Did you know? Africa is home to the youngest population in the world and according to United Nations, 70% of people living in sub-Saharan Africa are under the age of 30. With such a high number of youth, it is only reasonable to prioritise young people and their potential for growth opportunities throughout the continent.
Developing and emerging nations are largely characterised by high unemployment and our country is no different, despite our famed economic growth. Numerous factors including minimal youth engagement in policy making, a disconnect in the education system and the labour market are some of the contributing factors. Each year 12 million young people enter the job market in Africa, but the formal private sector is too small to absorb this growing labour force and it is therefore safe to conclude that unemployment cannot be understood as an absence of jobs but a need to develop intentional youth development and leadership programmes to advance opportunities, accelerate growth and to create an enabling environment for employment through entrepreneurship and innovation.
For the legal brief on the Budget Speech 2023/2024 we zone in on young Batswana and what the youth development mandate looks like.
- Development Funding
The Youth Development Fund (YDF) is a socio-economic programme for start-ups and expanding businesses. Across the continent programmes such as the YDF are designed to provide young entrepreneurs with opportunities to access financial and non-financial business development support in order to grow and develop their businesses. This fund is administered under the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Culture and provides loans and grants to qualifying youth owned businesses.
Government has retained funding of P104 million to assist entrepreneurs. This is especially important for young people in business as most problems preventing the growth of small entrepreneurs is a lack of funds. We advise small businesses to familiarise themselves with the rules and regulations of the various opportunities, as well as to prioritise regulatory compliance. More importantly, the youth must be encouraged to explore innovative business opportunities to establish a vibrant small business sector which can unlock investment and growth.
- Economic inclusion and citizen participation
Earlier, we noted that unemployment cannot solely be understood as an absence of jobs but rather a collection of challenges that can be addressed through targeted developmental interventions. This dearth of intentional programmes and the coordination therefore act as constraints to proper inclusion, development and access. Through initiatives such as the Economic Inclusion Act, Entrepreneurship Policy, Minerals Policy and Middle-Class strategy, the government will prioritise inclusion of citizens in the economic development.
The development of Batswana entrepreneurs will directly tie in with the value chain development priority of the 2023/2024 budget.
The current sense in the market is a lack of clarity as to what exactly is required of the private sector in terms of the Economic Inclusion Act. While we wait for further clarity through the publication of regulations, the obligation is on each market participant to familiarise themselves with the inclusion priority areas and to see how to support inclusion in their value chain.
We would like to encourage the youth and small businesses to be more outward looking so as to venture into external markets which will help them to grow. The ultimate aim of these government interventions is to assist in the creation of opportunities and development. The youth should be careful not be overly reliant and expectant but rather to use these opportunities to compete on the basis of unique value and innovation.
*ENDS*
Should you require any assistance with the implications and application of the proposed Bill please feel free to contact us on info@peolegal.co.bw or +267 3975779.
The information contained in this Legal Brief was intended for our clients and correct to the best of the authors knowledge at the time of publication. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult the contacts listed here.