Local councillor upskills youth to boost township economy
The space is occupied by illegal foreigners and the government is doing less to empower South Africans to compete in the industry.
Clr Ntuthuzeli Mpambani is passionate about reviving the township economy in Ward 35.
“Unemployment is high and the youth are specifically affected. We need to harness the potential of township youth.
“Our kasi economy has long been held back by a lack of resources and job opportunities for young people.
“But with the right training and support, these young people can be the future business owners, creators, and leaders that our community needs,” said Mpambani.
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Ward 34 in partnership with Shumani and HR Solution recently held a registration session for young people who have a business or want to start a business but lack resources.
The target was 75 people and only South Africans could register. “This session was for registration of informal traders in retail, street vendors, spaza shops, sewers, and designers.
“They will receive their equipment and stock depending on what they requested,” explained Mpambani.
He said this will assist young people to kickstart their businesses. “The government is doing less to empower South Africans to compete in the industry.
“With growing numbers of people who are dying with food poisoning and fake food we saw an opportunity to fill in the gap and get young people ready to close the space and provide a service,” said Mpambani.
He said they partnered with Shumani to assist, as they are the beneficiaries of SEDA and share the same vision of helping small businesses.
“This initiative is one of many steps to creating jobs and skilling young people.
“We will not forget about them, even after they have received their startup capital of R3000. We will monitor them and check growth and involve other private sector for funding that is available to assist them grow,” said Mpambani.
He hopes this project will offer young people hope. “Funding to start a business is always a challenge.
Now the biggest hurdle is not so big when you receive support. We have sparked something and hope this can be a ripple effect and inspire young people to start businesses this will be a game changer,” said Mpambani.
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He said he hoped that young people would take this opportunity and make it a success. ”I wish to see South Africans grow in this sector and revive the township economy.
“I want to see hawkers formalised with decent selling stalls where they can make meaningful business and profit that will sustain their businesses,” said the councillor.
Shumani is an innovative company with the primary objective of assisting in developing skills in the South African workforce and improving the quality of life of workers and their prospects of work.
Faith Mugada said they are proud to be part of the initiative. “We are offering support to upskill young people. The R3000 is not a loan but forms part of business support.
“We are providing what they need to get them off the ground. We will also be offering training to ensure they succeed,” said Mugada.
