First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

Mpumelelo Secondary School was a winner of note in last year’s challenge, scooping the top five positions in the income portfolio category. Mtsweni said the 15 learners who entered the competition had put in hard work and commitment. This success led to an abundance of interest from pupils this year and Mpumelelo Secondary has entered seven teams in the current JSE Investment Challenge, with 26 pupils participating. The teams are: MP Magic Traders, MP The Magic Traders, MP To Win, MP Against All Odds, Relax and Trade MP, Smart Mind Trades and MP Unshaken Trades.

“We entered the Investment Challenge last year and we have learnt from that experience. This year, our biggest challenge has been resources. The pupils don’t have smartphones or data to access information. They attend school and stay late after school to attend meetings where we can share information,” Mtsweni says.

The school has stayed on top of the log in the income portfolio category every month, albeit with different teams occupying that coveted top spot. This month, it is Relax and Trade MP, made up of three Grade 10 pupils and one Grade 11 pupil. They are Collins Jiane, Lungile Skosana, Paballo Modiselle and Paballo Kgaladi. All four pupils are studying the “science stream”, which includes mathematics, physical science and life sciences (previously known as biology).

Relax and Trade MP hit the top spot in the income category with income of R15,976.51 for the month and Jiane estimates that the team’s total income since the competition launched in April is more than R43,000. “Mr Mtsweni has been a huge inspiration and as our teacher, he really brings a lot. He allows us to use his smartphone and he loads data at his own cost. He also brings newspaper articles and shares information with us about the different companies, what they are doing, what their results show and when they are going to pay dividends,” Jiane says.

Mtsweni notes that the pupils are equally enthusiastic. Jiane says that before participating in the challenge, he never dreamt he could make money with just a smartphone, data and some start-up funds.

“I am the eldest in my family and I plan on teaching my siblings all about the challenge so that they can compete when they are older and also so that they start investing from a young age,” he says.

The winners announced for July were:

• Relax and Trade MP from Mpumelelo Secondary School for the income category with income of R15,976.51.
• Future Francolins from De Rust Futura Academy lead the equity category with portfolio growth of 7.57%.
• Fire Fox from Pretoria Chinese School in the speculator category with portfolio growth of 12.14%.
• VK Phenomenals from University of Johannesburg in the speculator university category with portfolio growth of 15.31%. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.