A group of Grade 11 pupils from Bonteheuwel High School will soon be the proud owners of their self-designed, custom-made takkies – thanks to a project that encourages entrepreneurship.
The group, Sneaker Cartel, is one of five Grade 11 groups from the school, that competed for the winning prize: a chance to own a pair of takkies they had desinged themselves.
The five groups each had to create a hypothetical takkie manufacturing business.
This initiative, known as Metro Kickstarz, is a project of Metropolitan, and teaches the pupils financial management skills, to prepare them for life after school. The programme also encourages entrepreneurship.
Activities and workshops formed part of a series of fun interactive lessons.
On Friday August 3, a judging panel selected Sneaker Cartel as the winning team.
Grade 11 pupilAzrah Abrahams, who was part of this team, said it was only once she was part of this project, that she became interested in starting her own business.
“The thought never crossed my mind, until I got involved with this project. We have learnt so much, like how to do finance, how to draw up a budget, and how to collaborate and work as a team. The most important lesson I learnt, was to support one another through any challenges,” Azrah said.
Her teammate, Siraj Erasmus, said the project was most valuable to him.
“I do business management as a subject, and I have thought of starting my own business before. As part of the project, we learnt how to start our own business and how to work with money.
“This whole experience got me very excited, because I believe in entrepreneurship, and this programme showed us that anybody is able to start a business.”
Elsie Govender, corporate social investment manager at Metropolitan, said the programme dealt with basic financial principles.
“Part of the programme involved teaching them about budgeting and how to manage debt. We need to empower the youth, in the broader sense of what is important to them.
“The other good thing about this programme, was that it encouraged communication between the parents and their children. The parents were encouraged to get their children involved with the household expenditure,” Ms Govender said.