SIYABULELA MAKUNGA | Young entrepreneurs need to shape SA’s green economy

In his inaugural speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to heed the people’s call for an inclusive and transformative economic growth.

He admitted that the people of SA “want a transformed, growing and inclusive economy that creates jobs for millions of job seekers and offers business opportunities to all entrepreneurs in our nation – women and men, young and old”.

His undertaking finds expression in the Competition Commission’s resolute stance on the power of youth-led businesses to drive transformative change in the economy.

Our participation in the last two editions of the Green Youth Indaba in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is in keeping with our belief that young entrepreneurs have a pivotal role to play in shaping the future of SA’s green economy.

Last week, I highlighted why it is important for government entities to create platforms to engage youth directly on the work that we do.

The Green Youth Indaba is but one of the platforms that the commission wholeheartedly embraces as it proves the opportunity to educate youth about the legislative provisions that can help youth-led businesses or small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to not only enter into markets but also grow sustainably.

Hosted by the Green Youth Network, the high-impact Indaba examines the role of government, the private sector and young people themselves in the skilling and development of the youth to increase economic growth through the green economy.

The Indaba creates an opportunity to exchange knowledge, share experiences and strategies for addressing pressing environmental challenges, promote entrepreneurship in green business technology, help boost competitiveness and contribute to economic growth.

This year it was encouraging to see the large number of government organisations that participated in panel discussions and visits to among others, the Dube TradePort.

One of the key highlights was the vibrant and consistent engagement and discussions with the over 1,000 young people in attendance, many of whom own small and medium-sized entities.

The wastepreneurs masterclass was another highlight during which our team shared information about the Competition Act, explaining how to lodge complaints and unpacking what bid rigging is.

Every year at the Indaba, the commission team aims to create general awareness of the Competition Act and highlights our efforts towards promoting sustainable growth for SMEs.

Our advocacy activities saw our teams directly engaging with each young entrepreneur answering regulatory questions, explaining guidelines that might be relevant to the industry they are active in, discussing what anti-competitive conduct is and the type of training or workshops the commission renders, especially those that might be of benefit to entrepreneurs.

SMEs often find themselves in a situation where they are desperate and unwittingly contravene the Competition Act, but the Indaba occasion is an ideal platform where our teams can ensure youth entrepreneurs have foundational knowledge that could help them effectively mitigate this risk.

One cannot put a price on this type of engagement with youth and our team always draw from such interactions the most inspirational stories of the youth entrepreneurs making their mark on the green economy.

In addition to various advocacy activities, our teams also participate in thematic panel discussions.

In the 2023 Indaba, our team led a discussion on the legislation and compliance measures for green enterprises, unpacking the risks and penalties of non-compliance.

We highlighted the buyer power provisions which prohibit a dominant buyer in a designated sector to impose unfair prices or trading conditions on SMEs and firms owned and controlled by historically disadvantaged persons.

This year, our message was clear to the youth-owned businesses: Consider collaborations with other SMEs, within the prescript of the law, to increase capacity and make a greater impact on the economy. The Indaba also presented an opportunity for the commission to unpack its regulatory work that seeks to foster a business environment in which SMEs can participate, enter, collaborate and grow.

We highlighted the block exemptions as a competition policy tool which allows greater flexibility for collaboration between competitors. By applying for block exemption, for example, energy suppliers could collaborate to assist with addressing the country’s energy challenges.

Without platforms such as the Indaba, entrepreneurs, SMEs and our stakeholders alike, miss out on an opportunity to engage the commission on how best to interpret the provisions or exemptions applicable in terms of the Competition Act.

Equally, the commission gets to hear, first-hand competition concerns and challenges faced by entrepreneurs and SMEs in the green economy.

We strongly believe that the green economy has the potential to unlock greater employment and economic opportunities and the commission is pleased to play a role in helping to facilitate an inclusive economy in which youth-led businesses and SMEs can grow sustainably.

Makunga is a spokesperson for the Competition Commission of SA