Young entrepreneurs get a helping hand from ‘Collective Shapers’ programme

Last week Momentum rolled out its Collective Shapers programme in KwaZulu-Natal which will benefit 50 young people. 

“Metropolitan’s Collective Shapers philosophy is built around ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ approach; which fosters self-sufficiency and innovation, whilst being supported by experts,” said Phumla Mavundla, the head of Marketing: Product and Channel at Metropolitan. 

“With youth unemployment alarmingly high, our initiative in KZN’s agricultural sector aims to leverage the province’s rich resources and young talent to spur economic growth and build sustainable and resilient communities,” she said. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: South Africa’s unemployment rate edges up to 32.9% just before 29 May polls

Although millions of young people in SA are despondent and discouraged, some want to change the narrative by not only getting jobs, but also creating jobs. 

One such person is Benjamin Nkanyane of Limpopo.

For several years, Nkanyane was unable to find employment after graduating with a BSc in Agriculture at Unisa in 2008.

Although he was out of work, his passion for farming never died. He grew vegetables in the family garden, which helped to feed his family, and he sold some of his produce to neighbours.  

Nkanyane eventually found work as a labourer on a farm, which inspired him to start his own farm. A local businessman helped him acquire land and became an investor in his farm. 

In 2019, Nkanyane invented an irrigation drip system, which sold well. Barely a year later, the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa, followed by a hard lockdown that killed his business.

“After Covid-19, I was really down and out,” Nkanyane said. 

His situation changed in 2021 when he was one of 10 young people who received assistance from Metropolitan’s Collective Shapers initiative, aimed at equipping young entrepreneurs with skills, cash and resources to scale up their businesses and create employment within their communities.   

Today, Nkanyane’s 26-hectare farm employs 15 farmworkers and supplies a school feeding scheme. He also employs 30 seasonal workers, which he hopes to increase to 50 in January 2025.

He supplies cabbage, spinach, butternut and peppers to some of the country’s largest supermarket chains, including Checkers.  

Reflecting on his journey and the assistance of Metropolitan, Nkanyane said: “This opportunity found me when I was frustrated, when my life was a mess. I had no money to support myself or my family, but I had a degree.” 

Nkanyane aims to expand his business and provide more permanent employment opportunities.  

“It is painful to let go of employees when it is not the farming season, it means they have no other means to survive, so I would like to grow the farm and branch to other things to ensure that they are employed on a permanent basis,” he said.   

Successful restaurant

Rhofiwa Nethengwei runs a successful restaurant in Centurion, Gauteng.  Like Nkanyane, she was unemployed a few years ago after being retrenched from her telemarketing job. 

“I had no plan, but when I sat down and thought about what I could do I realised that a lot of people working at office parks needed a cure for their hangover, so I thought I’d cook and sell the perfect meal for their cure, Mogodu [a traditional tripe dish].”

With the help of Momentum, Nethengwei was able to buy a container for her business, which she’s since sold and moved to bigger premises.

“I knew nothing about running a business, or even having a business plan, so I will forever be grateful for this opportunity,” she said. 

“Young people must look for a gap and pursue it. We all have something to offer,” she added.

In February 2024, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) South Africa Report found that South Africa’s early-stage entrepreneurial activity had declined to below pre-pandemic levels. 

GEM SA lead author Angus Bowmaker-Falconer, a research fellow at Stellenbosch Business School, said:  “Overall, we are not seeing resilience and recovery of entrepreneurial activity to pre-pandemic levels in South Africa compared to global and African perceptions.”  

Natanya Meyer, an associate professor at the University of Johannesburg and co-author of the report, expressed concern at the drop in the number of people intending to start a new business after the pandemic.

“The percentage of adults aged 16-64 intending to start a new business in the next three years declined to 10% in 2023, the lowest in 20 years, after reaching an all-time high of 20% in 2021/22,” Meyer said.

Reasons young people are discouraged from starting businesses include a lack of support from the Department of Small Business Development, issues of funding, and red tape and regulatory burdens.

This prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce in November 2023 that the government was establishing a new one-stop small enterprise agency. Ramaphosa said it would bring together the Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency and the Co-operatives Banks Development Agency. DM 

The Collective Shapers programme is open to applicants between the ages of 18 and 35 who reside in South Africa. Applications are open until 30 June and can be accessed on Metropolitan’s website.