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Empowering SA’s unemployed through entrepreneurship for economic growth

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Empowering SA’s unemployed through entrepreneurship for economic growth:

South Africa faces a youth unemployment crisis with a staggering rate of 45.5%, the highest in the world in 2023 per www.statista.com. Empowering entrepreneurs and driving micro business development is crucial for economic growth, addressing unemployment challenges and lack of income opportunities, reducing financial inequality, and ultimately uplifting communities.

Job scarcity, lack of skills, educational gaps, and financial limitations plague our population. High unemployment ranks as one of the top concerns among the youth, with 82% being “very concerned” and despite some having a high level of education, there’s a disconnect between their qualifications and industry-required skills, leading some to convert passion-driven side hustles into full-time ventures according to the Flux Trends and Student Village 30/30/30 Project Report 2024.

Rajesh Parshotam, Chairperson of the DSA, remarks, “Direct selling is proving to be a vital economic solution in South Africa. South Africans need safe, innovative income solutions that lower barriers to entry. The DSA of South Africa’s (DSA) accredited member companies have a proven formula that provides an income and entrepreneurial/business opportunity through direct selling.”

DSA direct selling member companies have helped uplift more than 600,000 South Africans (or Direct Sellers) from different walks of life, earning a collective annual average of R1.8 billion. Parshotam explains, “DSA member companies offer skills development, mentorship, and training, empowering Direct Sellers to become successful entrepreneurs. With no formal education needed, little to no start-up capital, and minimal risk, direct selling is an ideal organic transformation solution to redressing challenges of the previously disadvantaged such as generational poverty, financial and gender inequality, the lack of income opportunities for youth and high unemployment.”

“Anyone can rise above their circumstances when given the right opportunity. With direct selling, students, professionals, full-time employees, or part-time income seekers (side hustlers), have the flexibility to earn while managing other priorities. Through this income opportunity and their efforts, Direct Sellers are achieving financial independence and transforming their communities, regardless of their circumstances. Nearly a third of South Africa’s Direct Sellers are under 35, highlighting a trend toward financial independence for younger adults”, says Brandon Masondo, DSA Vice Chairperson and Youth Initiative Director.

Masondo explains, “Youths are integral to the direct selling industry. That’s why DSA has a dedicated Youth pillar ready to positively impact South African youth by expanding reach to business opportunities with DSA-accredited companies and partnering with local and national government and like-minded organisations.” DSA’s long-established Work Integrated Learning Project with the University of Johannesburg is an example of an initiative that successfully equips youth with skills to start their own business, market themselves, and enter the entrepreneurial world.

“We are thrilled to introduce South Africans in need to direct selling—an opportunity for business ownership and financial independence that brings stability, financial well-being, personal growth, and community upliftment,” concludes Imtiaz Ebrahim, DSA Secretariat.

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Author: Farah Manuel from We Rise Communications on behalf of The Direct Selling Association of South Africa.

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The Geological Miracle of the Witwatersrand

The very existence of Johannesburg is a geological fluke. Unlike most major global cities, Johannesburg was not built near a river, a coast, or a natural harbor. It sits 1,753 meters above sea level on a rocky ridge called the Witwatersrand (Ridge of White Waters). This ridge is the edge of the world’s largest known gold deposit, formed over 2 billion years ago when an ancient inland sea began to evaporate, leaving behind layers of gold-bearing conglomerate.

When George Harrison, an Australian prospector, stumbled upon an outcrop of gold on the farm Langlaagte in 1886, he triggered a “gold rush” that changed the course of African history. Within a decade, a dusty collection of tents and wagons transformed into a permanent city of brick and mortar. The “Main Reef” proved so vast that it eventually produced nearly 40% of all the gold ever mined in human history. This geological wealth dictated the city’s layout: the mining belt runs east-to-west across the city’s center, creating a physical divide between the wealthy northern suburbs and the industrial, working-class south. Today, while most mines within the city limits have closed due to the extreme depth and cost of extraction (some mines reached over 3.9 kilometers underground), the physical legacy remains in the form of “mine dumps”—massive yellow-white hills of crushed rock and sand that define the Joburg skyline.