Deputy President Paul Mashatile says government should encourage young people to start their own businesses as a means to curb poverty and youth unemployment.
Mashatile said government has put in plans to offer financial support to young people who want to start their own businesses.
He said government has even established a fund to financially support black-owned businesses and businesses owned by people from historically disadvantaged groups.
Youth participation in economy
Mashatile was speaking on Monday during government’s National Youth Day commemoration event at the Rag Farm Stadium in Potchefstroom, North West.
He spoke under the theme of: “Skills for a Changing World—Embracing Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation”.
Mashatile was joined by North West premier Lazarus Mokgosi, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie and other ministers in the government of national unity (GNU).
In his keynote address, Mashatile said the reality is that many young people in South Africa are not living the future they hoped for.
“They are confronted by high levels of unemployment, inequality, and a lack of access to opportunities. This is especially in the digital world. As government, we acknowledge that, for these young people, their reality remains untenable, undesirable, and unsustainable.
“We must fix the structural challenges in the economy. We need to address inequality and skills mismatch between education and what the job market needs,” said Mashatile.
Labour market
“In this regard, the government is collaborating with stakeholders like Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. It aims to combat youth economic exclusion by addressing the demand-supply mismatch in the South African labour market.
“Moreover, we need to encourage young people to look into starting their own businesses instead of waiting for employment. In this day and age, entrepreneurship is one of the keys to building a better future,” said Mashatile.
“Our National Development Plan: Vision 2030 highlights the importance of small businesses and entrepreneurship. This in creating jobs and growing the economy. We must encourage our youth to trust and believe in their ability to start and grow their own businesses. And we must give them the tools and support to do so.
“As government, we offer various programmes to support young entrepreneurs. These include financial assistance, business development services, and skills training,” said Mashatile.
He said the National Youth Development Agency’s Grant Programme and Youth Challenge Fund are key initiatives for youth entrepreneurship support. These along with the launch of a R20-billion annual Transformation Fund for the next five years. It aims to boost Black-owned businesses and historically disadvantaged groups.
Special funds
“These funds will act as a catalyst to attract other funds. And they will enhance support of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.
“Additionally, government is promoting youth participation in the digital economy. It does this through initiatives like the Digital Economy Masterplan and the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy. These initiatives inspire hope in our quest to create employment and entrepreneurship for young people,” said Mashatile.
Moreover, Mashatile said government has proposed the establishment of a war room on clean governance. This is in order to assist entrepreneurs with quick turnaround on invoice payments.
“As part of assisting young entrepreneurs with quick turnaround on invoice payments, we have proposed a War Room on Clean Governance. Part of the main priorities of the Clean Governance War Room will be the prioritisation of the 10 – 15-day payment cycles. Also Transformative Procurement of small businesses. This is doable!
Legislation
“We must speed up the execution of existing legislation and regulations. This will make a meaningful contribution to the lives of the youth,” said Mashatile.
Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 34 years is 46.1%. And this is according to the most recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). This covers the first quarter of 2025 (January–March 2025).
According to Stats SA, 62.4% of young people between 15 and 24 years were unemployed. The youth unemployment rate for those between 25 and 34 years is 40.4%.
