Metropolitan has proved the adage 'good shoes take you good places' by equipping 1284 learners at Emshukantambo Secondary School in Pimville, Soweto, with financial literacy skills, using sneakers as a learning tool.
Piloted in 2017, the Kickstarz financial education programme uses sneaker design and marketing to teach grade 11s on the cusp of adulthood the vital financial skills they need to negotiate life, finances and the world of work or their own entrepreneurial endeavours.
Emshukantambo Principal, Mr Masimola says the participants thoroughly enjoyed Metropolitan's Kickstarz programme. "It was encouraging to hear that they were paying it forward by giving their parents advice on how best to run household finances.
"Throughout the journey, we watched our learners have lightbulb moments as they began to understand the makings of a small business. They learnt invaluable lessons and we expect to see a few businesses pop up in the coming years as a result of this programme."
Group CSI Manager at Momentum Metropolitan, Charlene Lackay, says young people are easy to teach when it comes to finance. "Teenagers are mostly at the age where they think that money can buy happiness, and the Kickstarz programme teaches them how to get to grips with the sometimes complicated concept of money management.
"The programme begins with the teens starting their own (fictional) sneaker companies - each with unique names and logos - and designing their own pair of sneakers, which they market to the rest of their school," she adds.
Through several interactive lessons, the bright young minds at Emshukantambo Secondary School learnt financial basics, from how to read a bank statement and how to plan and follow a budget, to more advanced skills like how to build up a good credit record and stay out of debt.
On the final day of the programme, participants were given the opportunity to display their sneaker designs and a panel of judges selected the best-performing 'business' on the programme. All members of the winning team walked off with a real pair of sneakers of their own design.
The programme not only teaches financial principles, but also valuable skills such as teamwork and presentation skills, which are not necessarily taught in textbooks.
Lackay says there is a high drop-out rate amongst learners in South Africa. "This exacerbates the country's already unacceptably high youth unemployment problem. With Kickstarz, we offer youth an opportunity to at least consider entrepreneurship as a potential money earning option.
"Our goal is to equip learners with skills that will guide them on their journey through life and help them realise their individual aspirations," concludes Lackay.
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