SDA youths encourage entrepreneurship

YOUTHS in the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church n Livingstone have encouraged young people to take advantage of Government empowerment funds aimed at helping the youth in the country. Livingstone East Mission District Youth acting president, Chishomyo Maimbo, observed that if well utilised, the funds could help youths become self-reliant as they pursue entrepreneurship and vocational opportunities beyond seeking employment. In an interview during a cleaning exercise at Namatama Clinic on Monday, Mr Maimbo said by engaging in entrepreneurship, youths could become key players in economic development and eventually contribute to national growth. Mr Maimbo added that there was no government in the world that could employ all youths hence the need for them to venture into entrepreneurship to sustain their livelihood. "Youth-led enterprises can trigger significant momentum in job creation, given that start-ups account for up to 50 per cent of newly created jobs, and young entrepreneurs primarily employ their peers. "Today in our country, young people have showed significantly higher levels of entrepreneurial initiative than adults...so, we need to walk through that path," Mr Maimbo said. He said that youth entrepreneurship and self- employment could foster local innovation and improve the resilience of young people on the job market. Mr Maimbo cited the youth movement in the Church as an example with the vocational honours which could help youths engage into viable business ventures.