Entrepreneurs create a brighter future for our youth

In the second quarter of 2019, the national youth unemployment rate rose to 56% prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to call the problem a national crisis. The issue can be attributed to a number of factors, the most significant of which include a lack of access to educational opportunities and the lack of job opportunities for young people in the market that’s been struck by low economic growth and dwindling investor confidence.

The shortage of opportunities for South Africa’s youth formed part of the SAB Foundation’s founding priority. By contributing to economic development, we aim to promote the economic and social upliftment of historically disadvantaged groups with a priority focus on the youth, women, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas. So far, we have invested R268 million in the development of hundreds of micro, small, medium sized businesses, of which 40% are youth owned. As well as funding, we provide young entrepreneurs with the business training and mentorship they need to grow their businesses and bring them to scale. Through our various programmes, we aim to help young people take charge of their futures, creating better lives for themselves and those around them.

In tandem with supporting young entrepreneurs, we support initiatives that contribute to the upliftment of young people. Through our Social Innovation Awards, we have helped a number of entrepreneurs develop and grow innovations that increase access to opportunities for income generation, employment, education and skills development. In 2017, we awarded Chemstart founder, Bathabile Mpofu R500,000 to grow her business. Since then, she has brought her innovative miniature science laboratories to over 50 schools, supporting young scientists in four of our nine provinces. I Love Coffee, South Africa’s first deaf run coffee shop, won R300,000 at the SAB Foundation Disability Empowerment Awards in 2016. Through the coffee shop, founder Gary Hopkins provides training and jobs to young people with hearing difficulties. Since receiving funding from the SAB Foundation, Gary has employed an additional thirty people and continues to provide valuable skills and on-the-job experience to disabled youth.

The SAB Foundation recently named the winners of its 2019 Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards, distributing over R13 million in funding to promising local innovators, almost all of which were youth. Of the 20 winners, five innovations promote the advancement of education, and seven provide opportunities for employment or income generation. Regenize, the overall winner in 2019, is a youth owned business that incentivises recycling by exchanging virtual currency rewards for recyclable waste. Co-founders, Chad Robertson and Nkazimlo Miti, walked away with R1.3 million for their business. PlastiBrick, this year’s runner up, is also a youth owner business. Through their innovation, sisters Kekeletso and Kedibone Tsiloane manufacture durable, fire retardant bricks from recycled plastic. As well as funding, all of this year’s winners will benefit from a year of mentorship and ongoing business support from the SAB Foundation.

Although things are tough for young people in South Africa, it is heartening to note that many young entrepreneurs are providing the ideas and opportunities needed to uplift the nation’s youth. The SAB Foundation has had the privilege of working with a number of these inspiring young entrepreneurs and encourage more of South Africa’s youth to follow in their footsteps and dream big.

If you are a small business owner, we encourage you to visit www.sabfoundation.co.za to find out more about us and the opportunities we provide to promising young innovators and entrepreneurs.