The spirit of Youth Day will be on display this Saturday, as more than 130 pupils from 30 schools across the Bay set up shop at Baywest Mall to sell their tailor-made products at the Future Business Leaders Market Day.
The pupils, from Grade 1 to 11, are all participants in the national Young Entrepreneurs programme, which was introduced in the province last year.
They will be displaying and selling their items at the Baywest Food Court between 11am and 2pm on Saturday.
The group have spent the last few months developing their small businesses and manufacturing a range of products such as jewellery, bird feeders, picture frames, hair accessories, key rings and much more – made from both new and recycled materials.
Ansulene Prinsloo, owner of the city’s Young Entrepreneurs franchise, said while the various programmes provided ideas for products, many children came up with their own.
“This is what entrepreneurship is all about. Many have identified opportunities and, with guidance, are now taking a product to market,” she said.
Given South Africa’s high unemployment rate, Prinsloo believes all children should be equipped with the practical skills to run their own businesses and manage their own finances.
“Everyone has an entrepreneurial streak inside them. It only needs to be awakened, encouraged, and set free. We need to develop job creators and not job seekers,” she said.
Paterson High School’s Matapelo Letlage, 16, who turned old traditional clothes and jeans into colourful handbags, said the programme taught him valuable business skills.
“I’ve learned so much about what it takes to run your own business – I’ve also learnt how to attract more customers [to my stall],” Letlage said.
Westering High’s Reece Naidoo and Euan Percival, both 14, took inspiration from nature to create “modern furniture” for their joint stall.
“We’ve used pebbles and wood. Things that don’t seem interesting to other people is what we’re using [for our modern designs],” Percival said.
Urban Academy’s Jephias Mudombi, 16, who will be selling denim-covered pot plants and unique rings said the course had taught him about “business plans, creative thinking and different types of products”.
Also joining the Market Day will be 60 children from Charles Duna Primary School in New Brighton.
The school forms part of Young Entrepreneur’s national outreach initiative, where local businesses sponsor Young Entrepreneurs programmes at previously-disadvantaged schools.
Charles Duna’s programme formed its’ own entrepreneurial venture, making and selling jewellery – called Kingdom Kids – and have started selling their items at various Bay markets, including the Locally Yours craft market day in May.