In celebration of Youth Day 2019, the City of Tshwane invited the University of Pretoria’s Department of Business Management to present at the Mayor’s Youth Entrepreneurship Summit, held on 14 June 2019 at the Tshwane House Council Chambers. The executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Councillor Stevens Mokgalapa, kicked off the day with a word of welcome to the delegates before the day’s programme commenced.
As Youth Day is dedicated to empowering the youth of South Africa, Dr Dawie Bornman, senior lecturer in the Department of Business Management, presented on the current state of youth entrepreneurship in South Africa, as well as training courses or programmes that the University of Pretoria is involved in that support young entrepreneurs.
Dr Bornman expressed how great it is that the City of Tshwane aims to ignite excellence by creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs to get in contact with, network and learn from industry experts and fellow young entrepreneurs. “Pursuing opportunities, networking, collaborating, growing a knowledge base, and being innovative in your efforts are key ingredients that form part of the entrepreneurial journey that young entrepreneurs need to align themselves with,” he stated.
Guest speakers from various organisation such as CIPC, SARS, ABSA, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank,
the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, the National Youth Development Agency, the Small Business Enterprise Development Agency, Small Enterprise Finance Agency, and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, attended and presented on their organisations. Topics that were addressed include doing business in the City of Tshwane, access to finance, public sector youth entrepreneurship support, business and tax registration processes, the rights of consumers, and challenges experienced and lessons learned.
“If parallel youth entrepreneurship summits are run on a continuous basis, on a national level, with the aim of enhancing access to information and opportunities, then momentum will surely be built up to ensure that the SA youth unemployment rate of 63,5% will decrease,” Dr Bornman added.
The day concluded with Councillor Isak Pietersen, Member of Tshwane’s Mayoral Committee for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, highlighting the key points of the day and encouraging the youth to take action with their entrepreneurial efforts.
Dr Dawie Bornman addressing the delegates at the City of Tshwane's Youth Entrepreneurship Summit 2019
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