The National Youth Development Agency (herein after referred to as the NYDA) is a national public entity owned and funded by government. It was launched on 16 June 2009 (Youth Day) by the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency J.G Zuma. The NYDA came about as a result of the merger of the National Youth Commission (NYC) and Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) in 2007 and subsequently the National Youth Development Agency Act No 58 of 2008. Furthermore, the NYDA was established to address youth development issues in the country. The NYDA reports to government through the Office of the President. The NYDA is a South African Youth Agency established primarily to tackle challenges faced by the country's young people. The institution was established to be a single, unitary structure, to address youth development issues at all spheres of government. The existence of the NYDA should be located within the broad context of South Africa's development dynamics. Similar to many developing countries, South Africa has a large population of youth with those between the ages of 14 and 35 constituting 42 per cent of the total population. Given the youthful nature of the country's population, much of the socio-economic challenges facing the nation, i.e. poverty, inequality, unemployment, poor health etc, are borne by the youth. The gravity of the challenges faced by young people in the country require a multi pronged approach that simultaneously promotes the development of sustainable livelihoods, reduces poverty and inequality and prioritises the development of policies which create an enabling environment for youth development.