Future Builders

By SAB Foundation

The missing ingredient in youth entrepreneurship

What does it take for a young entrepreneur to succeed?

It’s a question the SAB Foundation has been exploring for 15 years. After supporting more than 8,000 businesses, one thing has become clear. Great ideas are only the starting point. Young entrepreneurs succeed when they can access the right support at the right stage of their journey.

This was reinforced during a recent SAB Foundation ecosystem conversation, which brought together organisations including Gradesmatch, Allan Gray Makers, Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) and the Trevor Noah Foundation. Although each works with young people in different ways, they all highlighted the same reality. Young entrepreneurs need practical support that helps them turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

The discussion reflected what we see every day through our own programmes. Entrepreneurs don’t simply need funding. They need mentors who have walked the journey before them, opportunities to test and refine their ideas, access to markets, and partnerships that help them grow. Just as importantly, they need people and organisations that believe in them before anyone else does.

Our latest impact data shows that nearly half of the businesses supported by the SAB Foundation are youth-led. These entrepreneurs are creating jobs, strengthening local economies and solving real challenges in their communities. Their success reminds us that investing in young entrepreneurs creates opportunities that reach far beyond the businesses themselves by creating jobs, strengthening families and supporting communities.

No single organisation can do this alone. The webinar demonstrated the value of bringing together partners with different expertise and perspectives, while also reinforcing an important lesson from the Foundation’s own experience. Young entrepreneurs thrive when the ecosystem around them works together.

The conversation may have started during Youth Month, but the message extends far beyond a single month on the calendar. South Africa has no shortage of young people with ideas, determination and the courage to build something new. Our shared responsibility is to ensure they have every opportunity to turn those ideas into businesses that create lasting impact.