According to findings of Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey of 2024, the youth unemployment rate reached 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024. In the same period, the unemployment rate was found to be higher in females, at 35.2% in comparison to that of males, recorded at 31.0%.
The Director: University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) in the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Ms Mandisa Cakwe (right), shared these findings at Universities South Africa’s three-day capacity development workshop of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme, that ran from 24 to 26 July on the East Rand in Gauteng. The event, organised under the auspices of EDHE’s Student Women Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP), had gathered up to 103 young women representing SWEEP chapter coordinators from 17 of South Africa’s public universities. Among the coordinators were pockets of staff members driving entrepreneurship programmes on university campuses.
SWEEP, launched in October 2021, is an initiative within the EDHE programme, addressing the low participation of women students in universities’ entrepreneurship activities. It was founded to actively promote the economic empowerment of student women, especially in the face of gender-based violence. The programme imparts entrepreneurial and other skills to the student women and links them to mentors and networks likely to transform them into a community empowered, equipped and motivated to start their own businesses and to thrive in the economy.
This was the 2nd annual SWEEP capacity development workshop. Since the programme was launched in October 2021 from the University of Pretoria, SWEEP proceeded to open its first chapter at Nelson Mandela University in 2022. From the nine chapters it had built by 2023, SWEEP now boasts a total of 19 established at 17 public universities.
Ms Cakwe said the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of 2024 further reports that 35.5% (10.3 million) of youth aged 15-24 years were Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) in the first quarter of 2024. Females occupied the higher proportion of youth NEET at 36.5%, in comparison to their male counterparts at 34.4%.
The UCDP Director went on to say that it was to address challenges like these, that her department was collaborating with USAf in pursuing through the EDHE programme, a vision of social development and economic participation of youth and adults. The DHET was also collaborating with relevant stakeholders in crafting policies and interventions to ensure that post-school education and training provisioning encompassed programmes addressing these challenges. “One of those programmes is SWEEP,” a programme within EDHE, she said, adding that approximately 50% of UCDP’s funding muscle is expended on women.
SWEEP, though mostly sponsored by the UCDP, also secured a partnership in 2023 with British Council SA’s Higher Education Programme grant, which is part of British Council’s broader Going Global Partnerships, aimed at building stronger, more inclusive, internationally connected higher education and TVET systems.
SWEEP is totally justified – Dr Phethiwe Matutu
In the workshop opening address, the CEO of USAf, Dr Phethiwe Matutu (below), told the SWEEP community that USAf, the representative body of South Africa’s 26 public universities, advocates for the sustainability of the higher education system. She said USAf’s agenda focuses on several focus areas including social transformation. “Capacity development responds to that particular pillar of our work, and to the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.”
Dr Matutu said that considering that women constitute the majority of enrolled students at South Africa’s universities – “at some universities as much as 60% of our graduates are women” — it did not make sense that women students were less visible in entrepreneurial activity, in comparison to their male counterparts. SWEEP was therefore totally justified, she stated, further pledging USAf’s continuing support to SWEEP and EDHE.
The USAf CEO went on to say that her organisation’s commitment to the advancement of women was visible in two other programmes.
Similarly to SWEEP, USAf was running a programme advancing early career researchers and scholars in response to the challenges previously identified, of lack of mentors and a proper support system. “We’ve since developed two online platforms to advance early career researchers: Thuso Resources, a free online repository of vital information resources, modules and programme available for their development, and Thuso Connect, an online platform established to connect early career scholars and researchers with experienced mentors to support them on their academic journeys. This initiative is funded by Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.”
Yet another example was the Women in Leadership (WiL) programme that was addressing the under-representation of women in universities’ leadership positions. WiL is offered under the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme — focused on developing middle-level university leaders and managers. Dr Matutu said: “Under-representation of women spells out serious problems for our country and its socio-economic development. Government policy becomes important when women tend to choose specific streams of business to the exclusion of construction, mining and entrepreneurship, to mention a few examples. That is where programmes such as SWEEP come in.”
SWEEP resonates with British Council SA’s philosophy
On behalf of British Council SA, Higher Education Project Manager, Ms Olipa Ntawanga (left), said the mission of the British Council is to support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the United Kingdom (UK) and countries worldwide.
“We support young people in addressing unemployment across the continent, and in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion as a core value – by mainstreaming gender equality into all our programmes and interventions.”
Ms Ntawanga said in sub-Saharan Africa, the British Council is dedicated to improving young people’s employability through capacity building and increasing young peoples’ networks – hence their support to the SWEEP programme. She said at USAf, the British Council had supported the Women in Leadership programme under HELM, at its informative stage. “We supported equipping women with skills to overcome barriers in leadership. Furthermore, we have an International Science Partnerships Fund – previously known as the Newton Fund and the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme, that provide women with PhD scholarships.
“We have gender equality partnerships supporting 70 initiatives across 120 institutions in 13 countries of the world. In South Africa, we support six projects, including EDHE’s programmes that include SWEEP.” She said since becoming a partner to SWEEP in 2023, the British Council had co-designed and co-delivered the SWEEP’s knowledge expand programme that took 19 SWEEP members, including the EDHE staff, on a visit to the UK in May June.
According to the EDHE Project Manager, Ms Zana Boshoff, the Residential Knowledge Exchange Study visit, held from 27th to 31st May 2024 and delivered by the London School of Economics, saw the SWEEP team engage with mentors and business experts and embark on site visits to university campuses and successful UK start-ups and incubators. Through this project, the SWEEP entourage attended a series of workshops (see above); was exposed to global best practices in entrepreneurship and innovation, and networking opportunities with industry experts and thought leaders. The visit fostered a cross-cultural exchange and collaboration among students from diverse backgrounds and provided a platform for participants to showcase their ideas and projects on an international stage.
Above all, this Residential Knowledge Exchange Study Visit introduced aspiring South African women entrepreneurs (university female students and graduates) to the UK entrepreneurial ecosystem. The programme, which included face-to-face mentoring sessions for female entrepreneurs, aimed to inspire, educate, and stimulate ideas for impact-driven business creation. This was a unique opportunity for students and coordinators from South African universities to embark on a journey of learning and discovery.
Ntawanga said the next priority was to develop a monitoring and evaluation project for SWEEP.
Discussion
We share below, some of the participants’ questions shared on the opening day, and the responses they received from the guest speakers.
Question: Are we not killing the job market by pushing so much harder for entrepreneurship? How do we, as entrepreneurs, overcome the market saturation out there, for success?
Dr Matutu – It is important to do your market research and identify problems to solve. I have friends who, at some point, were keen to start businesses in waste management at a time that government did not recognise this as a national problem. People also spoke of solar energy provision when our market was not yet ready for that. When you’ve identified a niche, it is important to read market readiness for your service or product, and to ascertain that government policies will back up what you have to offer, to ease your entry into the market.
Dr Edwell Gumbo (right), EDHE Director at USAf: To answer the question about the aggressive promotion of entrepreneurship, we need to recognise that the most successful economies are the ones prioritising entrepreneurship and are very entrepreneurial. Gone are the days when economies were stuck in producing labour during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd industrial revolution. The 4IR needs knowledge creation. Singapore and some of the Asian tigers and the US are widely believed to be economies that promote entrepreneurship. This initiative is not just about you starting businesses; but also supporting you as you transition into the economy. Entrepreneurial skills are also needed in the job market.
Question: What skills must entrepreneurs foster to succeed in their endeavours?
Dr Matutu: I would advise you to identify like-minded businesses and network. Do not isolate yourself. Identify critical skills that matter for your business. What elements do you want to do away with and what do you need to retain? We also talk business incubation, to obtain the fundamental support in areas you need to focus on, for your business to survive and thrive. Furthermore, balance your time well between business management and your studies.
Question: How do we assist our executives to understand and align the SWEEP initiatives with the National Development Plan (NDP) targets of 2030? Will the SWEEP members be exposed to mentorship?
Ms Cakwe: It took us years to develop the NDP. We consulted with universities at the document’s inception stage and in its finalisation. I believe, therefore, that university leaders are very familiar with the contents of the NDP. If there is a challenge of understanding the contents, we’re still here, to support. On mentorship, wait until you see what this workshop has in store for you. In the UCDP grant, we also made provision for capacity building in all areas including entrepreneurship. You must make it known that you are aware of that grant.
Question: How does EDHE measure the success of enterprises within universities?
Ms Ntawanga: In consultation with USAf and SWEEP teams, we’re developing our own Monitoring & Evaluation system. We have a consultant on board working on this. For now, we’re doing consultations enabling people to understand SWEEP. Some universities, such as the University of Cape Town, are already measuring their own performance in entrepreneurship. We could learn from their experience in that regard, especially if we get universities to collaborate, to learn from one another. We will also identify best practices and foster sharing across the board.
‘Mateboho Green in Universities South Africa’s Manager: Corporate Communication.