The story of youth unemployment in South Africa is often told through percentages, economic forecasts and reports about a shrinking job market. But behind the figures are young people waking up before sunrise, sending out applications that go unanswered, losing financial support and discovering that a qualification does not always guarantee a job.
For 21-year-old student and entrepreneur, Zinhle Sibisi, that reality arrived suddenly.
The final-year interior design student at Inscape Midrand imagined a future in design. She dreamt of eventually owning her own design firm, a vision shaped by a course that exposed her to various creative disciplines, including graphic design, architecture and spatial design.
During her second year, her institution introduced students to various career pathways in the design industry, including product manufacturing. At the time, it was not something she saw herself pursuing.
“It was an area that I wasn't really considering … and it wasn't really a decision until this year, due to life circumstances,” she says.
Those circumstances forced her to rethink her options. Sibisi had not grown up wealthy but her family could afford basic necessities. That changed when her family’s financial situation shifted. She searched for work but struggled to find even entry-level opportunities at clothing stores and supermarkets.
Her savings disappeared. Then her father’s savings ran out. Then her mother’s.
Looking back, Sibisi says she wishes she had prepared differently, instead of assuming the financial stability she depended on would always be there.
Her experience is far removed from the popular image of entrepreneurship as a story of passion, innovation and overnight success.
For Sibisi, Form and Forge, the design business she started a few months ago, was born from necessity.
“I feel like when a business is born from a survival background — like rent is due, jobs are scarce, all of that — I feel like that fear of ‘I need to survive’ helps people give their business that boost they need … Survival is definitely a better fuel than passion,” she says.
The idea for Form and Forge came from a combination of her design training and exposure to technology through her mother’s non-profit organisation, Engage and Empower, which teaches young people in townships about technology.
Through donations, the NPO received equipment, including 3D printers and machinery. Sibisi became involved in a practical programme where young people learnt how to operate and maintain the machines. During a group project where they designed a vase, she realised she could use the same skills to create her own products.
Her long-term goal is to move beyond borrowed equipment and invest in her own tools.
“The goal is to definitely get my own products, my own machinery to create my products,” she says.
Her work combines modern manufacturing with cultural storytelling. One of her designs is a ceramic kitchenware concept featuring the phrase “Amandla’mi” (my power).
The idea came from wanting to create products that celebrate women’s strength while challenging traditional expectations around women’s roles in the home.
“How can I make a woman feel even more empowered in her own kitchen? And so I thought: ‘Why not make a line for kitchenware as well … to bring that vernacular on a brand but still minimalist and simple on the product or item.’”
She hopes to expand the collection into full dinner sets and aprons, incorporating the phrase across different South African languages including SeSotho, SePedi, isiXhosa and TshiVenda. But turning a creative idea into a recognised brand has not been easy.
When she displayed her first white 3D-printed vase at an event, people saw it as a decorative object rather than a serious product. For Sibisi the moment reflected one of the biggest challenges facing young entrepreneurs: being taken seriously without the resources established businesses have.
Without start-up capital, she has struggled to build a website, create a proper ordering system and manufacture finished products at scale.
“Start-up capital can sometimes make you not be taken seriously, all because you're young and you're just trying to start something … they'll be like: ‘She doesn't even have a website. Is she even serious about this?’” she says.
Behind the business is also an exhausting daily routine. Living in eTwatwa, on the outskirts of Gauteng, Sibisi travels to Midrand to attend her classes. Her day starts at 4am. She leaves home at 6am, using multiple taxis to reach campus by 8am.
She relies on public transport so getting home depends on when taxis fill up. Even on days when lectures finish at midday, she might arrive home around 6pm. By then, she has assignments to complete and a business to run.
Limited access to resources adds another challenge. With many people sharing the home wi-fi, Sibisi often waits until late at night before she can work properly, sometimes staying awake until 1am before starting the cycle again the next morning.
The pressure has affected her creativity. “It really affects me to the point where sometimes I'll have maybe a whole week of just brain fog or creators' block.”
She describes Form and Forge as her fifth business idea; the one she hopes will finally succeed. Beyond personal ambition, she sees it as a possible source of stability for her family.
At 21, many young people are thinking about independence and personal milestones. For Sibisi, some dreams have had to be postponed. She laughs about once wanting to own a car by this age, acknowledging that reality has changed her priorities.
Her experiences have also shaped how she views South Africa’s job market, particularly the role of networks and privilege.
“We live in a country where it's easier to get things through connections. It’s strictly: ‘Who do you know?’ ‘Who do your parents know?’ ‘How many connections do you have?’” she says. “For those of us who do not have those types of connections in our society, it is much more difficult.”
She believes many young people are forced into constant hustle because opportunities often depend not only on qualifications but access.
Despite the challenges, Sibisi has changed the way she defines success. It is no longer about material achievements. Instead, she measures success through resilience: maintaining strong academic performance, surviving difficult personal moments and continuing to show up.
“Success for me right now is not defined by the material things that I wanted for myself at this age. For now, it's what I've achieved as an individual … The fact that I've managed to get through a lot and still keep pushing and still show up.”
Form and Forge has become more than a business. It is a creative outlet, a possible income stream and a symbol of what young people are forced to build when traditional pathways fail them.
Her advice to other young creatives is not to attempt the journey alone. Collaboration, community and shared resources matter.
Sibisi also carries a personal reminder that keeps her moving forward: “Never look like your problems. Never, ever, ever, ever look like your problems. Because once you look like your problems, you're going to become your problems and your problems are going to stay.”
Her story reflects a wider reality facing many young South Africans: when employment opportunities become increasingly inaccessible, survival itself can become the starting point for entrepreneurship.