EEESAY (Entrepreneurial and Environmental Empowerment for South African Youth) was a pilot project implemented by WESSA in partnership with Teach A Man To Fish. This intensely practical project, made possible with funding from EuropeAid, provided 6,000 learners from 40 schools KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces with an opportunity to gain practical business skills by setting up and running an educational and environmentally sustainable enterprise at their school.
The students received step-by-step experiential learning on how to identify business opportunities, apply sound business planning and then implement robust business plans to generate a profit. Schools could invest the profits to develop both the school and school business, and it further created a great opportunity for teachers to continue their own professional development.
EEESAY was based on the successful School Enterprise Challenge programme run by Teach A Man To Fish, which has already led to 25 profitable student-led businesses schools in South Africa; improved exam marks in participating schools in KZN; and enabled learners to start their own profitable businesses out of school. The project extended over a period of three years, with learners and educators from 40 schools attending training and receiving support to build learners’ knowledge, skills and confidence towards either becoming entrepreneurs or becoming better prepared for future studies. A further 50 out-of-school youth in KwaZulu-Natal gained entrepreneurial skills by undergoing a training programme with Business World Development Trust (BWDT) based on a Level 2 New Venture Creation qualification on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The final project documents can be accessed below.
Entrepreneurs are a vital part of South Africa’s economic and social survival, but entrepreneurial skills development is poorly supported by the current schooling system. The WESSA Head, Heart, Hands (Triple H) Programme implements a model for practical high school entrepreneurship education. Using a project-based learning approach, we support high school learners to start and run their own businesses, from conceptualisation to the market and back to the drawing board to make improvements. Through this practical experience, teenagers gain and enhance critical soft and technical skills that they need to competitively pursue entrepreneurship or enter the workplace once they leave school.
Learners exit the programme being able to apply an empowered, entrepreneurial mindset to solve problems, create local solutions and identify opportunities for sustainable enterprise, creating the foundation for them to become the leaders and problem-solvers of tomorrow.
A green economy approach to entrepreneurial skills development in high schools.