From The Founder: Redefining Innovation

What happened to us, South Africa?

Looking at the latest technological advances since the start of 2025, it’s clear to me that we’ve entered a whole new world of innovation and discovery. This got me thinking about us; South Africa. Have we given up on the idea of innovation and invention? And what have we invented in the last 5, 10, 20 years? I have so many questions.

Are we getting any value out of our higher education institutions?

Are they even relevant today?

If universities are meant to be places of innovation and new ideas, what happened to ours?

Are we really going to settle for the last position and watch the world pass us by?

The world is moving towards the future, and we are still fighting over obsolete policies. We should be spearheading the world of technology and innovation in Africa! AT THE LEAST!

Or have we just become another backward African country that doesn’t produce anything? Build Nothing?

The increasing demand for new technologies has created a surge in the need for various minerals. Africa has some of the biggest deposits of these minerals, such as lithium, which is essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies.

Will South Africa take advantage of its proximity to this invaluable resource? Or let it all get consumed by China to innovate and invent new products to sell back to good old Africa?

Innovation starts with empowering the youth of our nation, and SAYE is committed to raising awareness about youth unemployment and advocating for policy changes that support young people.

SAYE has a Clear and Focused Strategy:

  1. Increase investment in youth development programs to support education, training, and mentorship initiatives.
  2. Offer internships and apprenticeships to provide young people with practical work experience and skills development opportunities.
  3. Develop entrepreneurship programs for young entrepreneurs through funding and business incubation.
  4. Overhaul educational institutions to address skills mismatches.

To ensure that education and training programs align with labour market needs, the following have to be done urgently:

– Revise curricula to focus on employability.

– Increase partnerships with industry.

– Support students in making informed career choices.

As we continue to lay a solid foundation with our first Project team and develop more empowerment programmes, we call on leadership, business and the general public to join us on this positive journey of sustainable development and to help us actualize and redefine innovation through positive results- Mike Mahlo