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EZULWINI – Standard Bank Eswatini CEO Mvuselelo Fakudze says youth in business is the only way to address the problem of unemployment in the country.

The CEO spoke as he presented a cheque of E110 000 to JuniorAchievement (JA) Eswatini at the Royal Villas yesterday.

Fakudze said times had changed; such that it was no longer possible for the youth to find employment straight after graduation. He said jobs were no longer in abundance as was the case during their time growing up.

“You ask yourself; where is the value of education if one cannot get employed? However, we must not forget that Bill Gates did not graduate from college. So if one strongly believes in his or her idea, it may be best to take a gap in education and pursue it,” he said.

Fakudze added that the frustration of today’s youth was well-placed in terms of the lack of employment opportunities. He challenged young people to come up with business ideas that were viable.

JA’s Eswatini Director, Phetsile Masilela thanked the

INSTITUTION

Eswatini Malaria Fund

Junior Achievement (JA)

Enactus Eswatini

AMOUNT

E150 000

E110 000

E70 000

bank for working with the organisation in shaping the futures of young people. She said together, they stood to empower the future generation.

“This year, our programme aims to reach 7000 pupils in 75 schools. This is a group that thinks out of the box and is very innovative. If presented with the right support system, the things they can achieve are limitless,” she said.

Masilela spoke of a new programme known as ‘Angel Investor’, where they choose five young people to present their ideas to a potential financier. She said the financier then chooses the idea that had a bigger potential.

“To date we have about 600 businesses that have been born out of JA’s schools programme,” she said.