JOHANNESBURG, December 2025 – As South Africa confronts extreme levels of youth unemployment, Nedbank will be creating opportunities for the empowerment of young people with the launch of two groundbreaking entrepreneurship programmes during this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 (17 – 21 November). These initiatives will support 500 young people to become business owners, with a collective investment of R14.1 million in Enterprise Development grants.
Two Programmes, One Vision
The Nedbank Youth Empowerment Programme builds on a successful pilot in North West province and is now expanding to Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape, based on a public private partnership between TVET colleges, public and private sector focused on facilitating entrepreneurship in a value chain approach. 100 artisans from each of the three provinces will receive comprehensive support including training, mentorship, business plan development, seed funding for equipment, and crucially, access to public and private sector procurement opportunities. The programme focuses on skilled trades including electrical, building, plumbing, maintenance, paving, tiling, welding, and carpentry.
The Fix Forward Contractor Programme, is an incubation programme focussing on equipping contractors from low-income communities with the necessary skills to transition them from informal to the formal arena. The objective of the programme is to empower contractors to realise their potential as entrepreneurs, and to help them grow successful businesses. A crucial deliverable of the intervention is to reduce income inequality and create sustainable jobs.
“Across the last 7 years, Nedbank has provided more than R20 000 000 in ED grant funding to Fix Forward which benefitted 596 SMEs. These SMEs went on to create more than 1000 jobs. The businesses have collectively taken on new business for the value of approximately R80 000 000 across that period of time,” says Dr Nirmala Reddy, acting-Executive Head of Nedbank’s Group Transformation Unit.
“Nedbank through Fix Forward provided more than 160 hours of training to the 596 business owners augmented with 5635 hours of mentorship.”
“At Fix Forward, we have seen first-hand how access to training, mentorship and market opportunities can transform contractors from low-income communities into thriving business owners. Partnering with Nedbank on this initiative allows us to scale that impact significantly. By equipping young artisans with the tools to formalise and grow their businesses, we are not only creating jobs but also building sustainable enterprises that uplift families and strengthen communities. This is about unlocking potential and ensuring that every entrepreneur has a fair chance to succeed in South Africa’s economy,” says Joshua Cox, CEO of Fix Forward.
Each One Create One
In conjunction with implementing partner McGeralds Entrepreneurship Centre, the “Each One Create One” initiative is a comprehensive entrepreneurship programme meticulously designed to address the urgent challenge of youth unemployment in South Africa, where a rapidly expanding youth population requires a swift and sustainable response. The program’s philosophy is both simple and powerful: by equipping each participating youth with the necessary skills, resources, and opportunities, the initiative fosters a self-sustaining ecosystem where each beneficiary is enabled to create at least one job opportunity for another young person within their first year. This approach goes beyond conventional job-seeking programs, actively transforming young individuals from job seekers into job creators.
“By facilitating these connections, we are creating an ecosystem where youth entrepreneurship thrives. Every business launched represents jobs created, families supported, and communities strengthened across South Africa,” adds Reddy.
The programme objective is to support over 5,000 youth in establishing profitable businesses by 2030. Participants are provided with a full suite of support services, including ideation masterclasses, one-on-one guidance from a global panel of experienced mentors, and fundamental business training in areas such as legal matters, costing, pricing, and systems implementation. The program also provides access to essential resources, such as trade inputs from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and wholesalers at competitive rates, and the potential for trade finance support for beneficiaries to finance orders through short-term, order-based lending solutions.
“Nedbank is investing in more than just business acumen, mentorship and business development, we are building sustainable economic futures,” Nirmala emphasises. “This value chain approach entails securing offtake agreements, continuous support and mentorship as well as industry backing to ensure sustainability and ongoing growth.”
The strategic focus on market access addresses what research shows is the primary reason for business failure, not lack of skills or initial funding, but lack of consistent customers and reliable revenue streams. By providing participants with a stable foundation through guaranteed procurement orders, the programmes enable young entrepreneurs to build track records of performance and profitability.
“The Each One Create One Initiative provides an opportunity for large corporates and SMEs to partner in the purpose to stimulate entrepreneurship growth and to create sustainable jobs,” says Zwelani Nkomo, CEO of McGeralds Entrepreneurship Centre.
“Nedbank’s enterprise development approach combines financial backing, industry partnerships, seed funding, and market access to turn South Africa’s youth unemployment challenge into an economic growth opportunity,” concludes Nirmala.
With 500 young people set to benefit in the immediate term and thousands more by 2030, these initiatives represent a scalable, sustainable model for addressing one of South Africa’s most pressing challenges, proving that with the right support, market access, and strategic partnerships, today’s unemployed youth can become tomorrow’s successful entrepreneurs and job creators.