Junior Achievement South Africa are pleased to announce the receipt of just over R1,3 million from Investec in support of the newly launched Junior Achievement South Africa Entrepreneurship Academy Programme.

Over the past few years, Investec has demonstrated strong support for JA’s entrepreneurial educational initiatives through generous sponsorship of programmes in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Mpumulanga and Northern Cape Provinces, to a value of R 2,3 million. The recent donation of over R1,3 million represents the largest donation to date from Investec and the largest donation received from a private sponsor in the history of Junior Achievement South Africa.

The Entrepreneurship Academy Programme is offered to Grade 11 learners, and is conducted over a period of eight months. Learners are subject to a selection process to determine their capability to participate in this intensive programme which exposes and educates learners in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, economics, business ethics, a five day company internship, life skills and work place readiness. Through the Personal Positioning Strategy module, the programme emphasises a culture of personal responsibility.

“We are extremely grateful for the support from Investec. Over the last few years, Investec has firmly demonstrated their support for our work and for the entrepreneurial education of young people. They support our belief that a cultivation of an entrepreneurial mindset among young people is essential”, says Linda McClure, Managing Director.  “We believe the intensive nature of this programme will make a real contribution to the development of young people and towards encouraging them to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice while providing them with the necessary skills to do so. The inclusion of a range of aspects such as financial literacy and ethics ensures a holistic educational process”.

Visibly excited about this initiative, the Head of CSI at Investec, Setlogane Manchidi had this to say:

“Alongside our desire to increase the number of learners who matriculate with a decent pass in Maths and Science is that of stimulating entrepreneurial thinking and possibly practice amongst those still in high school. Junior Achievement South Africa (JASA) has presented itself over the years as an ideal partner in introducing entrepreneurial concepts to youth and we are happy to take our partnership to another level for the benefit of many young people and South Africa in general”