- In 2017, youth unemployment in South Africa reached a 13-year high (Statistics SA)
- In the 2nd quarter of 2018, youth unemployment (between ages 15 and 34) was 38,2% - more than one in every three young people in the labour force did not have a job. (Statistics SA)
- Research indicates that encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship programmes is one of the most effective means of creating employment amongst youth.
Johannesburg. 11 June 2018. More than 70 young entrepreneurs have begun this Youth Month with new hope for their future after qualifying to participate in the South African Breweries’ (SAB) youth entrepreneurship development programmes, SAB KickStart Boost and SAB KickStart Ignite.
The entrepreneurs will undergo a comprehensive business assistance programme to help grow their businesses.
SAB KickStart is one of the country’s longest-running and most successful youth development programmes. Started in 1995, it is now aimed at creating meaningful jobs in South Africa by growing sustainable youth-owned businesses.
To date, SAB KickStart, targeted at youth between the ages of 18 and 35, has supported over 25 000 entrepreneurs and empowered over 3 500 youth-owned businesses in South Africa. It has extended its reach outside of South Africa to an additional six African countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda.
“We believe in the power of youth as key drivers of our country’s economy. In 2018, SAB KickStart has made strides to help build strong businesses that will not only last beyond the business ‘survivalist’ stage but become sustainable entities that meaningfully contribute to the economy. Many of them are well on their way to achieving this and we need to sustain this momentum by empowering them to become reliable and sustainable suppliers for large organisations like SAB and AB InBev,” says Phumzile Chifunyise, Enterprise Development Manager, SAB and AB InBev Africa.
SAB KickStart caters for young entrepreneurs at two stages of their entrepreneurship lifecycle - early stage entrepreneurs who respond to an open innovation challenge with disruptive ideas that can assist the company in solving its business challenges; and entrepreneurs who are running emerging, profitable businesses and are looking for tools to equip them to join a supply chain.
SAB KickStart has evolved over more than two decades to maximise its impact on the challenge of youth unemployment in South Africa.
Businesses are assisted with aligning to big business supply chain requirements and are offered targeted market linkages. In addition, SAB KickStart has embarked on an innovative job-creation project through partnering with young SMEs in niche sectors, in particular Agriculture.
SAB KickStart and its programmes SAB KickStart Boost and SAB KickStart Ignite are among several entrepreneurship development programmes developed by SAB.
Collectively, through these programmes, SAB and AB InBev aims to create 10 000 jobs in South Africa by 2021.
For more information on the activities the SAB KickStart programme is embarking on, go to www.sabentrepreneurship.co.za or follow the programme @SABEntrepreneur on social media.
One-minute videos from select SAB KickStarters sharing their entrepreneurial lessons are available on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
