Cabinet has approved the publication of the draft National Entrepreneurship Strategy (NES) and Implementation Plan for public comment.
The Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced this on Thursday, during a media briefing in Pretoria on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held the previous day.
According to the Minister, the strategy aims to enhance the involvement of young people and historically disadvantaged businesses in the economy by promoting entrepreneurship and ensuring the sustainability of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“Furthermore, the NES makes proposals on how to promote the culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa by providing an enabling environment for entrepreneurial activity, as well as creating a supportive environment for MSMEs to be sustainable and thrive.”
This will be achieved by focusing on five key pillars of the strategy.
These include enhancing entrepreneurship education and skills development; facilitating technology exchange and innovation; improving access to finance and markets; optimising the business regulatory environment; and promoting awareness and networking.
“Overall, the strategy aims to increase formal economic participation, address high youth unemployment by promoting youth entrepreneurship and provide a strategic direction and roadmap that integrates the work of other key departments and strategic partners.
“In addition, the strategy aims to coordinate the ecosystem for entrepreneurship development in the country, including recommendations for entrepreneurship to be incorporated into the curricula of the departments of Basic and Higher Education as a viable career choice,” the Minister explained.
The Minister also announced that Cabinet has approved the draft National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) Bill, 2025, for public comment.
She explained that this draft Bill will repeal the NEDLAC Act of 1994 and proposes to align NEDLAC’s institutional arrangements with the changes in the constitutional legal order that have taken place since 1994.
“The draft Bill also provides for the Minister to make regulations on admission and membership thresholds through a process that includes consultation and public admissions, making the system more transparent.”
NEDLAC is the vehicle by which government, labour, business and community organisations seek to cooperate, through problem-solving and negotiation.