Christo Botes Youth unemployment is on the rise in South Africa, and yet at the same time youth entrepreneurship is declining. Christo Botes, executive director at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS) , says that  the recently released  Social Profile of Youth 2009 – 2014 report highlights this trend, and reveals that the number of youth entrepreneurs declined from 609 000 in 2009 to 543 000 in 2014. He says that in order to reverse this trend, South African youth need to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to start and run a micro or small business. “Many youth possess an entrepreneurial mind-set but either simply don’t have the necessary skills or access to resources to take a business idea and turn it into a successful start-up business.” To bridge the gap between entrepreneurial thinking and actually establishing a start-up business, the 2016 SME Toolkit BUSINESS/PARTNERS Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs will once ag...