Youth in Business

 

South Africa has for a long time been part of a culture that has shown great entrepreneurial spirit. Young individuals throughout South Africa tend to show an intense willingness to learn, in order to get ahead in their respective fields. However, in the current economic climate, the ability of young hopefuls and businesses alike to handle new job opportunities has dwindled. Young people should not rely on internships or training programs to help them increase their skills or positions, but rather look to planning their own entry into the market.

 

Entrepreneurial upstarts by young individuals may not always be successful, but showing drive and initiative in this way will work in favour of anyone looking to gain experience in years to come. Although there is a financial risk involved, the payout that could be gained at the end of such an experience will make any résumé seem fuller.

 

Along with the various financial aid providers around the country that pride themselves on helping young individuals follow their dreams, there are various programs and organizations that offer guidance and help to young entrepreneurs looking to get their businesses started.

 

Initiatives such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Campaign run in conjunction with the South African Youth Chamber of Commerce planned on helping over 100 000 young entrepreneurs realize their dreams in 2010, as well as the BizJam.co.za online networking site that was run as a prototype for the campaign.

 

More recently, an online initiative by a website called KickStarter has allowed individuals to pitch their ideas to the public, and can thereby get their projects funded by individual contributors from across the globe. Some projects that have been funded by KickStarter.com in the past 6 months have raised over a million US dollars by only using the power of the social aspect of the site.

 

All of these initiatives and opportunities available to South Africa’s young entrepreneurs should provide for a rich future for any individual who puts their mind to the task. In the true spirit of South African innovation, there will no doubt be many inspirational stories to come.