HERMAN BEZUIDENHOUT: Empowering the youth: a catalyst for profound global growth

In South Africa’s journey toward progress and prosperity, we’ve inherited a blueprint that is, frankly, broken.

For decades, the trajectory of our youth has been determined not by talent or ambition but by unequal access to opportunity. Historically, a small segment of our population — those with access to quality education, financial stability, and networks — have had the privilege of upward mobility.

On the other side, lie the vast majority — young people caught in a cycle of under-resourced education systems, lack of exposure, limited mentorship and, most critically, a lack of belief in their own potential to thrive on a global stage.

And even within both ends of this spectrum, privileged or not, we face a deeper, more insidious challenge — a lack of motivation, vision, and a practical route for the youth to move from survival to significance. As a result, South Africa continues to punch below its weight in a world that is increasingly borderless and driven by digital, global, and entrepreneurial thinking.

This status quo is not sustainable. It’s no longer enough to tweak the old systems or put a new coat of paint on a dilapidated structure. If South Africa is to experience profound and lasting growth, socially, economically, and intellectually, we must rewrite the blueprint. And it starts with our youth.

It begins with skills and mindset

It is a simple truth: no country can grow beyond the capacity of its people. For South Africa to grow substantially, we must empower our young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to grow globally.

We must stop limiting their ambition to local job markets or outdated career paths. In the age of AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, borders have become less important than broadband, and your background matters less than your bandwidth. A 22-year-old from Butterworth or Tembisa, with the right training, mindset, and internet connection, can create a business, serve global clients, or even work for companies in Berlin, Tokyo, or Silicon Valley — without ever leaving home.

The global playing field has been levelled. Now we must level the access to participation.

Formal education alone cannot carry this burden. Our government-led educational blueprint, while essential, is overloaded, under-resourced, and simply out of touch with the pace of global change. Waiting for large-scale systemic reform is no longer a viable option.

It’s time for the private sector — corporates, SMEs, professionals, and entrepreneurs — to take proactive ownership in empowering the youth. We must step in outside the traditional education systems and create parallel pathways to global readiness.

That means practical empowerment programmes, mentorship initiatives, online skills development, work exposure, digital fluency, entrepreneurial guidance, and access to global marketplaces. Most importantly, we need to instill belief — an unshakable confidence in young people that they belong on the global stage.

This is not about teaching them what to think. It’s about equipping them with the tools to think critically, creatively, and globally.

From unemployment to global participation

What if we reframed youth unemployment not just as a lack of jobs, but as a lack of access, exposure, and belief?

Instead of focusing only on getting young people into traditional jobs, we must also focus on helping them create jobs — for themselves and others. Entrepreneurship, freelancing, tech-enabled services, and remote work are all viable pathways. But without the skills, the mindset, and the support, these remain out of reach for most.

Imagine if every business committed to sponsoring just one young person per year through a global skills development programme. Imagine if mentorship became a norm, not a luxury. Imagine if access to online courses, financial literacy, AI tools, and digital work platforms became a shared national mission.

The cumulative effect would be seismic.

Empowerment is not a handout. It’s a mindset shift. It’s the act of telling young people: “You matter. You can. And we’re backing you.”

The next great South African innovation, export or unicorn company is likely sitting in a township classroom, or perhaps not in any classroom at all — just waiting to be sparked. We don’t need more policies. We need more belief in possibility, backed by practical action.

If we get this right, youth empowerment won’t just benefit individuals. It will become the catalyst for profound national — and global — growth.

• Bezuidenhout is the founder of financial services provider BeztForex.co.za and the global trade AI platform Zynched.com