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Many people in rural areas lack reliable internet services, making internet cafés profitable businesses if placed in the correct location.

This is the view of Sambulo Xulu (25) from KwaMaphumulo, in KwaZulu-Natal, who runs Gayezi Internet Café in this rural community. 

After seeing the gap in the market, Xulu registered his internet café business in October 2019. Shortly after that, Xulu enrolled in a business training programme run by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). 

Self-taught photographer Mlungisi Busakwe (29) runs a successful photography business in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.

In 2015, Busakwe started his company,  Book of Ben, and his work got a significant boost when he received R50 000 in funding from the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). 

“The funding came during the 2020 lockdown. I bought the latest equipment and this ensured better quality of the work and allowed me to charge premium prices for my services,” he says.

Chido Dzinotyiwei’s (25) passion for Africa and its languages encouraged her to develop Vambo Academy, an online platform that makes learning languages fun and interactive.

An innovative entrepreneur is recycling old geysers and turning them into braai stands.

Self-taught welder Matome Maphala (30) from Seshego in Limpopo collects old geysers to make braai stands.

Radio 7441 FM, a community radio station that provides information and entertainment to the community of Malmesbury in the Western Cape, was given a boost after receiving funding for two studios.

The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) provided the radio station with R3.3 million for its new on-air studio and production studios.

Bribery, fraud and corruption stall service delivery, making the rich even richer, and the poor and vulnerable even poorer.