22 Sep 2020

The third edition of Youth Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme (YEAP) held in Moshupa recently inspired youth to rise up and do something with their lives.

From the discussions, it appeared most of the youth either had a business idea they had been toying with, but did not know what to do to or just did not believe in themselves enough to do it.

Speaking on sidelines of the workshop, one of the participants, Ms Avehe Rukero, said she was now fired up to pursue her dreams.

The Bachelor of Science in pure and applied mathematics graduate said she wished to open a tuition centre.

Another youth, Mr Kenneth Gaeboe, said he had always wanted to venture into dairy farming, but did not know how to go about it especially with regards to finance, business management and funding.

He said he was now inspired to use his family field and seek funding from CEDA to kick start the project.

The workshop also left a final year student of business entrepreneurship, Ms Opelo Tsalaile, raring to go straight into business after completing her studies rather than looking for employment.

Meanwhile, Moshupa South councillor, Mr Kgosietsile Jankane urged the youth to work hard and stop at nothing in pursuit of their dreams.

He described himself as a go-getter, who never tired from pursuing the desires of his heart.

He said the onus was now on the youth to go all the way to start their own businesses with the inspiration and knowledge they had acquired.

Mr Jankane warned that drugs and alcohol robbed many promising youth of a bright future and implored them to steer away.

He encouraged youth to learn to work as a team and speak in one voice rather than working in silos.

Mr Jankane said the most common failure with local businesses was trying to operate in isolation.

Workshop facilitator, Mr Kagiso Habangana urged youth to develop situational awareness skills and be able to identify business opportunities hidden in everyday problems.

He said most opportunities emanated from having identified and solved a problem and stressed that they could arise from nowhere.

Mr Habangana also challenged the youth to be innovative and set themselves apart from the rest with products that looked nothing like anything in the market.

He said he would give them support to take the first steps into business. Ends