02 Nov 2021

Young people have been advised to turn challenges into opportunities in order to emerge better entrepreneurs.

These words of advice were shared by the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Tumiso Rakgare during his interaction with young entrepreneurs funded under the Youth Development Fund (YDF) in Shakawe recently.

He commended those who had shown perseverance and commitment towards their businesses and encouraged them to continue running their projects with integrity.

Mr Rakgare said should they change their mindset and belief, young people could run successful businesses. 

The projects toured included Shemen Enterprise Laundry Services, Zekethubojwa and Sons Waste Management and Cleaning Services and some horticulture ventures.

Responding to concerns raised by the young entrepreneurs, the minister urged local authorities to support youth projects to ensure sustainability. 

He appealed to Shakawe Land Board to assist with land allocation as it was the case in other regions following concerns from some beneficiaries, who decried high rentals due to lack of operational space.

Mr Rakgare said youth should be a priority when it comes to land allocation, saying if their projects thrived, it would easily translate to employment opportunities.

He urged the YDF beneficiaries to honour their obligations by repaying their loans for other youths to benefit. 

The minister expressed disappointment at the slow pace at which beneficiaries were servicing their loans and encouraged them to up their game to avoid repercussions.

Northern youth coordinator, Mr Jacob Sekgoni emphasised the need to pay back the YDF loan so that the fund could help others.

 “Once you make profits, you should sacrifice everything else and remember those who have assisted you financially because failure to repay the loan undermines our efforts of empowering a significant number of youths,” he added.

One of the beneficiaries, Ms Moleseng Tebogo of Shemen Enterprise Laundry Services decried operational space, stating that her efforts to apply for an industrial plot were in vain as her application was rejected.

She said wherever she rented, she was forced to renovate the building to ensure a smooth running of her project, adding that water was also a challenge.

Despite the challenges, she said her business was able to stay afloat because of the support from the community. 

She, however, explained that she had not yet started servicing the loan as she was not making profits yet, saying the little she made was channelled towards rent, utilities and salaries.

Ms Tebogo started her laundry business in 2018 after she was funded to the tune of P100 000. 

Along the way, she expanded it to include cleaning services and employed one youth. 

Member of Parliament for Okavango constituency, Mr Kenny Kapinga urged the minister to consider increasing the funds, looking at the challenges in the area, citing that in his constituency many youth were skeptical to start businesses on the basis of inadequate funding. 

He also urged the ministry to bring the offices closer adding that distance was a barrier as they had to travel as far as Maun to access some of the services.

Mr Kapinga acknowledged that Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) had secured a space in Shakawe and promised to open an office soon and wished Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) could follow suit. 

He also urged the ministry to organize youth pitso in Okavango once the economy stabilized to address related youth issues. ENDS