A group of Grade Nine learners from Nigel Secondary School won the Youth Entrepreneur Project (YEP), presented by the University of Stellenbosch, on May 15.
The project, held in cooperation with the Hogeschool in the Netherlands, was managed by a team of domestic and international learners.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the project was conducted online.
Nigel Secondary entered three teams to participate in the project under the supervision of Janette Skaarnek, an educator at the school.
The teams consisted of two teams from Grade Nine and one from Grade 10.
“The first part of the project was centred around education,” Skaarnek told HERAUT.
“The teams had to create a seven-week online course on the basics of business development.
“Learners then had to use the content to develop a business plan for their start-up business ideas.
“Our teams stayed behind after school, making use of the school’s computer lab in order for the learners to access the content they needed. Different topics were also covered each week.”
“Business plan development, product and value, promotion and communication, with place and logistics, were just some of the topics covered.”
For the second part of the project, each participating school had to nominate their best team to represent them at the final competition, which was pitching day.
The nominated team was then paired with a group of learner-mentors who had the task of helping them prepare for the final day.
“The team came in on Saturdays to work with their mentors,” Skaarnek said.
On the final day, the teams had to present their business ideas online to a panel of experienced judges.
The team from Nigel Secondary, named the Garden Innovators, won.
A team from Hoërskool Roodepoort came second, followed by a team from Hoërskool Ellisras.
The teams received a prize sum of R7 000 they could use to start their proposed business ideas.
“All of my learners presented very well,” said Skaarnek.
“They outdid themselves. The learners enjoyed themselves during the programme. They have gained skills and enhanced the entrepreneurial skills they already had.”
