To Investors,
On this special day in South Africa’s history, I want us to forget about the negative youth-related statistics that the mainstream media likes to peddle, and instead highlight the fact that South Africa’s future is in good hands, with today’s youth.
South Africa’s youth are building in some of the most important industries that are pivotal to economic growth in any country. Here are some examples:
Fintech
Yoco co-founder Katlego Maphai was 27 when he founded Yoco.
Yoco is a fintech company that provides payment solutions for small businesses, enabling them to accept card payments and access financial services through integrated POS systems and card machines. According to a 2023 article by Sithembiso on Medium, Yoco reportedly processed over $2 billion in card payments annually at the time, for more than 200 000 small business clients.
Trevor Gosling was 32 when he co-founded Lulalend (now Lula).
Lula provides fast and easy working capital funding to SMEs, offering loans from R10 000 to R5 million with flexible repayment terms. Lulalend has reportedly disbursed over R2 billion to thousands of small businesses.
Green Energy
Momint co-founder Ahren Posthumus was 24 when he founded Momint.
Momint allows individuals and businesses to own fractional shares of solar energy assets, crowdfunding the cost of providing solar energy for schools and businesses nationwide.
Agri-Tech
Co-founders of Aerobotics, James Paterson and Benji Meltzer were 25 years old when they founded the company in 2014.
Aerobotics is an agtech company that leverages drone imagery and artificial intelligence to provide precision farming insights, particularly for tree and fruit crops, helping farmers optimise yields and manage resources effectively – expanding internationally, reportedly now operating in 18 countries.
Manufacturing
Co-Founder of Lumkani, Francois Petousis was 24 years old when he founded the company. Lumkani is focused on reducing fire risks in informal settlements by providing affordable early-warning fire detection systems that detect rapid temperature rises, suitable for high-risk environments. According to their LinkedIn page, Lumkani has reportedly distributed its devices to over 40 000 homes in informal settlements across South Africa.
Mobility
Co-founder of Lula (the ride-sharing platform), Velani Mboweni was 24 years old when he founded the company. Lula offers shared, convenient, safe, and reliable transport options for daily commutes for organisations, individuals and communities. Lula recently acquired Zeelo's South African subsidiary, which was a significant move for market expansion. The acquisition reportedly included Zeelo's operations, which had over 18 000 riders and facilitated more than 2 million rides annually.
Education
Founder of Milani, Alexandra Lutz, founded her business when she was 15 years old.
“Milani Education is an online platform which shares donated learning resources from the best schools in South Africa with students. These resources are categorised according to the South African curriculum and provides students with a world-class education in the palm of their hand at no cost.”
Mvelo Hlophe, Founder of Zaio, was 20 when he founded his company.
Zaio Institute of Technology is a South African edtech company that offers coding education and training programs, including bootcamps in web development, AI, and cybersecurity, to equip individuals with in-demand tech skills for job placement. Between January and May of 2025, Zaio reportedly successfully placed 131 students in jobs across nine South African provinces.
Those were just a few of the incredible youth-led startups that I’ve come across. As a capital allocator, if you want your mind blown, do more research to see the vibrant startup scene, and youth-led startup scene in South Africa. Thank me later.
It's also important to make a note of the support structures out there that allow young people to take on important projects. South Africa has a growing list of startup studios and incubation programs such as Innovate Durban, Launch Lab, FSAT, The Innovation Hub, Seed Engine, Black Umbrellas, and Startupbootcamp AfriTech to name a few. There’s also innovation and startup support within universities in South Africa.
On top of those, there are also a number of private sector led, and government sector led support platforms for young people.
Youth Employment Service (YES): YES is a private sector-led program in South Africa focused on reducing youth unemployment by offering 12-month work experiences. YES partners with businesses to create job opportunities, while helping young people gain those relevant skills needed to enter the job market. Any business you can sign up to be a part of this program to provide work opportunities. According to the program’s website, 186 000 12-month jobs have been created, in partnership with 1 800 corporate funders.
Altvest Capital’s Credit Opportunities Fund: Altvest Capital’s Credit Opportunities Fund (ACOF) provides funding solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa, including working capital and asset-backed funding.
NYDA Grant Programme: The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is a government agency aimed at youth development, offering programs like skills training, entrepreneurship support, and job creation. According to the program’s site, between 2023 and 2024, 2 200 youth and youth owned enterprises have received financial assistance, and 7300 jobs were created and sustained through supporting businesses and entrepreneurs.
My Dough: My Dough is a platform that helps young entrepreneurs grow their businesses by providing digital tools like invoicing systems and learning materials.
The MTN Foundation: The corporate social investment arm of MTN South Africa, focuses on youth empowerment through various programs, including entrepreneurship initiatives. One key program is the "Digital Skills for Digital Jobs" program, launched to address youth unemployment by equipping unemployed youth with digital qualifications and entrepreneurial skills. This initiative combines training in coding, robotics, AI, and essential IT skills.
Again I’ve listed just a few examples. There are many other similar initiatives out there and we shouldn’t stop creating and strengthening these.
That said, South Africa’s youth are also proactive – organising themselves through youth-led investment clubs and co-operatives, creating powerful vehicles for collective capital formation and financial literacy.
I went to university with a couple of guys who started Youth in Property Association (YIPA) in their early twenties. YIPA is working to include more of the South African youth in the property industry by creating opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and education.
The SAPIN Youth Programme offers a 12-month internship program with the aim of helping 1 000 young people enter the property industry by addressing unemployment through practical experience and partnerships.
The Lunar Capital Youth League, an initiative by Lunar Capital, focuses on educating young investors, covering investment themes, frameworks, and stock analysis through educational courses.
South African Youth Business Chamber (SAYBC) is working to support and empower young entrepreneurs across various sectors, enabling them to build successful businesses that contribute to Africa’s economic growth.
There’s a lot of positive momentum to support South Africa’s youth, and I’m also enthused about the fact that South Africa has a lot of depth in young, energetic, and entrepreneurial risk-taking talent that will continue to build to make South Africa great. Remember that the news cycles grab your attention by instilling fear and doubt and feeding off of that to keep you hooked on that noise. The reality is that young people are doing a lot of work to support themselves and build for South Africa, with help from established businesses and institutions. You just have to do your own digging to find that out, but I hope that this letter has highlighted some of that positivity.
On my journey to becoming a master capital allocator, one lesson down, a billion more to go.
I hope you all enjoy Youth Day
-Mansa
Disclaimer: dates and age mentioned were collected from online sources and may contain discrepancies
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