Creating Rural Industrial Entrepreneurs Through Technical Skills and Entrepreneurship Development: The Bushbuckridge Aluminium Enterprise Initiative
Submitted by
Tshwane University of Technology
Summary of the Impact:
South Africa faces high youth unemployment, especially in rural areas. Many young people are NEET, experiencing long-term economic exclusion and limited access to industry. In Bushbuckridge, ongoing unemployment, isolation, and lack of industrial opportunities have worsened youth participation in the formal economy. In response, the Tshwane University of Technology’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (TUT CED), in collaboration with Wispeco Aluminium and Ehlanzeni TVET College, established the SpaZAL Enterprise Development Programme. The initiative aims to cultivate a new generation of rural industrial entrepreneurs equipped to engage in South Africa’s aluminium fabrication and installation value chain.