The weightiest of such a policy set has been the National Development Plan (NDP) released in late 2011. The NDP outlines the goals that SA would like to achieve by 2030 and then describes a policy combination that, if correctly followed, will steer the country towards our development goals. What I found most interesting about the NDP was the way it talks about employment and job creation. A central theme is that whilst investing in industries which are employment heavy is an obvious and necessary tactic for the government to pursue, this alone cannot grow our economy to a level of full employment. What it does recommend is a heavy investment into creating the next generation of entrepreneurs. For every successful entrepreneur, a new job has been created rather than an old job filled. With success comes growth and with growth comes new employees. Entrepreneurship is the perfect recipe for small scale job creation. The NDP recommends fostering entrepreneurial spirit and education, investing in entrepreneurial projects and loosening the red-tape that small business owners face. The success of multiple entrepreneurs across SA is a central part of the solution to growing the country’s economy and combating high unemployment and poverty.

If you want to do something philanthropic for your country today, start a business, grow it, employ people and transform their lives in a way that only a steady income can.

-Sue Green

2 October 2014