term, a sustainability and service delivery model launched in 2024 and implemented from 2025. Created to ensure that vulnerable children exhibiting harmful sexual behaviour receive ongoing, high-quality psychosocial support, the model enables a cross-subsidisation system where fee-based services offered to institutions and families with the ability to pay subsidise free services for those who cannot.

Prior to this shift, Incema relied heavily on grant funding, limiting its capacity to scale programmes or respond quickly to rising demand in the uMgungundlovu District Municipality. The Long Term has allowed Incema to decentralise services, improve financial resilience and safeguard access to care for children and families.

Participation in Gender Links capacity-building played a pivotal role in enabling this transformation. Through GL Academy courses, including fundraising and monitoring and evaluation, Incema strengthened its systems for tracking outcomes, documenting progress and planning programme activities. Linking and Learning sessions introduced staff to digital tools such as Monday.com and AI-supported planning systems, resulting in stronger coordination and visibility. These developments also contributed to Incema hosting its first organisational webinar in December 2025.

The organisation has since formalised critical policies and systems, including financial procedures, procurement policy, safeguarding measures, anti-corruption guidelines and structured monitoring and evaluation. These systems have improved compliance, accountability and overall governance, enabling Incema to diversify its income streams through grants, fundraising initiatives and structured fee-for-service offerings.

Sustainability is supported by institutionalised systems that remain in place beyond specific funding cycles or staffing changes. The Long Term continues to ensure ethical, mission-aligned income generation, while strengthened internal capacity ensures

enduring organisational stability and effectiveness.