A graffiti-inspired takkie by Thandokhulu High School Grade 11 pupils took the top spot in a business designing programme.
This initiative, Metro Kickstarz, is a project of Metropolitan and it teaches the pupils financial-management skills.
Kickstarz taps into the youths’ love for sneakers by challenging them to start their own (fictional) sneaker companies and market their own uniquely designed shoes to the rest of the school.
This, together with several interactive money management lessons, equips kids with skills like how
to read a bank statement, plan
and follow a budget, build up a good credit record and stay out of debt.
The programme also encourages entrepreneurship.
The five teams – Flex n Chill, Shoe Bozza, Savages, Clamans 9 and Kuguish – pitched their business plans to fellow pupils and the judges on Friday March 1 in the school hall.
Each group had to create a business that produces takkies.
Flex n Chill member Nicolas Mpande said they wanted their sneaker to stand out and decided on a bold and colourful print which was inspired by graffiti.
The group sold sweets and snacks to raise money for the project and also put in their own money.
During their presentations, the teams said they learnt how to budget, draw up a business plan and how to save.
Petronella Sono, from Metropolitan, said she was blown away
by the pupils’ creativity and
encouraged them to take what they had learnt and invest in themselves.
Principal Jimmie de Villiers said the pupils had been exposed to extra learning, learnt entrepreneurship skills, were able to express themselves creatively and learnt how to work in a team.
The school plans to use the
R20 000 prize money from Metropolitan to buy extra computers. Each member of the Flex * Chill team will get a pair of sneakers they designed.