Great way learning about business

An innovative project that turns the boring subjects Business Studies and Accounting into fun-filled simulation exercises, has just received a major boost from a local bank.
Last week, Standard Bank donated N$210,000 to the Financial Literacy Project of the Youth Entrepreneurship Seminars Trust (YES Trust) to support this important project’s roll-out to Grade 11 learners of targeted schools.
This is the 8th consecutive year that Standard Bank is involved in such a cause to equip the youth with essential business financial literacy.
Surihe Gaomas-Guchu, PR and Communications Manager at Standard Bank, said she believes that educating youngsters in financial literacy will lead to a more productive workforce, decreased unemployment and a fruitful economy.”
Therefore it goes without saying that financially literate learners become financially literate adults who are better off in providing for themselves and their families and they are more likely to save for a brighter future and less likely to fall into the debt trap” she said.

Mr Anton du Preez, founder and Chairman of the YES Trust said that before he started the project he was always bothered about the way forward and how to make Accounting and Business Studies more interesting to learners, and how to get teachers exited about their subjects.
“Therefore this project concentrates on Grade 11 learners and teachers with a practical business simulation exercise.” The simulation follows an intensive deployment taking only two days to complete before being rotated to another participant.
Mrs Piere Clarke, Regional Head of Credit for Southern Africa, Standard Bank who has been part of the Standard Bank Yes Trust collaboration from the beginning said it was started by staff members and clients who organised fund raiser parties for the project.
Clarke said it is encouraging to see how the project has grown through the collaboration between the educator and the bank.
“There is a saying that goes: turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is reality and therefore numbers are not just number but they mean something more than meets the eye,” she said.
 “This project allows the theory to become practical and we need to emphasise the sense of entrepreneurship and innovation. People should ask themselves the question, why should I work for someone else when I can work for myself,” she concluded.