South Africa ranked 23rd overall in the index and second best in citizen participation, but 26th for health and safety and security and 21st for information and communications technology. In the category of economic opportunity, South Africa was ranked last. Khanyisile Kweyama, executive director of Anglo American in South Africa, comments on the challenges facing South Africa's youths and how enterprise development can help youth tackle them.
As we celebrate youth month, it is important to take a step back and contemplate the current circumstances of the youths of our country. 16 June celebrations remind us of the same day in 1976, when the youths of the country took matters into their own hands to fight for freedom. It is the events of that day that helped shape the future of the current generation of young people - a generation ready to take South Africa to the next level of economic growth.
Youths of our country face many obstacles to development, including the lack of economic opportunities, jobs and skills development, as well as an education system that effectively prepares youths for employment. These factors disadvantage young people from entering the labour market. The Job Opportunities and Unemployment in the South African Labour Market 2012-2013 Report, issued by the Department of Labour, indicates a need for qualified and skilled people, but most young people have no or little qualifications and skills.
The government has responded to youth unemployment and identified this as a priority outcome. This creates opportunities for the private sector to partner the government to achieve the objectives of the New Growth Path as well as the National Development Plan, which recognises education and skills development as a key factor to promote economic growth. Corporate South Africa must also support the government's Youth Employment Accord as well as the Youth Enterprise Development Strategy to facilitate skills, self-employment and enterprise development that benefits the youths of our country.
Qualified and skilled young people can eliminate the skills shortage in the short term and in the long term, start their own businesses, which will create new markets, boost employment to alleviate poverty leading to improved economic growth in South Africa.
Anglo American, through its enterprise development arm Zimele, has been supporting local businesses and young entrepreneurs for more than 25 years and, during this time, witnessed the effects of empowering young people to take their futures into their own hands.
Anglo American began working on job creation in 1989 when it launched Zimele to support historically disadvantaged South Africans to develop commercially viable and sustainable small and medium enterprises. Today, Zimele has a network of more than 38 small business hubs in mining communities and labour sourcing areas that are ready to help entrepreneurs with business plans, financing, training and mentoring.
Zimele channels its capital through six funds, which have provided R921 million in funding and supported 1619 companies in the form of 2358 loan transactions between 2008 and 2013. As a result, 30,092 people were employed in these businesses that had a collective annual turnover of R4455 million. Zimele was the first South African initiative recognised by Business Call to Action (BCtA), an international partnership focused on small business development and the Millennium Development Goals and the International Finance Corporation also considers the Zimele model as best practice for companies wanting to make local businesses part of their supply chains.
In addition, Anglo American works with a number of these businesses in the company's supply chain not only to improve its own business, but also the lives of people in entrepreneurs' communities and families, creating employment and opportunities to earn an income. This funding, coupled with ongoing mentorship and business support, has yielded successful businesses and many jobs.
Through the concerted efforts of the enterprise development sector in the creation of jobs and thriving businesses, we can start to see a turnaround in the challenges being faced by youths and tackle unemployment head on. This, coupled with the partnerships with government to strengthen education and skills development, provides an important foundation for economic growth that the National Development Plan seeks to achieve.
