The Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund (TEUF) is the wholly owned organisation, established by SAICA in 2002 in order to consolidate, strategise and drive the growth and transformation efforts of the profession. The transformation process can only be achieved through the consolidated efforts of all stakeholders, from firms to higher education institutes, to the students themselves and to SAICA. Large scale skills development initiatives are required to tackle the challenges at each level and between the levels of a candidate's progress. It was for this reason that TEUF was established to properly manage and account for the external funding needed to initiate such large scale skills development programmes. In 2005, this company was granted Public Benefit Organisation status with a Section 18(A) tax exemption. A separate Board of Directors has been appointed to oversee the governance of the donated funds and the running of this organisation.
"Thuthuka" is a Zulu verb, meaning "to develop", indicating the action-based perspective with which transformation is being driven.
Since its inception in 2002, Thuthuka has grown from one provincially-based project to over 16 projects (counting the DST Thuthuka Maths and Science Development Camps each as a separate project - 9 in total) throughout South Africa. The number of potential candidates reached is significant, and the results of the programmes are providing indications of the impact to be made. This has been achieved through Thuthuka's ability to identify the salient barriers and to devise and implement programmes that address these barriers effectively. While growth in projects is imperative, increasing impact, achieving sustainable funding and nationwide expansion remain critical objectives of the Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund.