Reduce barriers, empower young entrepreneurs

ACROSS the country, a rising chorus of concern surrounds the future of our youth. Every year, tens of thousands graduate with certificates, diplomas and degrees, only to discover that the formal job market they imagined does not exist in the capacity they expected.

Instead of translating their education into employment, many retreat into prolonged waiting, scrolling endlessly through WhatsApp, Facebook and other digital platforms that offer momentary distraction but little direction. This cycle of idle hope and digital escape must be confronted with urgency, strategy and unity.

Here, we urge government institutions to further lead by aggressively expanding youth-focused enterprise programmes that go beyond speeches and extend into practical, well-funded interventions. It is no longer enough to launch temporary campaigns or pilot projects.

A national commitment is required to usher behaviour change and that is one that delivers accessible financing, technical training, mentorship pipelines and regional innovation hubs that meet young people where they live. Financial institutions, for their part, must rethink their relationship with young entrepreneurs.

High interest rates, rigid collateral requirements and time-consuming bureaucracies continue to lock out the very demographic whose creativity could strengthen national economic growth.

Here, banks should develop youth-specific credit windows featuring manageable rates, flexible repayment schedules and risk-sharing guarantees supported by government. Microfinance institutions should widen their coverage, provide financial literacy and reward entrepreneurial discipline with favourable loan conditions.

Stakeholders across the private sector, civil society and academia must also collaborate to build ecosystems that nurture youth enterprise. Companies can offer apprenticeships, supply-chain access and seed-stage competitions.

NGOs can deliver entrepreneurship clinics, digital-skills boot camps and community-based incubation. Universities can integrate practical enterprise modules that push students to start income-generating projects before graduation. When the ecosystem speaks with one voice, youth entrepreneurship becomes not merely an option, but a norm.

However, youth themselves must embrace patience, discipline and purposeful use of time. Building a sustainable business is rarely quick or glamorous. It requires resilience, experimentation and the humility to learn from failure.

Excessive consumption of social-media content drains time, weakens focus and erodes the habits necessary for economic progress. Young people must resist the illusion of overnight success and invest their hours in skill building, planning, budgeting and networking. Every minute redirected from aimless scrolling to productive effort increases the chances of success.