{"id":37682,"date":"2026-06-22T07:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=37682"},"modified":"2026-07-07T00:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T22:31:29","slug":"sa-youth-entrepreneurship-on-the-rise-as-funding-gaps-persist","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-youth-entrepreneurship-on-the-rise-as-funding-gaps-persist\/","title":{"rendered":"SA youth entrepreneurship on the rise as funding gaps persist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Business Partners Limited has commended the shift, noting that more young people are moving beyond traditional job-seeking and actively building enterprises that generate income and employment within their communities.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The trend comes as South Africa (SA) continues to grapple with limited job opportunities, particularly for youth, prompting many to pursue entrepreneurship as an alternative pathway.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Executive General Manager at Business Partners Limited Gugu Mjadu said young entrepreneurs are becoming a critical force in addressing unemployment challenges. \u201cYoung entrepreneurs are central to addressing SA\u2019s unemployment crisis,\u201d Mjadu said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mjadu said the rise in youth-led businesses reflects both necessity and resilience, as opportunities in the formal job market remain constrained. \u201cWe are seeing more young people contribute to the economy because there are not many opportunities available to them,\u201d Mjadu said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>According to Business Partners Limited, these emerging entrepreneurs are not only supporting themselves but also creating jobs for others, helping to stimulate local economies. \u201cMore and more young people are stepping in as job creators, building businesses and generating income,\u201d Mjadu said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, despite this momentum, significant barriers continue to limit the full potential of youth entrepreneurship. Mjadu highlighted access to funding, mentorship and markets as the main challenges facing aspiring business owners.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":37683,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,44],"class_list":["post-37682","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Young South Africans are increasingly stepping into the role of job creators, with small business formation emerging as a key response to the country\u2019s high unemployment levels.","published_date":"","news_description":"Young South Africans are increasingly stepping into the role of job creators, with small business formation emerging as a key response to the country\u2019s high unemployment levels.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38945,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37682\/revisions\/38945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=37682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}