Strengthening South Africa's Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

From April to September 2021, ANDE identified 125 organizations offering direct non-financial support to entrepreneurs and small businesses operating in Soweto, Khayelitsha, Diepsloot, Alexandra, Tembisa and other townships in South Africa, including 83 capacity development providers, such as accelerators and incubators. The most common services offered are capacity development services and market linkages, and most providers focus on building access to networks and developing business strategy for the early-stage township businesses they support. Given the number of intermediary organizations focusing on township businesses, ANDE has seen that there is an opportunity for regular convenings of these stakeholders to improve collaboration, share best practices, and identify new solutions to shared challenges specifically regarding youth entrepreneurship. ANDE recognizes the need to engage a wider spectrum of ecosystem players in the context of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI).

The Presidency is currently in the process of setting up the Local Ecosystem Enablement Fund as part of this intervention, with the objective of strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem, specifically in economically marginalised areas (i.e townships and rural areas). In collaboration with Kasi Changmakers, we will host a dialogue with different ecosystem actors currently engaged or actively working within these ecosystems, which may also inform the design of the fund as well as youth entrepreneurs based in the township.

The convening will have the following objectives:

•  Consult with key players of the SGB ecosystem to generate insights that can inform the PYEI;
• Increase awareness within the local ecosystem around PYEI and its subsequent projects;
•  Increase coordination and collaboration among actors under a common understanding and agenda around youth entrepreneurship.
• Contribute to empowering local organizations to continue supporting youth entrepreneurs particularly in township economies for years to come.