27 Jun 2018

It is indisputable that government’s flagship programme, the youth development fund has born enviable results, improving young people’s lives over the years.

In the financial year 2016/17, the youth ministry received a total of 2 701 Youth Development Fund applications and as at February last year, 847 had been funded to the tune of P101.2 million, creating 2 074 employment opportunities for young people.

In an interview, social worker, Mr Terrence Tsele said a solution to some failures is psycho social support reinforcement.

“Success of any business is largely reliant on the type of person who is going to run or operate it because business by nature has ups and downs therefore it requires a person who is emotionally intelligent and able to handle challenges. Psycho social support plays a major role in the prospects of business succeeding or failing,” said Mr Tsele

He explained that young entrepreneurs must be prepared to sacrifice and accept changes that come with running a business because it comes with commitments and automatic restrictions in some instances.

Mr Tsele encouraged young entrepreneurs to venture into businesses they have passion in because they would be able to persevere through challenges as opposed to trending businesses.

“Acceptance is the first step in dealing with any kind of problem and psycho social support enables the person to build and maintain a character to be able to handle challenges and success or fame.

I know the ministry undertakes assessments and training prior to disbursement of funding after approval but more needs to be done in dealing with the psychological aspect of things,” Mr Tsele emphasised.

He said psycho social support incorporates mental and material assistance holistically hence it’s important to balance the two.

Mr Tsele noted that dependency on external assistance was a major problem for most government programme beneficiaries, citing that emphasis on psycho social support would aid relief that and consequently promote self-reliance, confidence and assertiveness as well as instill problem solving skills.

According to Mr Tsele, Youth Development Fund is a great initiative with massive potential to create more employment opportunities and contribute to the development of Botswana’s economy hence it was important to close any gaps that may exist in it.

He urged youth entrepreneurs to make use of psycho social support instruments to their advantage, most importantly seek assistance when they had issues that needed psychological intervention.

He said a healthy human resource was the greatest asset for any business.

Furthermore, he urged young entrepreneurs not to expect government to provide all the answers to questions that they may have and solutions to all problems they may encounter in business.

“Our government provides free psychological assistance in every department and those who prefer private psychologists, counsellors or life coaches, they can go for it. Never say, all will be fine without really treating that which is not right”, Mr Tsele maintained. ENDS