As we have raised in many of our previous stories, youth unemployment is one of the most pressing problems Africa is facing at the moment. One of the solutions is to make it easier for young people to start, run and grow their businesses, hereby building a youth-led economy and fighting the problem from within. Entrepreneur Mandy Shemuvalula (30) from Namibia has taken up the challenge. She decided that her life purpose is to challenge the status quo for the greater good. Southern Africa Ambassador Takunda Mambo spoke to her and her venture, Youthia Inc.

Q. What is Youthia Inc. all about?

A. Youthia is a disruptive parent company that intends to build a youth economy in Africa, driven by a global revolution of youth entrepreneurs called Youthians. With a network of over 2100 Youthians, Youthia is a new youth-led wave sweeping across Africa. It is an unorthodox youth entrepreneurship pioneer that aims to create new markets. The Youthia Economy, as we see it, seeks to re-structure how young people and Youthians, in particular, participate in the market and across the supply chain, from farmers, artisans, inventors, and miners to producers, recyclers, suppliers, retailers and service providers.

Q. What inspired Youthia Inc.?

A. It started during a five-day trip to India in 2014 as part of my internship at the World Headquarters of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia (US). During the trip, I experienced a paradigm shift when observing how Coca-Cola was building its business whilst developing local communities. I knew this was how I needed to approach doing business. Not long after my trip to India, I went to Kenya for three months to do another internship with Microsoft. Whilst in Nairobi, I engaged with the local SME and startup community and observed the many stellar innovations coming out from the young people over there. I knew there was an opportunity to work with youth.

Q. Are there any particular reasons why you decided to go the entrepreneurial route?

A. I don’t think I ever consciously chose entrepreneurship; it was something that I knew intuitively I had to do. I grew up with an industrious mother who built a nation-wide furniture business from the ground up. I think I was being shown and trained on entrepreneurship!

Q. What has been your greatest accomplishment since you started Youthia Inc.?

A. I am most proud of the incredible Pan-African committed team we have built so far. I still get tears in my eyes when I hear the team members and youth entrepreneurs across Africa calling themselves Youthians!.

Q. What are the major challenges your company had to face?

A. Initially, it was incredibly hard to find the right talent who understood our mission and were able to commit to it for the long haul. However, slowly the right people began to be directed to me.

Another big hurdle was acquiring start-up capital. We are trying to do things that have not been done before so convincing funders and investors that this could work has been challenging. But over time we were able to win them over.

Lastly, our biggest challenge to date is trying to educate the public that youth economic development can no longer be an NGO, charity or philanthropic organization’s work. It should be a conscious, for-profit business industry and we need to lead the way. It has to be an actual youth economy contributing billions of dollars to African nations. We want it to be as cool as the Apples, Googles, and Facebooks of this world.

Q. What advice would you like to give potential entrepreneurs who are seeking to get in your industry?

A. If you are looking to get into arguably the most powerful industry on the African continent, come with a backbone. It is going to stretch you in ways you never thought was possible. I am looking forward to working with you and building a world-class youth demographic in Africa.

Q. Lastly, where do you see your company in the next 5 years?

A. I would like to see Youthia become a household name that is upholding the aspirations of African youth. I would like Youthia to be a beacon of hope and be a true testament that absolutely nothing is impossible. 

If you liked this story, you will also like:

• Tacking youth unemployment in Africa with entrepreneurship - Daniel Muraga (Kenya)
• Meet five women who are making West Africa better through tech - Michael Alimo (Ghana)
• Entrepreneurship Corner: Helping students excel, one great university paper at a time - Takunda Mambo (South Africa)
• Delivery Science, one of Nigeria's top tech disrupters - Daniel Muraga (Kenya)