Is it Really More Money More Problems? or Less Money More Problems for Young Entrepreneurs in South Africa?
When you start a business as a young entrepreneur in South Africa, the first challenge you will face is a lack of funds. To begin with, the word “young” says it all: you are most likely not financially independent but have the desire and drive to be.
One thing that came to mind while discussing this topic was what Vusi Thembekwayo said, arguably South Africa’s most splendid self-made entrepreneur, once said to all who wanted to be entrepreneurs, “you don’t need money to start a business, you just need to start” which may be true in some cases but is debatable in others.
What he said came to be seen in his way of doing business, that he practices what he preaches. And greatly can be seen and tracked by the owners of “Life and Living”, Sharon Masuku and Knowledge Nungu. Life and Living is a business platform to help and grow other business and business ideas of all generations.
These are young entrepreneurs from Mpumalanga who started Life and Living a platform that they created to help people achieve their goals and their lifelong dreams.
What I’ve realized about Sharon and Knowledge is that one of the most profound things I discovered about them was something they said in passing that goes something like this:
“We are a billionaire in progress, we believe that where you don’t give up, you never fail.” We believe in being self-sufficient while remaining humble and respectful. Without God, our ancestors, and our brains, we are nothing.”
Simply looking at them took my breath away; what they are doing with Life and Living demonstrates what they speak and put into practice.
Their business “Life and Living” is separated into two on the “Living” part of “Life and Living” they're going to help people who are not able to start their own businesses, help them start their businesses and also help people who already have their own businesses but struggling to grow and help promote people’s businesses.
In addition, they will be teaching entrepreneurs to learn about themselves, because as an entrepreneur you are the business, you cannot have a bad entrepreneur and successful business. Showing people that they can start a business wherever they are and using what they have.
Before I go any further look at that, the key relation with what Vusi Thembekwayo said, truly remarkable isn’t it”
Generational Stereotype
I understand that the purpose of this talk is about finances, struggles of young entrepreneurs, in addition to that you shouldn't turn a blind eye in the factor of generational stereotype.
Because the recent #OkBoomer debates showed us that the generational divide still exists. Some older people (who could be your potential customers) see Millennials and Generation Z (Just like Sharon and Knowledge) as being entitled, lazy and/or irresponsible. These assumptions lead to people not willing to work with young entrepreneurs mostly investors.
With all of that fortunately, there are plenty of other people who want to work with and buy products from young entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur focus on these groups, learn from them, and use those lessons to continue growing your business.
Solutions for young entrepreneurs to seek assistance with their businesses, especially with finances
The NYDA is a South African-based agency established primarily to address challenges faced by the nation’s youth. The Agency was established by an Act of Parliament (Act 54 of 2008). The institution was established to be a single, unitary structure addressing youth development issues at National, Provincial and Local Government level. The Agency should be seen within the broad context of South Africa’s development dynamics.
Their main aim is to make youth development part and parcel of what other line departments are delivering, to the point where organizational and individual performance agreements include youth development as a clear area of focus. The role is, therefore, to remove barriers to success and to assist with the development and delivery of critical success factors. Their role can broadly be described as to:
- Provide planning and decision-making information for projects.
- Coordinate key engagements.
- Facilitate critical discussions and to ease projects through conceptualization into design and ultimately implementation.
- Establish key partnerships with private sector organizations at national, provincial and local levels.
- Monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements of the liaison function.
“To any entrepreneur: if you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.”
It is the thing we don’t accomplish in life that we often regret the most. Pursue your ambitions rather than remain inactive and later in life contemplate what might have been achieved if you had done so.