Can Teen Entrepreneurship be a catalyst for innovation, social and economic development in South Africa and Africa?


C


urrently, South Africa has 18 million teenagers and from a population of 50 million this means that almost


36% of our population is in the teen bracket. As per the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, almost three quarters (72%) of the unemployed population of 4.5 million people are younger than 25. Fewer than 50% of current matriculants will hold jobs before the age of 24. Public discourse has been dominated by discussions of this spiralling youth unemployment crisis, yet government intervention has been slow and perhaps not out of choice, but due to lack of credible partners to implement policies and interventions on the ground. As part of an ongoing drive to present government with solutions to this crisis, the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation


46 Management Today | June 2012


is proposing a deliberate intervention to increase the facilitation of teen innovation and entrepreneurship as a means of bringing more young people into the economy.


SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation was formed purely as a channel for the cultivation and promotion of an entrepreneurial culture in all our teens in South Africa and beyond. To date teenagers represent more than a third of the nation’s population.


According to Youth Business International,


running a business helps young people achieve economic independence, reducing their reliance on state welfare. Young entrepreneurs are more likely to engage in their local community, spreading their experience and energy, and creating additional jobs and


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