South Africa celebrates its youth in June, as it pays homage to the children of 16 June 1976, who protested in the streets of Soweto.

#YouthMonth: Celebrating SA's youth
South Africa celebrates its youth in June, as it pays homage to the children of 16 June 1976, who protested in the streets of Soweto.

Today’s youth face very different challenges from those of 1976, and the Bizcommunity Youth Month feature explores the contemporary experiences of young people in South Africa and across Africa.

These range from the job-hunt crisis, digital exclusion, unequal schooling, and mental health issues.

Despite these issues, we see that this generation shows profound resilience, grassroots innovation, and cultural influence, with the rise of youth-led businesses, tech solutions, and community projects that are actively bypassing state failures.

Enjoy your reading, and thank you to everyone who participated in the Youth Month feature.
READ ALL #YOUTHMONTH>>

Why Nated students can’t graduate and what business needs to do about it

NANCY DUSANI

South Africa’s youth crisis: they complete their academic studies but are unable to find the required workplace experience to graduate... read
Mosa Hope Mapheto is using agriculture to create opportunities in rural Limpopo

ROBIN FREDERICKS

Mosa Hope Mapheto shares how agriculture is helping create opportunities for young people in rural Limpopo... read
From the Cape Flats to creative director at OFYT
From a shy intern who rarely spoke in meetings to OFYT's creative director, Aakifah Rodrigues reflects on her journey... read
14 SA creatives land year-long film and TV training with Netflix
Fourteen young South Africans have been selected for Netflix’s ScreenCraft Pathways programme... read
Ocean Basket's Lizandre Keller on why brands are rewriting the rules for Gen Z

EVAN-LEE COURIE

Ocean Basket's brand activation leader, Lizandre Keller, believes younger audiences are rewriting the entire playbook for brands... read
How Tshidi Maiyane built a hospitality career through resilience and hard work

ROBIN FREDERICKS

Tshidi Maiyane of BON Hotel Rustenburg shares her rise into hospitality leadership before the age of 30... read
The Lab's Matthew Tyler on conscious consumption, resale culture and purpose-driven brands

EVAN-LEE COURIE

From sneaker care to culture care, Matthew Tyler, head of marketing at The Lab, believes brands must evolve to stay relevant... read
Marketing's role in empowering the next generation

NOMPUMELELO ZWANE

Matla Media’s Nompumelelo Zwane asks what the role of marketing is in empowering the next generation… read
Woolworths names 15 winners of its 2026 Youth Makers competition
Woolworths aims to uplift youth-owned businesses and improve the socio-economic reality of our youth... read
50 years later, Youth Day still matters in the fight for economic inclusion
Keanu Ennes and Jessica Rushmere, young attorneys at Bowmans, reflect on what Youth Day in South Africa means to them... read
Prism winner Sebabatso Lemaoana on PR and trust

KARABO LEDWABA

Prism winner Sebabatso Lemaoana on the future of PR and the meaning of Youth Day... read
Youth Month highlights opportunities we inherit and create

CONFIDENCE TSHILANDE

When I was growing up in a village in Limpopo, I watched infrastructure change lives. Roads improved access to services. Water systems brought dignity and livelihood opportunities... read
ONE Gospel commemorates 50 years of Youth Day with inspiring Youth Month programming
As South Africa commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Soweto Uprising, ONE Gospel is dedicating Youth Month to honouring the courage of the youth of 1976 while inspiring today’s generation through a special line-up of faith-filled, educational and uplifting programming... read
Walk in the footsteps of SA schoolchildren and get them school shoes

DANETTE BREITENBACH

Liberty has provided more than 100,000 pairs of shoes to learners... read
SA youth: The myth of the digital-only generation
Caxton Media’s most recent national ROOTS consumer survey shows that while young people are highly digital, they move seamlessly between print, digital, social, retail environments and local news... read
Youth is a mindset rather than an age bracket

MARILIZE JACOBS & THABANI MNYAKENI

June is Youth Month, but it often becomes a discussion about age... read
Young, rooted and redefining creativity through isiXhosa heritage

EVAN-LEE COURIE

South African visual artist and designer Masonwabe Ntloko has built a multidisciplinary practice rooted in preserving isiXhosa language, heritage and identity... read
T-Squared Clothing's founder, Thabiso Mokomele reflects on the 18yr journey

EVAN-LEE COURIE

T-Squared Clothing founder, Thabiso Mokomele, reflects on his entrepreneurial journey... read
Reflection on the aspirations and voices of young people in South Africa
This Youth Month, the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) sat down with four community media projects – Alex FM, Kgatleng FM, Ulwazi Magazine and Youth Voice Newspaper – to reflect on the aspirations, challenges and voices of young people in their communities... read
South Africa’s beauty industry has no postcode

LEMOGANG SEBESHO

Small beauty and skincare businesses in small towns matter, writes makeup artist Lemogang Sebesho... read
South Africa cannot prepare young people for an economy that no longer exists

NELO SPIES

South Africa’s rising youth unemployment demands urgent investment to prepare young people for future work... read
FedEx backs skills development to help bridge South Africa's youth employment gap

ROBIN FREDERICKS

FedEx says long-term investment in youth development is critical to South Africa's future workforce... read
South Africa’s consumer class youth is playing snakes and ladders
The lazy story about young South African consumers is that they are broke, stuck, unemployed and hard to reach. The more useful story is that they are under-capitalised, overly mobile, digitally fluent and actively building their way into adulthood... read
What the youth of 1976 gave today's generation

JESSICA GBEDEMAH

They marched for a voice, and we inherited the microphone, writes Jessica Gbedemah… read
Price of freedom: South Africa's youth and the fight for financial independence
As the youth of today face an unstable economy and a consequent measure of financial uncertainty, they are called to ask themselves what freedom really means... read
Financial lessons for South Africa's youth
Youth Month highlights the importance of financial literacy for young South Africans... read
Plascon and Hood Youth Development Project revitalise neighbourhoods

EVAN-LEE COURIE

Patty Mulauzi, resident colour expert at Kansai Plascon, talks about how youth-led initiatives are transforming South Africa's neighbourhoods... read
Preteen girls shouldn’t be singing to their own babies
In South Africa, girls as young as 10 are singing lullabies to babies they were never old enough to have. Amnesty International’s latest “Lullaby” campaign confronts the reality of the rise in children raising children... read
Tsundzukani Hlungwane is inspiring the next generation through conservation

ROBIN FREDERICKS

Tsundzukani Hlungwane helping train the next generation of conservation professionals... read
Voting is the best way for youth to be heard

SHAN RADCLIFFE

Candidate attorney Zahra Ally reminds us not to take the hard-won rights of previous generations for granted... read
What drives the new generation of African lawyers?
Young Bowmans lawyers across Africa share what inspired their careers, crucial laws for youth, missing law school skills, and invaluable advice to their younger selves... read
The next generation isn't a risk - they're your ROI

EDEN MARAIS

Special Effects Media South Africa's Eden Marais explores the role businesses and the creative industry can play in creating meaningful pathways for young talent... read
AI-ready teams need more than tech, says Tamela — 5 human skills leaders cannot lose

KATJA HAMILTON

Tshepisho Makofane explains how organisations can build AI-ready teams by balancing technological innovation with critical thinking, emotional intelligence and human-centred leadership... read
FOLLOW US
List company
List CV
List new business
List portfolio showcase
List profile
Submit event
Submit gallery
Submit job ad
Submit new appointment
Submit news
Submit noticeboard
Submit op-ed contribution
Home
My job ads
My events
My company
My CV
Advertising: We welcome your sales enquiries! Email sales and read more about our advertising rates

3rd Floor, 62 Roeland St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. Tel +27 (0)21 404 1460
© 2026 bizcommunity.com. All rights reserved.

Unsubscribe. Manage subscription. Subscribe. Change email. Change frequency to WEEKLY.