Minister Creecy announces recipients of the Driving for Change II Youth Challenge

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will announce 16 young green entrepreneurs in the Driving Force for Change (DFC) II Youth Challenge, during the award ceremony at Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg on 2 August 2022.

The DFC II Youth Challenge builds on the 2020 DFC Youth Initiative to create opportunities for young green entrepreneurs/Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to access the much-needed business acumen support (develop early-stage entrepreneurship skills and competencies) and further develop/refine their businesses plans, respectively.

Minister Creecy launched Driving Force for Change II Youth Challenge in August 2021 in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), through the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) Programme, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUZ) and in collaboration with the Departments of Employment and Labour (DEL) and of Small Business Development (DSBD) and with support from the National Business Initiative (NBI).

Support provided through the DFC II Youth Challenge will assist South Africa’s young green entrepreneurs/SMMEs to advance green business enterprise development and invariably, an inclusive green economy agenda and create decent job opportunities. Youth entrepreneurs/SMMEs were invited to submit proposals within the following thematic areas:

Climate Change Mitigation:

• Best Greening of Manufacturing Sector SMME (resource efficiency: water, energy)

• Best Circular Economy – symbiosis/integrated waste management – recycling SMME.

Climate Change Adaptation:

• Most Innovative Ecosystem Service SMME

• Most Innovative Agriculture or Agro-processing SMME.

Cross–cutting:

• Eco-Tourism – SMME.

Source: Government of South Africa