African youngsters innovating and building – that’s worth backing

Our family and our foundation remain firmly rooted in South Africa. That’s not sentiment, it’s conviction. We love this country, not blindly, but with the understanding that love is tested most when things get hard. We have been through hard times before, and every time, our resilience has defined us. We believe in South Africa’s future because we believe in its people: their brilliance, endurance, and ability to rebuild again and again. 

Now, more than ever, our community must stand tall, loud, and proud. We need to take our rightful place as pillars of the greater South African family – to help create jobs; uplift lives; contribute to growth; and commit ourselves to this nation’s success. Do not run. That’s what the cynics and the detractors want. They want us to give up, to withdraw, to shrink. But we aren’t a community of quitters. We are a community of fighters, of dreamers, of doers. We are a community with grit, faith, and staying power. 

Yes, South Africa is complicated. But it’s also extraordinary. The formation of the Government of National Unity this year wasn’t a miracle, it was a moment of maturity. For once, politicians had to put the country before themselves. That’s not politics as usual; that’s progress. And it signals something bigger: that South Africans are tired of excuses and ready for results. 

Across Africa, a new generation is rewriting the rules. Young Africans are no longer waiting to be “given” a future, they’re building it. They are innovating in fintech; energy; artificial intelligence; and agriculture. They are investing in Africa, not escaping it. The African Continental Free Trade Area is starting to take shape, and the message is simple: the more we trade with one another, the more we own our destiny. Africa is no longer a place of potential, it’s a place of momentum. 

For our Jewish community, this has been a year of reckoning. The global surge in antisemitism has been ugly and painful. We’ve felt it here too. But if there’s one thing our history has taught us, it’s that hatred wins only when we become silent. So, we will not be silent. We will speak out, stand up, and show up. We will respond not with anger, but with achievement. We will build, we will employ, we will educate, and we will lead. We will remind this country – and the world – that South African Jews have never been bystanders. We have been builders, innovators, and patriots. 

I was raised in a small Jewish community that taught me that identity isn’t a burden, it’s a superpower. My parents, Bernice and Louis, believed that your heritage gives you strength, but it also gives you responsibility. To young Jewish South Africans, I say, do not dim your light to fit in. Bring your full self to the table – your creativity, courage, and conscience. This country isn’t something we are passing through. It’s our home. And we have work to do. 

That’s why we’re proud once again to sponsor the Jewish Achiever Rising Star Award. This award isn’t about applause; it’s about accountability. It’s a reminder that success without contribution is hollow. It challenges our young achievers to use their talent to build companies that employ, create technology that solves African problems, and mentor the next generation so that success becomes a cycle, not a privilege. 

We also honour the quiet heroes – the teachers; nurses; the small business owners; and entrepreneurs – who keep this country moving when the headlines say otherwise. You are proof that South Africa’s story isn’t written in the corridors of power, but in the courage of ordinary people who refuse to give up. 

Our message as a family has never changed: back the youth; back the builders; back the believers. Celebrate identity, but never retreat into it. Challenge the naysayers. Prove them wrong. Optimism in this country isn’t naïve, it’s an act of rebellion. 

If we combine imagination with integrity, there’s nothing Africa’s youth cannot achieve. 

May this year’s Rising Star finalists inspire us to stand taller, dream bigger, and commit deeper to this country, this continent, and each other.