Absa partners with DTA and Legend Barbershop to empower creative youth

The Legends Barber Academy, founded by acclaimed entrepreneur Sheldon Tatchell, will run from 26 November 2025 to 30 March 2027 and is supported through an Absa grant aimed at boosting youth skills and business readiness in one of the country’s fastest-growing industries.

Clement Motale, interim managing executive for Corporate Citizenship at Absa Group, underscored the bank’s focus on widening access to opportunities within high-potential creative sectors. “This partnership with the David Tlale Youth Academy and the Legends Barber Academy is about unlocking the boundless potential of young creatives by equipping them with the skills, confidence and entrepreneurial tools to turn talent into opportunity. We want young people to see themselves not only as designers, but as future business owners who can transform their communities through creativity,” he said.

These collaborations form a central pillar of Absa’s long-standing commitment to developing entrepreneurs across sectors, age groups and learning environments. From classrooms and campuses to township backrooms where many ventures begin, Absa has played a consistent role in nurturing the continent’s next generation of innovators.

The bank’s national flagship programmes include:

• Youth African Entrepreneurs Institute (YAEI)
  
• USAf Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Partnership (EDHE Innovation Challenge)
  
• She’s NEXT programme for women entrepreneurs
  
• Junior Achievement South Africa
  
• Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropy Makers Academy.

Together, these initiatives reflect Absa’s mission to help young people turn ideas into enterprises and to support entrepreneurs throughout their development journey.

Motale added: “Entrepreneurship is for everyone. Whether a young person discovers their passion in a classroom, a campus incubator, a township backroom or a creative studio, our role is to ensure they have the support to bring their ideas to life. Our programmes are designed to open doors, build confidence and create economic possibilities in communities across the country.”

By deepening its support for sectors ranging from grooming through Legends Barber to fashion and textiles through the David Tlale Youth Academy, Absa is broadening its impact while keeping inclusion, industry diversification and youth participation at the heart of its strategy.

Participants in these programmes will gain technical skills, financial literacy, entrepreneurial readiness and access to networks that promote long-term business sustainability.

“Through initiatives like these, Absa reaffirms its commitment to empowering Africa’s youth with the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to shape the future of entrepreneurship across business, technology, manufacturing, arts, culture and design,” Motale concludes.