Imvelisi Strategic Objectives
Imvelisi responds to the growing need, articulated both by South Africa’s national policy priorities as well as members of these networks themselves, that calls for exposure and skills development in the green entrepreneurship space. These needs can be summarised as follows:
The Water Research Commission (WRC) has placed entrepreneurship at the nexus of social development and national prosperity. At the September 2015 Water-Tech Summit majority of key institutions in attendance, including HEIs called for more collaborative, developmental entrepreneurship initiatives in the environmental sub-sectors.
It is for these reasons and opportunities for prosperity that YWP-ZA and GreenMatter are passionate about taking forward the Imvelisi initiative and require a number of synergistic partners to come on board to make a real impact in the space of youth and skills development towards a greener economy.
- The issue of persistent unemployment in South Africa remains a serious concern and the green economy is ripe to support the development of new sectors to increase labour opportunities that go beyond the prominent focus of energy security. The position is most critical for young South Africans, largely because too few jobs have been created to absorb the large numbers of new entrants to the labour market. For example, in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate for young people aged 16 to 30 was 40%, compared to 16% for those aged 30 to 65 (Green Jobs Report, 2011; New Growth Path Plan)
- The National Development Plan (NDP), New Growth Path and Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) all emphasise that small and medium sized firms will play an important role in employment creation in South Africa, as well as economic development.
- The NDP and IPAP also emphasise that skills challenges are one of the top five factors discouraging the expansion of small and medium sized firms in developing economies;
- Many young South Africans are increasingly attracted to being self-employed as they see this as a career that allows for different degrees of flexibility than offered in mainstream organisations and also see this as a way of securing employment in the broader context of job scarcity (YWP and Green Matter Interactions).
- At a recent roundtable discussion hosted by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (August, 2015) at the SA Innovation Summit it was highlighted that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a significant role to play in sustainable business and entrepreneurship develop in our country, calling for greater partnerships, collaboration and early ideation support.
The Water Research Commission (WRC) has placed entrepreneurship at the nexus of social development and national prosperity. At the September 2015 Water-Tech Summit majority of key institutions in attendance, including HEIs called for more collaborative, developmental entrepreneurship initiatives in the environmental sub-sectors.
It is for these reasons and opportunities for prosperity that YWP-ZA and GreenMatter are passionate about taking forward the Imvelisi initiative and require a number of synergistic partners to come on board to make a real impact in the space of youth and skills development towards a greener economy.