This article on Entrepreneurship Africa by Davison Mudzingwa

 CAPE TOWN, OCT 11, 2011- “Where is the fun in your business idea?,” entrepreneur coach Bruce Wade quizzes, each time a group of teenagers take to podium presenting their business idea in Cape Town, South Africa. Wade insists that a business should stand out from its competitors.

The young people attending this week-long workshop seem to be grasping the concept. One group takes to the podium with a car wash business idea. The delivery is as funny as the group intends to apply when attracting clients.

 The workshop is part of activities run by Teen Entrepreneur Foundation, an organisation founded by Lydia Zingoni. Her vision is to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship from a young age.

 “If you look at all successful people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs… they started young”

 “It’s a long journey”, she says, and “the sooner we start the better for our own economy.”

 Zingoni argues that if this model plays out across South Africa and Africa at large, jobs will be created and economies will grow. “These teenagers are going to make a difference, they are going to see gaps where other don’t see”

 Teen Entrepreneur was born out of sheer need. Having worked as library director at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, she saw an opportunity following a growing number of young people enquiring on how to start their own businesses.  The idea became even more compelling following her research that revealed 16,5 million young people were without jobs in South Africa.

 “Through entrepreneurship, they won’t be expecting the government to give them jobs, we have turned the tables that ‘you are also responsible for creating and paving your own way,” Zingoni adds.