What if the youth of 1976 could witness South Africa today? They would see a vibrant generation of young entrepreneurs tackling unemployment and inequality through innovation and business creation.
Image: File.
What if the youth of 1976 could see South Africa today?
They would see a generation carrying smartphones instead of placards, building businesses instead of barricades, and fighting a different battle, not against apartheid laws, but against unemployment, inequality, and economic exclusion.
As South Africa reflects on the legacy of June 16, perhaps the most important question is not what young people fought against in 1976, but what young people are building in 2026. The youth of Soweto marched for the right to learn. Today's youth are using that right to create, innovate, and lead.
South Africa has a predominantly young population, with over 26 million people between the ages of 15 and 34.
Yet this generation faces a difficult reality. According to Statistics South Africa, youth unemployment for those aged 15 to 34 stands at over 46%, making it one of the highest youth unemployment rates globally.
For many young people, a traditional job remains out of reach.
But something remarkable is happening. Instead of waiting for opportunities, many young South Africans are creating them.
This is visible across townships, cities, and rural communities.
Young entrepreneurs are launching technology startups, fashion brands, logistics companies, digital agencies, agricultural enterprises, and social businesses. They are proving that entrepreneurship is no longer an alternative career path, but a survival strategy and a vehicle for transformation.
Government's recent commitment to youth development demonstrates the scale of this opportunity.
Nearly 3.9 million students benefited from NSFAS funding between 2019 and 2023, while public university enrolment has more than doubled from 495,356 students in 1994 to over 1 million students today.
In addition, more than 4.7 million young people have registered on the National Pathway Management Network, with over 1.6 million earning opportunities already secured. Perhaps most encouraging for aspiring entrepreneurs is an allocation of over R1 billion to the National Youth Development Agency for the 2025/26 financial year to support youth-owned enterprises, skills development, and employment pathways.
These numbers tell a powerful story. The generation that once fought for access now has greater access to education, skills, and opportunities.
The challenge, however, is turning that access into ownership, because ownership is the next frontier of freedom.
A young entrepreneur does more than earn an income; they create jobs, solve community challenges, and show their communities that the future doesn't have to be inherited, but can be built. Every small business is a reminder that the future does not have to be inherited, it can be created.
The theme RESET@50 is a powerful reminder that fifty years after the Soweto Uprising, South Africa must redefine its relationship with young people, not as job seekers, but as job creators; not as participants in the economy, but as future owners and innovators.
The youth of 1976 fought against exclusion, while today’s youth continue that struggle in a new form: breaking barriers to economic participation and meaningful ownership. The battlefield has changed. The determination has not.
As we mark June 16, we honour the courage of those who marched for freedom, but we must also celebrate those who are building it today through entrepreneurship, innovation, and bold ideas. The truest tribute to the generation of 1976 is a generation that doesn’t wait for opportunity, but creates it, turning freedom into enterprise and vision into real, lasting impact.
Tsakani Nkombyane, Programme Officer at 22 On Sloane.
Tsakani Nkombyane, Programme Officer at 22 On Sloane.
Image: Supplied.
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