The President’s emphasis on expanding public employment programmes, scaling up youth workexperience initiatives, and unlocking opportunities in the digital and green economies reflects an acknowledgement of the severity of youth unemployment and the centrality of young people in rebuilding the economy. The ANCYL particularly welcomes the commitment to remove regulatory barriers that prevent businesses from participating in youth employment schemes, as this responds directly to our long-standing call for aggressive labour-market intervention.

We further note government’s infrastructure investment drive and support it as a catalyst for industrialisation, localisation, and mass job creation. However, we emphasise that infrastructure programmes must include clear youth employment quotas, skills transfer mechanisms, and procurement set-asides for youth-owned enterprises. Without deliberate youth inclusion targets, growth risks reproducing exclusion rather than dismantling it.

The reported improvements in education outcomes, including the historic matric pass rate, demonstrate the potential of young people when provided with resources and support. Yet educational success must be matched by a credible post-school economic absorption strategy. South Africa cannot celebrate academic achievement while graduates remain unemployed. The missing link remains a coordinated national plan that connects education, industrial policy, and labour demand.

The ANCYL also acknowledges interventions aimed at poverty relief and rural development, including support for black producers and agricultural expansion. We reiterate that land access, agricultural financing, and value-chain participation for young people must be accelerated if rural youth unemployment is to be meaningfully reduced.

While government has highlighted progress in rebuilding state capacity and combating corruption, the lived reality of many young South Africans is still defined by poor service delivery, crime, and lack of economic opportunity. Implementation, not announcements, will determine whether the commitments made today translate into tangible change.

The ANCYL therefore calls for:

• Clear timelines and budgets attached to all youth employment commitments;

• Binding youth inclusion targets in infrastructure and industrial programmes;

• Expansion of support for youth entrepreneurship and cooperatives;

• A coordinated national youth economic participation strategy.

South Africa’s youth do not require sympathy; they require decisive action, structural transformation, and access to opportunities. The SONA has outlined important commitments. The task ahead is implementation at scale and with urgency.

The ANCYL remains resolute in its position that young people must not be spectators in the economy of their country, but active participants and leaders in its transformation.

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To those who did not achieve the results they hoped for, or who have not been accepted into any tertiary institution, we say this without hesitation: your life is not over, your intelligence is not measured by marks, and your future is not owned by a broken system. There are many powerful paths outside formal academia.

South Africa has public development institutions meant to fund, support and empower young people to become owners, producers and job creators.

We urge young people to apply to public development institutions created to support youth enterprise, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). These institutions exist to support your initiatives, not to exclude you.

Young people must boldly pursue entrepreneurship across strategic sectors, including:

• Restaurants, bakeries, food trucks and catering services

• Bed and breakfasts, lodges and township tourism experiences

• Manufacturing, fabrication, furniture making and agro-processing

• Hair salons, barber shops, beauty spas and wellness centers

• Retail shops, spaza formalisation and wholesale distribution

• Fuel stations, car washes and auto-services

• Butcheries, cold storage and meat processing

We place urgent emphasis on AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND THE OCEANS ECONOMY. A nation that cannot feed itself cannot be free. Opportunities exist in crop and livestock farming, poultry and vegetable production, community food gardens, agroprocessing, fishing cooperatives, aquaculture, seafood processing, marine services and marine tourism.

We further encourage the youth to enter the creative and media economy. Through the NFVF and MDDA, young people must fund and produce their own films, documentaries, series and digital content. So much is happening in our communities—stories of struggle, resilience, corruption, innovation and hope. Tell your own stories. Document your reality. Control the narrative.

This must be a year where the youth irritate the government through consciousness and action. Not violence—but pressure. Not silence—but organization. Govern without being in power. Monitor local government, attend council meetings, demand service delivery, expose corruption, mobilize communities, and insist on your constitutional rights.

We call on young people to become activists, organizers and community leaders. Get involved in civic life and politics not for positions, but to fight for housing, land, education, jobs and dignity. Remember: eligible citizens have the right to apply for government housing and basic services—these are rights, not favors.

We also encourage young people to travel within South Africa, across Africa and abroad to learn skills, build networks and return with knowledge to rebuild our communities. Exposure sharpens consciousness; isolation sustains dependency.

This statement is deliberately different. It is a call to revive the fighting spirit, critical thinking and self-belief of the youth. The system will not save you unless you organize, demand and act.

Should you apply for government or development assistance and receive no support, you may contact the Azania Movement with proof of application and non-assistance. We will engage, escalate and advocate.

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The Masterclass is taking place on the margins of the Science Forum South Africa. The objective of the masterclass is to equip youth-led SMMEs with practical skills in digital tools for upskilling their business development skills and to also outline opportunities within the e-commerce space for local and export market access.

According to the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Zuko Godlimpi, the masterclass will also be hosted to demonstrate real world applications of digital tools through the testimonials of young founders and alumni of the Capacity Building Programme for Digital Technology Integration in Business and Trade.

“The session will explore how digital tools can unlock new opportunities for SMMEs in the e-commerce space enhancing market access, streamlining operations, and driving growth. Participants will also gain practical insights into leveraging digital platforms, online payment systems, logistics solutions, and digital marketing strategies,” says Godlimpi.

He adds that the masterclass will also spotlight government initiatives and support mechanisms aimed at accelerating digital transformation within the SMME sector.

“It is also important to note that the e-commerce landscape in South Africa is experiencing an unprecedented surge. For small businesses, e-commerce has become an essential avenue for scaling up, reaching a broader audience and staying competitive in an evolving market. One of the most significant benefits of e-commerce for small businesses in South Africa, is access to a wider market. In the past, a shop owner in a small village community in a rural area might have had limited customers. Now, with an online store, products can be sold to people across the entire country and even globally,” he says.

Attendees will benefit from expert-led discussions, real world case studies, and interactive engagements designed to inspire and equip entrepreneurs, policymakers, and ecosystem enablers.

The masterclass will be preceded by the Science Forum South Africa panel discussion scheduled for Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at the CSIR International Convention Centre.

The panel, titled “Igniting Sparks: Youth Innovation in Africa’s Informal Economy,” will spotlight young entrepreneurs who are driving innovation and transformation within informal markets.

Four participants from the Next Gen Exporter Incubation program will be joining as panellists. The Next-Gen Exporter Incubation Programme is aimed at equipping young entrepreneurs with exporting skills, resources and support required to become successful first-time exporters, and is specifically tailored for the alumni of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme.

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