Supporting better futures for children in rural South Africa.

KHULA Education works in schools in an area of rural South Africa which suffers from high unemployment.

A key challenge is an education system which focuses heavily on academic learning for traditional career pathways, whilst growing evidence highlights the importance of entrepreneurship skills when jobs are scarce In poorer rural areas where resources are stretched, vital skills such as critical thinking, presentation, and communication are not developed, leaving these students disadvantaged.

KHULA selected ABE to address this challenge with the KidsMBA initiative. Based on the subjects of an MBA qualification, KidsMBA is a 16-week programme that makes business principles accessible and equips students as young as 12, with the entrepreneurial skills and qualities needed to compete effectively in business

After receiving weekly coaching from KHULA teachers, with additional support from the University of KZN’s School of Accounting, Economics, and Finance, students team up to develop their own small business ideas, culminating in their final presentations to a ‘Shark Tank’ or ‘Dragons’ Den’ style panel of judges, which acts as a summative assessment. The winning team from each school receives R2,000 to launch their idea in the real world

KHULA reports that children displayed a clear increase in self-confidence, critical thinking, teamwork skills and creativity. The quality and variety of ideas from the students, has been impressive, especially considering that most are learning about business and economics for the first time KHULA has also reported that participants are applying their learning to make significant improvements in other subject areas

ABE Business and Entrepreneurship Clubs supporting economic development.

To support our belief that every child should have access to entrepreneurial education, we have set up free business and entrepreneurship clubs These introduce children to the concept of generating their own income and developing the adaptable entrepreneurial mindset that supports economic prosperity ABE clubs were launched in 2024 through schools across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. By December, 6,000 young people had engaged with them

In Kenya, we have worked with local government to offer ABE holiday clubs as part of an initiative aimed at addressing specific problems associated with the extended holiday break for teenagers. These include not returning to school after the holiday and increased instances of teenage pregnancies.

The Entrepreneurship and Employability Skills Training programme is a collaborative effort between ABE and the County Government of Kilifi. It offers students comprehensive entrepreneurship education as part of a deliberate strategy to equip its young people for a future that values business creation and innovation, providing them with ample opportunities for economic development and social impact within the community.

Deputy County Governor, Flora Mbetsa Chibule, said the programme marks the beginning of a promising journey for our future leaders.