Equal access to quality education is a prerequisite for innovation and job creation

The relentless, grinding problem of unemployment - and youth unemployment in particular - is understandably a recurring priority in virtually all government, civil society and business engagements. There is universal acceptance that this is the most pressing threat to the country’s long-term stability. But the conversation often jumps from proposed policy interventions straight to the desired outcome: jobs.

What’s often missing is an obvious but critical fact: an efficient state can only absorb so many workers. If we are to create jobs at scale, they must come from private businesses. But pro-business interventions only succeed if there are actual businesses - and entrepreneurs - positioned to take advantage of them. What we should be most obsessed with, then, is building an education system that consistently produces business creators and leaders.

The deficits in South Africa’s education system have been dissected at length. Yes, we need to modernise the curriculum. We must ask hard questions about appropriate pass rates and the role of trade unions in enforcing standards of conduct and performance among educators. But we rarely ask a deeper question: can we teach entrepreneurial spirit, visionary leadership and a bias for action? Our ability to foster these qualities will determine whether we can cultivate the job creators of the future. To see this link, one need look no further than two simple case studies from the beverage industry.

Soft drinks have been popular since the 19th century, but they’ve also been under growing scrutiny for over a century. Diet sodas emerged in the 1950s, and formal links to obesity and dental decay were established by the 1970s. Consumption peaked in the early 2000s and has been declining ever since, creating space for health-focused alternatives. That market shift created an opening - and some entrepreneurs seized it.

Poppi, a US-based prebiotic soda company, was founded in 2018 by a Texas couple. By 2023, it had reached $100 million in annual sales. In March 2025, it was acquired by PepsiCo for $1.95 billion. The business grew from just two people to over 200 employees. This is how job creation begins - with one well-spotted, well-executed idea. If that sounds like a uniquely American success story, South Africa has one too.

One year before Poppi was founded, South Africa welcomed the launch of Pura Soda - a proudly local beverage company founded by a South African. Like Poppi, it responded to consumer health trends, but with a focus on sustainability. Pura is a certified sustainable business, and produces beverages using real ingredients and no artificial additives. Its products are now available not just in South Africa, but across Africa, the Middle East and the US. With Poppi now acquired, Pura is one of the largest remaining privately owned alternative beverage manufacturers - and a significant South African employer.

These companies are not just disrupting the beverage industry - they represent a blueprint for how innovation leads to growth, and growth leads to jobs. But none of it is possible without a generation of energetic, curious young people, equipped with the tools and mindset to turn ideas into viable businesses. The question is: are we producing such innovators through our education system?

The evidence suggests we are not. And few of the innovators we do produce, come from public schools that serve the majority of South African learners. No society can thrive when only a fraction of its population is equipped to innovate. Sadly, many of the best ideas of this generation may never materialise, lost to an education system that fails to unlock their potential. This is the greatest injustice facing today’s youth.

Unfortunately, decades of institutional decline have left the new Minister of Basic Education grappling with basic challenges like school safety, the eradication of pit latrines, early childhood development access, and literacy. These are urgent priorities. But the fact that they remain unresolved 30 years into our democracy makes it harder to imagine a pipeline of globally competitive entrepreneurs emerging from our public education system any time soon.

In the end, business - not government -  is the engine of job creation. And until our schools can consistently produce curious, informed, action-oriented learners across the entire education system, our economy will continue to mirror our education system: underperforming, unequal, and unsustainable.

Nicole Mirkin is CEO at Omnia Strategic Counsel & Communications

BUSINESS REPORT