29 Apr 2018

Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture  Development programmes officer, Ms Tootini Mogopa says the Youth Development Fund (YDF) is capable of reducing unemployment and poverty.

In an interview, Ms Mogopa said YDF has been formulated for the youth to start their own businesses in order to empower them economically, and create employment as well as reduce rural-urban migration.

She urged the youth to come up with unique and sustainable businesses.

She also encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to partner with one another to create more employment and merge their skills for the success of their business.   

Ms Mogopa further urged aspiring entrepreneurs to explore fundable businesses, noting that the YDF did not fund businesses such as bottle stores, bars, night clubs and cash loans.

She explained that running a business was not easy as it needed people who were determined, passionate and patient because business came with challenges.

She appealed to young people to look beyond office jobs and make use of government schemes to assist them to set up businesses and create employment for themselves.

She implored them to employ other young people since government alone could not tackle unemployment and poverty challenges alone.    

She said the ministry office in Palapye would be receiving new applications for YDF from tomorrow (May 1) and encouraged the youth to bring all necessary documents and seek advice from experts to avoid rejections. ENDS