Volkswagen Community Trust

The Volkswagen Community Trust is the social investment arm of Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA), situated at Volkswagen’s vehicle plant in Kariega, formerly Uitenhage, in Nelson Mandela Bay. The Trust was established in 1989, according to a provider record checked in August 2026, and aims to make a sustainable difference to communities around the plant.

Registered name

Volkswagen Community Trust

Type

Community trust (Volkswagen Group Africa social investment)

Fields funded

Engineering, finance, computer science, science and commerce (bursaries currently paused)

Website

vwcommunitytrust.co.za

Phone

041 994 4399

A plant that shapes a region

Volkswagen has manufactured cars in Kariega for decades, and the plant and its suppliers are among the Eastern Cape’s biggest employers. The Kariega plant builds the Polo for export markets, and VWGA has announced plans to build a new model there. A region so dependent on the motor industry has strong reasons to invest in local education.

One hour for the future

The Trust’s flagship Ikhwezi Lomso Early Childhood Centre in Kabah, Kariega educates 90 children; Ikhwezi Lomso means “morning star” in isiXhosa. The Trust built the centre with money from Volkswagen’s “ONE HOUR for the Future” project, which encourages every staff member to donate one hour of salary a year.

Volkswagen also funded R5 million of exhibits in a Science and Technology Centre that opened in 2010 to inspire future scientists, electricians and technicians, and the Trust launched Uitenhage’s first literacy centre. In health and community wellbeing, Volkswagen has donated to the Missionvale Care Centre in Gqeberha since 2003 and sponsors a home at the SOS Children’s Village. VWGA employees also volunteer, for example at Baakens Valley Nature Reserve and Happydale Special School.

The bursary programme

For years the Trust funded students from Kariega and surrounding areas with good Mathematics, English and Science marks in engineering, finance, computer science, science and commerce. Past bursaries covered tuition, prescribed books, accommodation and transport, with mentoring, CV writing and interview preparation, and the provider record says bursars had to work for VWGA afterwards.

The Trust’s website says it is currently not offering bursaries.

What students should do instead

Apply to the separate Volkswagen Group Africa bursary, which is open for 2027 and closes on 28 September 2026, and watch the Trust’s website for any future announcement. Kariega students should also ask the plant’s community office about learnerships and apprenticeships.

See the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Bursary.