{"id":2133,"date":"2025-06-13T09:15:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T07:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/from-learner-to-leader\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T09:15:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T07:15:26","slug":"from-learner-to-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/from-learner-to-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"From Learner to Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>The unbelievable story of a 21-year-old business owner<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As of the first quarter of 2025, South Africa\u2019s youth unemployment rate (ages 15\u201334) has climbed to a staggering 46.1% according to Stats SA, an increase of 9.2 percentage points over the past decade. This makes it one of the highest rates in the world, highlighting the severe challenges young South Africans face in the labour market. But amidst the crisis, stories of hope are rising. One of them belongs to Nothando Senamile Zwane, known affectionately as Bluey.<\/p>\n<p>At 21, most young people are still figuring out their futures. But one Ivory Park-born entrepreneur has already done what many spend decades chasing. She owns her own business.<\/p>\n<p>Nothando joined The Unlimited, an authorised financial services provider, straight after high school. She had no formal qualifications. No business experience. Just a deep hunger to do more with her life. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand much at first. I was an MC, had gigs on the weekend, and didn\u2019t know how to sell. But I kept showing up. I was eager to learn, had a big dream, and refused to quit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>At just 20 years old, Nothando became the youngest female Franchise Owner in The Unlimited\u2019s history. She now leads her team and trains ordinary South Africans how to sell insurance and run their own businesses. She has upgraded from a one-room rental to an apartment, helped her mom build a home in KwaZulu-Natal and got her Code 10 driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n<p>She says what helped her stay the course was The Unlimited\u2019s simple, proven System that empowers ordinary South Africans to shift their lives and make their dream possible by owning their own business. \u201cThe biggest lesson for me was that you don\u2019t train from the head, you train from the heart,\u201d she explains. \u201cI learnt that people don\u2019t care how much you know until they know how much you care. So, I spent hours investing in those around me, and it paid off!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nothando\u2019s story is extraordinary. But it shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe truth is that young people in South Africa face huge barriers when it comes to work. In fact, Stats SA reports that nearly 1.9 million young people have simply stopped looking for work. As corporate South Africa, we have a responsibility to step up. Business must do better. One of the ways we believe that we can do that is by creating real opportunities. Opportunities that are not dependent on background, race, age, or where you come from. And we aim to do that by offering young South Africans the tools to build and grow sustainable businesses so that they can unlimit their life,\u201d says Thobeka Sibiyya, Head of Brand Strategy &amp; Growth.<\/p>\n<p>Nothando\u2019s journey highlights a bigger picture. As Youth Day prompts reflection on the future of our country, Nothando\u2019s success is a reminder that potential is everywhere. It just needs a place to grow.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Author<\/strong>: SayWatt SayWatt from <strong>SayWatt<\/strong><strong> on behalf of <\/strong><strong>The Unlimited<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>MyPR<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The unbelievable story of a 21-year-old business owner As of the first quarter of 2025, South Africa\u2019s youth unemployment rate (ages 15\u201334) has climbed to a staggering 46.1% according to Stats SA, an increase of 9.2 percentage points over the past decade. This makes it one of the highest rates in the world, highlighting the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic","date":"2025-06-13T08:52:35+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lri2phkiks2a","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lri2phkiks2a\",\"cid\":\"bafyreihlaziwxenjvt3wwoo5mowngdcldpw6f2auxv7b7iqa2vhiedetwe\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreighzozs6p2dy5obckm47ctwedemn6uuwsx4nmsuvkew6vya7ebhy4\",\"rev\":\"3lri2phkvb22a\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"republication-tracker-tool-hide-widget":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["type-post","category-news","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}