This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has previously called for entrepreneurship to be included in the basic education school curriculum. Now, this vision is being made possible through a partnership between Metropolitan and the Young Entrepreneurs (YE) Foundation to teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship to high school children from disadvantaged communities.
“The Foundation’s programme is offered to schools as an extramural option for interested students. Through our partnership, however, it is accessible to entire grades and is incorporated into the schools’ academic calendar,” says Metropolitan CSI Manager, Elsie Govender. To date, this partnership has been rolled out in nine high schools across the Western and Eastern Cape
The programme provided to these high schools is a 30-week long intervention and comprises 15 weeks of entrepreneurship training and 15 weeks of financial literacy. It has been developed by local and international professionals and utilises hands-on activities, games, simulations, videos and online applications to teach real-life business and money lessons in a fun way.
YE Founder Danie Jacobs, says: “Cultivating entrepreneurship in the youth is vital, as children are born imaginative, energetic and willing to take risks. Without entrepreneurial education, however, the enterprising spirit of children dramatically declines over time and is almost non-existent by the time they graduate from high school. Our programme is designed to encourage entrepreneurial thinking and helps make up for the gaps left by the traditional educational system that ill prepares students for the world of work and business.”
“If young people are exposed to this type of education, the greater their likelihood of financial wellness later in life. This, in turn, leads to a greater success at breaking the poverty cycle of families and communities,” concludes Govender.
For more information, visit https://www.metropolitan.co.za.
