Mpumelelo Secondary is a Section 21 school, which means it is allocated finances by the department of education and is classified under quintile 2 as a no-fee institution. 

Teacher Sizwe Mtsweni says Mpumelelo Secondary entered 10 teams, or 40 pupils, in the challenge this year, slightly down from last year’s 12 teams. 

“Last year, we added two more teams after the competition started, so we are hoping to still add more teams this year,” he says. 

Mtsweni says he allocates pupils to teams based on their strengths and weaknesses, often making sure that Grade 8s are matched with older Grade 11 and 12 students who can guide them. 

Thandolwami Hlongwane, a Grade 9 pupil at Mpumelelo Secondary, entered the competition for the second time this year, albeit with different teammates. His team’s name – “MP to the JSE” – is inspired by a love of rap. 

“My favourite rappers are NF and Lil Tjay. So far, the competition has taught me about saving money. We meet in the mornings, during breaks and after school – learning about different ways to budget and researching companies through Sharedata and Google,” he says. 

His fellow scholar, Nompumelelo Mtsweni of team “MP The Magic Traders”, says her team is out to make history this year. 

“One of our key companies is Clicks because people always need medicine,” she says. 

As the competition is still in its early days, the teams declined to comment on their investment strategies, preferring to keep some things close to their chests. 

Commenting on the fact that the JSE Investment Challenge celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Idris Seedat, head of transformation and CSI at the JSE, says the youth of South Africa holds the potential to shape the nation’s future. 

“Financial literacy is one of the essential skills that will enable young people to secure a brighter tomorrow. Through the JSE Investment Challenge, the JSE is able to foster financial literacy among South Africa’s youth and drive efforts to ensure a prosperous and inclusive economic future for all,” he says. DM

From left: MP To the JSE April winners, Angel Nkabinde, Thandolwami Hlongwa, Themelihle Mabena and Lethobuhle Mokoena. (Photo: Supplied)

The JSE Investment Challenge is supported by Daily Maverick. 

Oops! Gremlins crept in and published the wrong article this week. Our apologies.

April monthly winners

• MP Thee Magic Traders from Mpumelelo Secondary School for the income category with income of R23 409.49.
• MP To the JSE from Mpumelelo Secondary School took the equity category with portfolio growth of 4.18%.
• The Inside Traders from Clifton College won the speculator category with portfolio growth of 5.89%.
• LAM Castle bridge-3 won the ETF/ETN category with growth of 2.18%.
• Healthy Profits from Stellenbosch University aced the speculator university category with portfolio growth of 6.16%.
• Ru-vacay from Rhodes University won the ETF/ETN university portfolio with growth of 4.36%.