12 Oct 2020

Manyana youth have been implored to be innovative and bring services to their village instead of targeting towns which are currently congested.

The advice was shared by Youth Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme Coordinator (YEAP), Mr Kagiso Habangana at the YEAP workshop.

He further encouraged the youth make their businesses unique to be able to do better as well as to build their brands.

The YEAP workshop was organised by the Office of Moshupa/Manyana parliamentarian for the youth in Manyana and Mogonye villages as part of the on-going skills facilitation programme.

 “For you to be successful, you should have what sets you apart from others and that can enable you to venture into business. It is important to develop a value proposition so that you stay in the competition,” he said.

Mr Habangana cautioned the participants to tread carefully and ensure that they do not venture into business just because they were unemployed.

He noted that not everyone could pursue the paths of entrepreneurship, as it could be stressful while it also took time to understand the market, develop the right products that would address the needs of the target market,  thereby leading more to leave immediately when offered a job.

He said, although stressful, a business could also be highly rewarding and exciting as the owner tended to be their own boss who ultimately set direction and pursued opportunities.

He advised that the key aspect to succeed was commitment, being in touch with customer needs and prudent financial management.

“This YEAP programme will help you to learn and implement every step of the business-building process, from idea validation to concept testing to financial modelling to pitch deck creation. It is also going to assist you in acquiring the requirements that are needed before venturing into business,” he said.

For his part, Councillor Peter Sethibe for Manyana/Mogonye, thanked MP’s office for the initiative and rolling it out to his wards.

He said the programme was much needed as there were many youths in his ward who aspired to venture into business, especially at the time where they were mostly faced with unemployment.

Mr Sethibe further implored the participants to ensure that they listened attentively and acquired the requisites of seeking funding.

He said with such knowledge, they would be in a better place to secure themselves assistance from government programmes. ENDS