Building Sustainable Futures: Fix Forward Youth Programme Scales Nationally with TVET Sector

At Impact Hub Cape Winelands, we believe that impact innovation must be locally rooted and globally connected. As a convener of inclusive innovation ecosystems in the Cape Winelands and beyond, we’re proud to be an implementing partner in the 2025 Fix Forward Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, a Nedbank-funded initiative now scaling nationally through partnerships with TVET Colleges and provincial government in Mpumalanga, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.

Following the success of the 2024 North West pilot—where youth secured almost 100 projects and achieved over R1.7 million in combined business earnings—this year’s programme is poised to unlock entrepreneurial potential for 300 construction and building trades graduates across three provinces. The initiative, led by Fix Forward in collaboration with Nedbank and TVET partners, offers a structured pathway for graduates to transition into micro-enterprise: through practical business training, peer group coaching, and the opportunity to move into advanced business compliance and incubation support.

Our role at Impact Hub Cape Winelands is twofold: first, to connect these entrepreneurs to a national and global community of impact makers, and second, to lead the integration of circular economy principles and sustainable built environment innovation into the programme’s next phase. We are laying the foundation for a new generation of builders—not just of infrastructure, but of just and sustainable futures.

This collaboration reflects our belief that youth entrepreneurship, when embedded in local ecosystems and linked to cutting-edge sustainability practices, becomes a powerful driver of systemic change.