The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) on Thursday commended the Department of Economic Development for allocating R3-billion over the next five years, as part of the Youth Employment Accord.

The accord was signed by the South African government and its social partners in April and is aimed at creating five-million new jobs by 2020.

The funds would be made available through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) and would be geared towards facilitating the development of young entrepreneurs in South Africa.

"We are aware that youth development involves more than just loan finance and we, therefore, hope to work together with the IDC and Sefa to complement their loan finance support with business development support and mentorship services. It may even provide the NYDA with the necessary space to concentrate on other aspects of youth development, as not every young person wants to be an entrepreneur,” NYDA CEO Yershen Pillay said.

He added that the NYDA could improve the chances of success for any young entrepreneur who received a loan from either the IDC or Sefa by offering business development support and mentorship services.

"We are pleased that numerous youth formations, including those of opposition parties such as the DA, have signed the Youth Employment Accord, thus affirming their commitment to its implementation," Pillay noted.