Resilience Amidst Crisis: South Africa's youth turn to hustles to survive and Thrive
Trapped by unemployment, South African youth are turning hustle into surviva
Image: File
In the face of South Africa's escalating youth unemployment crisis, a new generation of graduates is redefining what it means to survive and thrive in a broken system.
Tired of waiting for jobs that may never come, young South Africans are creating their own opportunities in the informal economy through side hustles, freelancing, and micro-enterprises.
For 25-year-old Asive Sibeko, the journey from IT graduate to food hustler was not part of the plan, but it was necessary.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad loading
'I wouldn't say it's something I've always wanted to do; it's just something I did to survive in the long run,' said Sibeko, who holds both a diploma and an advanced diploma in ICT.
After her internship ended in late 2024, job applications yielded no success, pushing him to start a small food business in June 2024.
'I cook beef tripe and steamed bread; the response I've been getting from students has been quite positive.'
Sibeko's story is far from unique. In communities across the country, qualified graduates are turning to hustle economies not by choice, but by circumstance.
Asive Sibeko, a university graduate, runs a food hustle at res after struggling to find a job.
Image: Wendy Dondolo
'The system wasn't built for the informal hustler'
That's according to Masindi Evans, the founder of Mas-Skincare Solution and Masindi Shoe Laundry, who has used social media platforms to reach clients and grow his brand.
'Truth: We're producing graduates with no income, while informal traders make money with no degree,' Evans wrote in a Facebook post.
'The system is rich, the people are poor, the system wasn't built for the informal hustler, you have to bend it or go around it.'
He encourages youth to build community networks, teach each other, and use platforms like TikTok and WhatsApp to bypass gatekeeping and find customers directly.
Sisanda Madywathi, a young woman who recently started a home-based hair business, echoed similar frustrations.
'I saw that if I don't sell anything, I'll never get money. I feel time is running out for me and my family is looking up to me,' she said, highlighting the emotional burden many young people carry.
A growing number of graduates feel betrayed by the promise of education. While degrees open doors for some, many find that job specifications demand experience they simply don't have.
'I feel like the education system did not prepare me for the real job market,' said Sibeko.
'Most companies do require a lot of experience from fresh graduates which is very unfair, that is like the biggest reason why many graduates can't find work.'
This 'experience trap' is compounded by a saturated job market.
Justin Durandt, Managing Director at Key Recruitment, says his company phased out its graduate division years ago.
'The graduate market has become increasingly saturated, and employers' expectations have shifted, prioritising prior experience or job readiness, even for entry-level roles,' he said.
Sisand Madywathi started a hair business after struggling to find a job.
Image: Wendy Dondolo
For many, the hustle is not just about survival, it's also about maintaining a sense of dignity and mental stability. Clinical psychologist Dr Reitumetse Mashego urges young people to find healthier coping mechanisms in the face of unemployment.
'Finding healthier coping strategies such as exercise and seeking mental health intervention (there are free services), Getting involved in some community initiatives or volunteering to showcase what they can do,' she said.
Dr Mashego also advises families to offer more than just sympathy.
'Continually reassure them that they did the best that they could and support them in looking at other skills they can develop that can generate an income.'
What emerges through these stories is a common thread: resilience. Young people are no longer waiting for the system to rescue them; they are building their own.
Whether it's selling skincare, food, hair services or second-hand clothes, South Africa's youth are writing their own economic scripts. And while the system may be broken, they are proving daily that hustle is a language they speak fluently.
As Masindi Evans put it; 'Yes, the system is unfair. But that's why we create our own systems.'
IOL News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
‘We want this resolved properly' — TymeBank CEO decries Home Affairs' ID verification fee hike
TymeBank CEO Karl Westvig has come out swinging in response to the Department of Home Affairs' identity verification fee increase When TymeBank CEO Karl Westvig says, 'I ultimately got to pay the bill in South Africa for it,' he's not just talking about rands and cents. He's talking about what he sees as a missed opportunity to build a world-class, fair and inclusive digital identity system that doesn't sabotage the very banks trying to serve the country's unbanked masses, just like the one TymeBank is building in the Philippines. Westvig, who oversees TymeBank's South African operations, has come out swinging in response to the Department of Home Affairs' (DHA) identity verification fee increase, which has sparked boardroom grumbling and public confusion. From 1 July, the DHA will charge R10 per real-time identity verification, up from a nominal 15 cents. In a late Friday evening conversation with Daily Maverick, Westvig unpacked why TymeBank, known for its *sigh* 'phygital' (physical + digital) model, feels blindsided and why he thinks the process failed the very people it claims to protect. Ghost letters and digital dead ends Unlike Capitec, which publicly backed the DHA's upgrade ambitions and promised to absorb the costs for now, TymeBank insists it never got a fair shot at the conversation. 'We were explicitly told to go through Sabric [South African Banking Risk Information Centre], not directly with DHA. It was a clear instruction,' said Westvig. Then came the phantom communication: an email, apparently sent to all bank CEOs in South Africa, which never reached him. 'We've checked our email servers. We've got no record. It didn't go to spam. It didn't go anywhere,' he said. This is why Tyme Group CEO Coenraad Jonker went on media platforms last week to say the bank was caught on the back foot while the new pricing snuck in through the front door. And while the DHA might see a universal fee structure as a necessary cost of securing South Africa's ID ecosystem, Westvig sees it as a blanket approach that ignores the nuances of a digital-first bank serving people on tight margins. Broken systems and surprise invoices The problem isn't just the price, it's the system behind it. TymeBank depends heavily on real-time online verifications to onboard customers in under five minutes, printing cards on the spot in retail kiosks. It's a model designed to bring people in from the 'margins' (think: social grant recipients who can't afford the steady wealth leak of bank fees), not push them out with costs they can't carry. 'The [DHA] system is down half the time,' said Westvig, pointing to the irony of people paying more for a service that regularly leaves them hanging. TymeBank's internal calculations show that if they had to pay R10 per internal database lookup, as they now face with the DHA, they'd 'be bankrupt a hundred times over' within a month. Even more frustrating to Westvig is the lack of clarity about how DHA arrived at its pricing. 'We don't understand if it's just for the online verification service or whether this is to fund something else. We don't know,' he said. 'We do not believe it's fair.' The offer they wouldn't take TymeBank offered to help build a new ID verification system for the DHA. 'We said, 'Let us help you. We'll build it for you,'' recounted Westvig. It's not a hollow boast. TymeBank has built a similar system from scratch in the Philippines, and Westvig says they're now costing it out to show the government just how lean a digital ID verification service can be if designed right. 'It's not a competitive structure,' he responded when asked whether they would sell it to the government and allow other banks to use such a system. 'We'd happily support a system available to all banks on the same basis, and it could run completely independently on cloud infrastructure like AWS [Amazon Web Services].' Fighting for the R370 grant recipient Westvig's frustrations aren't purely technical or corporate. They cut to the heart of TymeBank's mission: to bank the unbanked profitably, from day one. A grant recipient receiving R370, he argues, should be able to access 'free banking' (read: zero monthly fees), free payments and withdrawals that don't chip away at already strained budgets. 'We want that money in their pocket, not eaten by fees,' he said. Unlike some banks that reward big balances with higher interest, TymeBank pays one rate for everyone. It's a small but potent gesture in a country where financial inequality still tracks along apartheid-era lines. Capitec's marketing flex Meanwhile, Capitec has adopted a different strategy: take the hit on fees, call it a marketing expense, and move on. With its massive scale and traditional footprint, Capitec can afford to play the long game. TymeBank, still scaling up its digital-only model, doesn't have that luxury. 'Capitec can just absorb it,' said Westvig, hinting at the unequal playing field between incumbents and disruptors. No hard feelings, just unfinished business Despite the clash, Westvig insists TymeBank supports the DHA's intention to modernise and secure the population register. He praised the progress under Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber, calling him 'a great leader' with a positive track record. But intent, he argued, doesn't pay the bills. And in this case, it could undermine the very goal of financial inclusion South Africa so desperately needs. 'We have no tainted views on the DHA,' said Westvig. 'We just want this resolved properly.' For now, the bill lands on TymeBank's desk. DM
TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Young, online and always connected: SA's 25 to 34-year-olds dominate internet use
SA's 25 to 34-year-old age group leads the country's digital revolution as the world celebrates World Social Media Day. The day, commemorated globally on June 30, was launched by global digital media company Mashable in 2010 to celebrate the profound affect of social media on global communication, community-building and information sharing. According to Statista, SA, which finds itself at the heart of an evolving digital era, is home to 26.7-million active social media users, which equates to 41.5% of the country's total population. 'A closer look into the demographics of social media users in the country reveals that people between the ages of 25 and 34 years made up the highest share of users in SA,' said Statista. This age group, often referred to as digital natives, are not only comfortable navigating online spaces they live in them. From networking on LinkedIn to curating their lives on Instagram, this cohort is setting the tone for how SA communicates and consumes media. By January, 45.34-million South Africans were active internet users. Out of these, nearly 26-million used social media representing about 42.8% of the total population. The broader regional landscape also paints a picture of rising connectivity as a staggering 77.1% of the Southern African population now uses the internet, leaving only about 1.9-million people in the region offline. According to the 2025 Digital April Global Statshot Report by Meltwater, globally the digital transformation continues at a huge scale as out of a population of 8.21-billion about 5.81-billion people use mobile phones with 5.64-billion individuals being internet users and 5.31- billion holding social media identities. South Africans are consuming online media at levels that mirror and sometimes surpass global trends with the average weekly time spent consuming online media globally being 33 hours and 23 minutes. 'The majority of the South African population, specifically 78.7%, used mobile devices to access the internet in 2022. This proportion is expected to exceed 90% by 2027,' said Statista. Meltwater's report revealed that mobile phones have become the gateway to the web for millions and that globally, 97.7% of internet users aged 16 and older use mobile phones to connect, with 97.5% using smartphones. A gender gap in internet usage still exists but is narrowing. In SA 66.5% of the female population uses the internet compared to 70.8% of the male population. 'Globally, online videos top the list of consumed media formats each week, with 91.5% of internet users engaging. Social media follows closely at 88.4%, and short-form videos like TikToks hit 87.5%,' said Meltwater. The digital report also showed that the time spent by global internet users (16+) on an average weekly basis is: 11 hours 34 minutes on online videos 7 hours 8 minutes on social media 9 hours 58 minutes watching TV (online and traditional) 1 hour 56 minutes listening to podcasts Additionally, Meltwater said that the average person consumes social media 4.19 days per week, while platforms like TikTok and Reels are used 4.12 days a week. Long-form videos, online press, and even traditional radio still maintain their footing, but digital is clearly dominant. Why are users going online? The top reasons include: 60.9%: To find information 58.6%: To stay connected with friends and family 54.0%: To watch videos, TV shows or movies 29.7%: To meet new people According to the report, SimilarWeb's December 2024 to February 2025 rankings showed that the top visited website globally, reflecting a strong preference for content, connection and search, was Google, followed by YouTube, , Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). In February, the percentage of page views by browser was 66.3% via Google Chrome, 17.99% on Safari and 5.33% on Microsoft Edge. SA's's digital landscape continues to evolve, the dominance of the 25 to 34-year-old age group highlights a future shaped by tech-savvy, mobile-first and video-driven communication.
eNCA
8 hours ago
- eNCA
Tougher Singapore crypto regulations kick in
SINGAPORE - Singapore ramped up crypto exchange regulations in a bid to curb money laundering and boost market confidence after a series of high-profile scandals rattled the sector. The city-state's central bank last month said digital token service providers (DTSPs) that served only overseas clients must have a licence to continue operations past June 30 -- or close up shop. The Monetary Authority of Singapore in a subsequent statement added that it has "set the bar high for licensing and will generally not issue a licence" for such operations. Singapore, a major Asian financial hub, has taken a hit to its reputation after several high-profile recent cases dented trust in the emerging crypto sector. These included the collapse of cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Terraform Labs, which both filed for bankruptcy in 2022. "The money laundering risks are higher in such business models and if their substantive regulated activity is outside of Singapore, the MAS is unable to effectively supervise such persons," the central bank said, referring to firms serving solely foreign clients. Analysts welcomed the move to tighten controls on crypto exchanges. "With the new DTSP regime, MAS is reinforcing that financial integrity is a red line," Chengyi Ong, head of Asia Pacific policy at crypto data group Chainalysis, told AFP. "The goal is to insulate Singapore from the reputational risk that a crypto business based in Singapore, operating without sufficient oversight, is knowingly or unknowingly involved in illicit activity."
