South Africa does not have a shortage of young people willing to work. What is often lacking are clear and effective pathways that connect them meaningfully to the labour market. We can no longer afford a system that places greater emphasis on training itself than on whether it ultimately leads to meaningful economic opportunity. With youth unemployment at about 46% and more than 4-million young people not in employment, education or training, the challenge is urgent and demands innovation at scale. This is why South Africa must deliberately accelerate the shift towards outcomes-based financing, a model that prioritises measurable impact and real economic outcomes rather than simply funding activity. Importantly, this approach has relevance not only for employment creation but also for the broader skills development ecosystem. At the centre of this shift is the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund, a programme under the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention led by the department of higher education & training and the National Skills Fund. Unlike traditional funding models that primarily pay for training inputs or programme outputs, Jobs Boost pays for results. Funding is linked directly to whether young people are placed into meaningful employment and whether they are able to remain employed over time. The results are encouraging. Through the first phase of Jobs Boost more than 5,000 young people have been supported into employment opportunities linked to real labour market demand. These are not artificial placements created merely to meet targets but wage-paying opportunities connected to actual economic activity. Importantly, the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund is regarded as one of the largest outcomes-based employment funds globally. This positions South Africa not simply as a participant in international conversations on innovative financing, but increasingly as a leader in demonstrating how outcomes-based approaches can be applied within the context of youth employment and skills development. The next phase of the fund must be defined by scale, sustainability and deeper impact. However, this conversation is not only about employment. It is equally about entrepreneurship and economic participation. Outcomes-based financing provides an important mechanism to support entrepreneurship by linking funding to measurable indicators such as business formation, sustainability, revenue generation and job creation. In this way young people are supported not only to seek employment, but increasingly to become creators of opportunity themselves. This is particularly important within township and rural economies, where entrepreneurship often is one of the most immediate and viable pathways to economic participation. With the right support, young people can build sustainable enterprises in areas such as digital services, e-commerce, local manufacturing, the green economy and innovation-driven businesses. On March 25 I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion at the Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit, co-hosted by the Outcomes Finance Alliance, the Presidency and the South African Medical Research Council. The summit brought together participants from about 28 countries, reflecting growing global interest in outcomes-based financing models. These engagements reaffirmed South Africa is not merely observing global developments. We are increasingly helping to shape the global conversation through practical implementation and lessons emerging from initiatives such as Jobs Boost. At the summit I called on private funders, philanthropy and development partners to partner with government in scaling this work. Not simply as funders, but as co-creators of solutions capable of delivering measurable and lasting impact. Outcomes-based financing provides a credible mechanism to align public resources with private capital while ensuring investment remains directly tied to measurable outcomes. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks during the state of the nation address reflect the growing recognition that our skills development system must increasingly be driven by measurable impact and economic outcomes. He said: “We will also transform the National Skills Fund into a more agile, outcomes-driven instrument that supports unemployed young people to access workplace experience and employment, building on successful initiatives such as Jobs Boost.” This signals a transition on how we are beginning to think about skills development funding in South Africa, particularly from funding activity to funding impact. However, scaling outcomes-based financing will require us to confront several important challenges honestly and directly: Private capital often remains cautious about participating in government-led programmes due to concerns relating to governance, implementation and delivery certainty. Government must therefore continue strengthening transparency, credible verification systems and institutional accountability to close the trust deficit. While current legislation does not prohibit outcomes-based financing models, many of our policy instruments and institutional systems are not yet fully aligned to support widespread adoption at scale. Greater policy flexibility and institutional alignment will be required if outcomes-based approaches are to become a central feature of our skills development system. We must continue strengthening institutional capability within government and among implementing partners to design, manage and scale complex outcomes-based projects effectively. However, despite these challenges, one thing is becoming increasingly clear. South Africa cannot afford to continue measuring success purely through participation numbers while millions of young people remain excluded from meaningful economic activity. We are therefore beginning to ask a different question. Not simply how many young people we can train, but how many we can meaningfully place into sustainable work opportunities and how many we can empower to build enterprises that create work for others. I am confident outcomes-based financing offers a credible pathway towards achieving exactly that. When we fund outcomes we move beyond simply counting activities and begin delivering measurable impact in the lives of our people. Dr Gondwe is deputy minister of higher education & training.