South Africa SME Observatory: The state of youth entrepreneurship in the Free State

South Africa, along with the rest of the world, is facing a youth employment crisis of unprecedented proportions. Close to one third, 3.3 million, of young men and women aged 15–24 is neither employed nor in the education or training system. School leavers in South Africa enter a labour market where formal employment opportunities are scarce and the promotion of entrepreneurship among young people is an important strategy for reducing youth unemployment.

This report shows the current state of youth entrepreneurship in the Free State province with regards to young people's attitudes and perceptions about entrepreneurship, the constraints they face and the actual number of young men and women who are actively engaged as entrepreneurs running their own businesses. The findings confirm national statistics in terms of the high youth unemployment rate with less than half of the young people interviewed ever having been employed and with only six per cent being owners of a business.