According to Stats SA, the unemployment rate among young individuals in South Africa is at 45.5%. This is a terrible statistic that we can’t ignore. But what can we do to bring this rate down? One way is to encourage entrepreneurship among our youth. Let’s take a look at six steps to boost youth entrepreneurship in South Africa.
STEP 1: Encourage divergent thinking
There is often more than one solution to a common problem. We need to encourage our youth to ask why and how can we make it better or solve the problem.
STEP 2: Get families and communities involved
Often the youth will come up with an idea and want to pursue it, but then they are told to not risk it. Rather take the safe option of getting a job. But currently, we aren’t sure of what jobs people should be trained to do as the economy and the way people work is changing at a rapid rate. We need to get families and communities involved in seeing different ways of working as a good thing.
STEP 3: Teach transferable skills
It is true, that not everyone is built to be an entrepreneur but there are skills in business, technology and life which can be used in other positions. You may fail at being an entrepreneur but through the experience, you can gain the knowledge of what you are good at and where you need to focus your studies.
STEP 4: Find a mentor
No matter what you want to do, finding someone who can guide you in your chosen path can be life-changing. By having a mentor, you can discuss your plans and learn what could work and what would be very risky to pursue. You have a soundboard for your ideas and someone who can invite you into their network if you have good ideas to pursue.
STEP 5: Acquire financing
Very few businesses can be bootstrapped and will eventually need funding to grow. You can apply for the youth challenge fund or you can apply to have a chance of a stand at the NSBC’s The Business Show.
STEP 6: Don’t fear failure
If you read any famous entrepreneur’s story you will see that failure has been part of it. You need to understand that there will be a time when you will fail and you will learn from it so that next time you will do better.
By following these six steps, you will be well on your way to your entrepreneurship journey. Maybe you are the next big entrepreneur to come out of Africa.
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