The document answers frequently asked questions about the Youth and Graduate Entrepreneurship (Y-AGE) program in Gauteng, South Africa. It provides details on eligibility, the application process, duration of training and more. It also profiles Leonard Ndabambi, one of the candidates selected for the first Y-AGE class, who plans to start a business that melts polystyrene using natural materials to protect the environment. The Y-AGE program aims to help young entrepreneurs in South Africa turn their business ideas into realities.

1. 2 NEWS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29 2012 WORKPLACE
N
OW THAT we have intro-
duced the Y-AGE program-
me, we address a few fre-
quently asked questions that we
have come across in our interac-
tions with interested applicants:
1.When is the closing date to ap-
ply for Y-AGE?
There is no closing date. Y-AGE
is a three-year programme and the
recruitment and selection process
is ongoing. Training will take place
in six-week cycles. Interested peo-
ple can thus apply throughout the
programme’s duration.
2. What is the difference be-
tween Y-AGE and the National
Youth Development Agency
(NYDA)?
The Nyda is a national public en-
tity owned and funded by the gov-
ernment. It reports to the govern-
ment through The Presidency.
The NYDA’s primary target
group is young people aged between
14 and 35. To qualify for Nyda fund-
ing, a company needs to have been
in existence for at least two years.
Y-AGE is a public-private part-
nership that is being implemented
in Gauteng.
It will benefit young people and
women aged between 18 and 35 and
graduates up to the age of 40, who
have an interest in entrepreneur-
ship and building their own busi-
ness ventures.
The Y-AGE selection categories
are:
● Existing businesses that have
a need for working capital and busi-
ness growth with amounts from
R100 000 to R1 million
● Business ideas that have not
yet been implemented.
● Innovations/inventions with
potential business viability.
● Failed businesses that have
the potential to be revived.
3. Do people who stay outside
Gauteng qualify to be part of
Y-AGE?
Y-AGE is being implemented in
Gauteng through partnership with
the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
(GEP) and the Gauteng Department
of Economic Development. How-
ever, plans are under way to imple-
ment Y-AGE nationally through
municipalities, provincial govern-
ments and the private sector.
Y-AGE will announce when ap-
plications will be open to youth in
other provinces.
4. Do non-South Africans qualify
for Y-AGE?
No, Y-AGE is only for SA
citizens.
5. Does Y-AGE cater for all race
groups?
Y-AGE is for all South Africans
between the ages of 18 to 35 who
have matriculated and for gradu-
ates up to the age of 40.
6. Is there a fee involved?
There is no fee required to apply.
Once selected, candidates will have
to pay a non-refundable commit-
ment fee of R500.
7. What is the duration of the
programme/classes?
Various training interventions
have been designed for different
groups of youth.
Unemployed youth will undergo
a full-time, new-venture creation
course for six weeks, followed by
mentorship and a further year of
training. Working youth will at-
tend business workshops.
Tailor-made turnaround work-
shops will be designed for youth in
business, while youth in training
institutions will undertake Y-AGE
schools outreach and Y-AGE on-
campus activities.
8. Will working candidates have
to resign to be part of Y-AGE?
No. The training will cater for
working people and will, as far as
possible, accommodate their work-
ing schedules.
9. Are Y-AGE classes available
through correspondence?
Y-AGE training is not available
through correspondence. Candi-
dates must attend all sessions.
This provides the interaction
needed for the practical training in-
terventions.
This is why Y-AGE trainees are
required to commit to the
programme.
10. If people own a company in
partnership, can they apply for
Y-AGE as a group?
Application for Y-AGE is only on
an individual basis, even if appli-
cants own a company in partner-
ship. Therefore, each member
within the partnership must apply
and will be considered as an
individual.
11. How will applicants know
that they have been successful?
All applicants who have been
recommended for the first class of
Y-AGE have been notified via e-mail
and SMS. The names of recom-
mended applicants are also avail-
able on the Y-AGE website.
Payment of the commitment
and submission of the requested
verification documents will secure
a place in the programme for suc-
cessful candidates.
12. How do I apply for Y-AGE?
Apply online by visiting
www.yage.co.za Alternatively, call
010 590 0260 or SMS Y-AGE to 34747.
LEONARD Ndabambi is one of the lucky
few who will be joining the first class of
the Youth and Graduate
Entrepreneurship (Y-AGE) programme.
Leonard, who works in customer
services, applied for the programme to
fulfil his dream of starting his own
business.
He first heard about Y-AGE through
Facebook. Soon afterwards, by
coincidence, he was invited to attend a
seminar at which motivational speaker
Myles Munroe gave a speech titled
Economic freedom in our lifetime. The
seminar was organised by Oresego
Holdings, the communications partner
for Y-AGE, which is where Leonard first
made contact with Y-AGE.
He was so motivated by Munroe’s
talk – as well as one from Qedani
Mahlangu, Gauteng MEC for Economic
Development – that he decided to take
the first step towards pursuing his
entrepreneurial aspirations and fulfilling
his dream.
He says the word “excited” does not
begin to describe his feelings about
becoming part of Y-AGE, because it is
the opportunity of a lifetime.
His business idea is to start a
company that will melt polystyrene in a
non-polluting way using only natural
materials.
Leonard says the concept is a big
thing for him because he cares about
protecting the environment.
He is looking forward to acquiring
the skills he needs to run his business
and to adjusting his way of thinking to
fit the type of business he wishes to
pursue.
He adds that he is proud to have
been selected to go through the Y-AGE
training, and is so eager to start that he
is already making plans and trying to
build up contacts in his chosen sector.
For now, he says, his main challenges
are documenting his idea and drafting a
business plan, and presenting the plan
to the relevant market.
Like many other entrepreneurs, he
wishes to create employment for his
fellow South Africans, but perhaps his
biggest motivating factor is that his
business will be working towards saving
the Earth.
Polystyrene takes hundreds of years
to mix with the soil and decompose, so
he will be using natural resources to
melt it in minutes.
“Currently, this polystyrene is thrown
away at dump sites, thus causing harm
to the environment,” he says, “so I
decided to come up with a system to get
rid of all that waste and, of course,
create employment in the process.”
Leonard says his wish is to work hand
in hand with existing businesses towards
saving the Earth.
The aim of Y-AGE is to turn the
dreams of business ownership into a
reality for Leonard and other young
South Africans like him.
A GROWING economy requires
substantial infrastructure to ac-
commodate and support it.
These infrastructure needs cre-
ate opportunities from which entre-
preneurs can benefit and create
jobs.
More than 100 years ago, what is
now the city of Joburg was nothing
but a flat stretch of grassland, with
no houses, no roads and no running
water.
Fast forward more than 100
years, and the city is abuzz,
with various modes of transport –
car, bus, train and taxi, and
aircraft.
There are traffic lights to control
traffic movement and the N1 be-
tween Johannesburg and Pretoria
alone carries more than 30 000 cars
a day.
There are houses and tall build-
ings everywhere, there are taps and
dams and swimming pools.
This is all thanks to infrastruc-
ture development.
In his recent State of the Nation
address, President Jacob Zuma
committed the government to in-
vesting more in infrastructure
development.
The government’s goal is to
grow the economy.
“For the year 2012 and beyond,
we invite the nation to join the gov-
ernment in a massive infrastruc-
ture development drive,” Zuma
said.
“We are going to launch a huge
campaign of building the infra-
structure nationwide.
“This will boost the… economy
and create job opportunities.”
Programmes such as the Youth
and Graduate Entrepreneurship
(Y-AGE) are therefore crucially
needed to build entrepreneurs who
will respond to continual
infrastructure and job creation
requirements.
By stimulating and sustaining
an entrepreneurial culture among
the youth, further and more life-
changing infrastructure develop-
ments may take place during our
lifetime.
Your FAQs on Y-AGE answered
All the ins and outs of how to join Gauteng’s programme that strives to empower local entrepreneurs
Investing in
building SA
lays the
foundation
APPLICATIONS ALWAYS OPEN: there is no closing date for those who want to become involved in the programme.
Turning ideas into business gold
Leonard Ndabambi