To South Africa now, where the unemployment crisis continues to worsen. Statistics show the unemployment rate in the country is now 27.5-percent. But a young woman in a small town outside the capital is doing her part to address the problem, and she's doing so in her own special way. CGTN's Yolisa Njamela has her story.

A Mamelodi born Coffee Shop Owner, Sibongile Rakgatjane is the first woman to open a coffee shop business in Mamelodi, A township just outside South Africa's capital city Pretoria. Rakgatjane ventured into entrepreneurship because she wanted freedom. She felt the need of doing what she actually liked to do. Rakgatjane, better known as 'Momo' is a qualified software engineer who left the corporate life to open this coffee shop. Soon after, she introduced light breakfast and various kinds of smoothies. She admits quickly that it's been tough.

SIBONGILE RAKGATJANE ENTREPRENEUR "It's an uphill battle. So for instance people in the township are used into drinking instant coffee and not like the coffee that you have from like coffee beans. So it was sort of like a mindset shift. So we had to do a lot of educating but I also realised that as much as like there are people who this idea is new to them, You also have those people who are coffee enthusiasts. They be like 'Ah, we've been driving out of Mamelodi for a nice cup of coffee', but then now they can come here. So I think it's a balance of people who don't know coffee and people who do know coffee."

Rakgatjane chose Mamelodi because she was born here and wanted to create opportunities for her community.

YOLISA NJAMELA MAMELODI, SOUTH AFRICA "South Africa's official unemployment rate is just over 27 percent. In Mamelodi, the bulk of the community is of working age, yet the unemployment rate here is higher than the national average."

Rakgatjane and others like her are contributing to unravelling this dilemma. Her establishment also provides space for networking for young black professionals.

SIBONGILE RAKGATJANE ENTREPRENEUR "In the townships there's other business. There's an influx of Chisa Nyamas. There's an influx of bottle stores. There's an influx of so many of the same kind of business and I mean with the coffee shop for me I also have a book exchange so its about educating the people who live here. A coffee shop in Mamelodi - it means that we can show the world that we also progressive so we not stuck in the dark ages."

So a coffee shop in Mamelodi means that people can come here and network in a different kind of environment. Rakgatjane's story showcases that young people can excel regardless of their circumstances and background. That they can set their own agenda, starting their own businesses in the same areas they grew up in.

Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Mamelodi, South Africa.