Highlights:

The Woolworths Youth Makers competition has seen 15 young entrepreneurs awarded funding, mentorship and access to Woolworths customers.
Winners were assigned mentors who offer critical support on product, business and marketing.
The showcases are the culmination of the programme, where winning Youth Makers sell directly to Woolworths customers in store.
After a successful first showcase in KZN, shoppers in Gauteng are invited to the next showcase at Mall of Africa between 22 July – 2 August, followed by Cape Town 26 August – 6 September.
Woolworths’ Youth Makers programme is committed to making a positive impact on youth unemployment, skills development, and the economy at large. Youth Makers is a competition, mentorship programme, and retail showcase rolled into one, built specifically for youth-owned businesses in South Africa.

Selecting the 2026 Winning Youth Makers

The Youth Makers competition was open to young people, aged 18 to 35, who own small businesses in food, beauty, fashion, homeware or adjacent divisions. This year’s competition drew hundreds of entries from across the country, each one subject to a stringent selection process that looked at creativity, viability and growth prospects.

Shortlisted finalists were invited to pitch to a panel of Woolworths judges. Each founder had 30 minutes to make their case, present their product, their business model and their vision for growth. Judges assessed authenticity, quality, impact, and business viability; a similar set of criteria that determine whether an enterprise can sustainably enter the retail market.

15 winners were selected, representing a wide spread of industries: fashion, beauty, wellness, agriculture, publishing, design, and home decor.

The Prize

Each of the 15 winning Youth Makers received:

Mentorship from Woolworths retail experts, and commercial guidance from business advisors.
The opportunity to showcase and sell their products in three flagship Woolworths stores across the country.
Marketing of their brands to millions of Woolworths customers.
A cash grant of over R130,000 to help scale their business.
Across the board, winners have shared that the mentorship has been the highlight, along with the ability to sell directly to Woolworths customers in store.

Learn more about the 2026 Youth Makers and their businesses on the Youth Makers page!

Mentorship and Support

The mentorship is where the most meaningful transformation happens. Each mentor worked through the operational realities and intricate product considerations facing the founders of the winning brands, and offered guidance on any barriers in scaling and selling.

Mentors advised founders on their operating and production models, helping them move, for example, from guesswork pricing to numbers that protect their margins. When it comes to input fundamentals, from fashion to food, Youth Makers were guided on testing, quality control, and the technical groundwork that separates a start-up brand from a household retail product.

For many of the Youth Makers, this element of the programme helped reframe how they think about their business. Winners started their businesses because they were passionate about the product, and mentorship has given them a new perspective on how product and business intersect.

The First Showcase Success

The funding, mentorship, marketing and business support were done as a lead up to the main event: Youth Makers showcasing in Woolworths stores. This first showcase was hosted at Woolworths Gateway in Durban, in late June to early July. For two weeks, KwaZulu-Natal shoppers could buy directly from the Youth Makers’ ranges in-store.

The results were astounding. Over 300 items sold at the showcase, and over R200,000 in revenue was generated – not taking into account the uplift in ecommerce sales that many of the Youth Makers reported too, driven by Woolies customers who chose to shop online instead. All proceeds from the showcases go directly to the Youth Makers for their respective sales.

Zinzi Mgolodela, Woolworths Director for Corporate Social Justice, commented on the first showcase: “The overwhelming success of the Durban showcase is confirmation that the Youth Makers model works. Access to mentorship, funding, and the Woolworths customer base can deliver a meaningful contribution to small businesses. We are proud to witness young entrepreneurs become empowered to take their brands to the next level.”

The Journey Continues in Johannesburg and Cape Town

The Youth Makers retail showcase now moves on to two more Woolworths flagship stores:

Mall of Africa in Johannesburg: 22 July to 2 August, with founders in-store on 1 and 2 August.
Cavendish in Cape Town: 26 August to 6 September, with founders in-store on 5 and 6 September.
The showcases are an opportunity to discover South Africa’s next generation of retail brands before they become household names. Woolworths customers in Gauteng and Cape Town are encouraged to visit, shop the ranges, and meet the founders behind them.

Youth Makers forms part of the broader Woolworths Inclusive Justice Initiative, a commitment to drive inclusive growth by acting against marginalisation, and creating opportunities that ensure that no one is left behind.