During August 2022, a multi-departmental team from the NWDC partnered with AmaQshu Holdings in hosting a three-day series of Entrepreneurship Development Roadshows.

The roadshows made an impact in three towns in the North West province – Tlokwe, Matlosana and Taung (Pudimoe) over the three days of 16, 17 and 18 August 2022.

The purpose of the roadshow series was to reach out to youth at tertiary level, to raise their awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career option, in the light of current unemployment statistics.

NWDC participated in all three roadshows with staff from its Small Business Development (SBD) Unit, Marketing and Properties.

At each roadshow, NWDC participated as a speaker in the programme, talking about establishing and running one’s own business, and was on site to offer any support for the services offered by NWDC.

AmaQshu’s expressed vision is “To contribute to the long-term development of young people through a model of encouraging entrepreneurship development, breaking the spine of poverty and unemployment”.

Each day’s event benefitted from an entrepreneur keynote speaker and a vibrant master of ceremonies. They ensured that participants who asked insightful questions and actively participated in the discussions were rewarded with sponsored prizes, such as bags of maize meal offered by partner and sponsor Supa 7 Super Maize Meal.

Valuable information shared at the roadshows included raising awareness of the data-free site SA Youth. It is a data-free platform on which South African youth are encouraged to register. The platform has been developed to connect South African youth to job opportunities, entrepreneurial opportunities, youth programmes, skills opportunities and a range of resources such as interview tips and digital skills. The site can be accessed here: https://sayouth.datafree.co/

SAYouth.mobi is part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention and is supported by Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, the Department of Employment and Labour, the Department of Higher Education and Training, the National Youth Development Agency, Youth Employment Service (YES) and the Development Bank of South Africa.

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