Primary Champions game launched in SA

The next generation of entrepreneurs are about to be discovered as the Primary Champions game has launched in South Africa for the first time.

The Primary Champions Young Business Mind game offers learners from Grades 4 to 7 (age groups 9 to 13) a pathway to learning essential business skills.

The 100% free certificate course takes the form of a 2D online game which is currently running and will be live until June 25.

Based on a robust entrepreneurship curriculum, the game is designed to inspire and equip students with the right skills and mindset needed to become successful entrepreneurs and valuable contributors to our economy.

The innovative game challenges learners to think creatively, identify opportunities, and develop practical solutions to real-world problems.

Entrepreneurial education for young children is crucial in the 21st century

“We believe that teaching entrepreneurship is essential for young learners as it helps them to develop imperative skills such as creative and critical thinking, as well as how to be collaborative, innovative problem-solvers. The Primary Champions Young Business Mind game promotes positive life skills that will help children adapt and succeed in the rapidly changing world,” says Marcel Manikum, AGEC Project Lead.

“The game allows children to become resilient and learn about entrepreneurship in a fun and interactive manner. Even teachers can get involved and facilitate – they can incorporate the game into their teaching schedules,” he added.

Helping to enhance numeracy, literacy and business skills

The Primary Champions Young Business Mind game is aligned to the learning outcomes in Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), Life Orientation (LO) and Life Skills.

It is accessible to any learner with a desktop/laptop device or any smart mobile device, and a stable internet connection.

To participate, learners will need to submit a signed parental/guardian consent form upon registration.

Players learn about business by actually doing business inside the online game. Actions range from choosing a product to sell to purchasing items from suppliers, making sales to customers, generating revenue and expanding their businesses.

The learning design is experiential, which means that children learn by doing, and by experimenting with prices, suppliers, customers and products inside the gaming world. Learners make decisions in starting-up their businesses, managing finances, and growing their businesses.

The full game consists of five modules from start to finish. Each module requires the learner to play the 2D video game, followed by a literacy corner, then a numeracy corner and then completion of a short multiple-choice quiz designed to assess concepts and contexts. Learners gain points from completing quizzes and from their attempts to generate revenue in the business game.

Thereafter, certificates will be issued to participating learners as Primary Champions.

Teachers will also be issued with certificates in acknowledgment of their skill in managing and coordinating the course with their learners. Additionally, the top participating school in each province will have the opportunity to walk away with an amazing prize package.

Developing champion mindsets for building future businesses

By focusing on business skills, numeracy and literacy, the game offers numerous benefits to learners, including:

• Strengthening children’s academic base and preparing them for high school subjects that operate within a framework, such as EMS, accounting and business studies.
• Maintaining strong foundation-level links to mathematical literacy and mathematics, as well as language studies.
• Developing skills and mindsets from a young age that are sought after in industry, and cultivating their entrepreneurial drive. It also introduces them to the context of learning through doing business in a safe and highly entertaining gaming world.

Looking to the long term, the game has the potential to impact significantly on entrepreneurship and business in South Africa by helping to develop a generation of young people with the critical skills and mindsets needed to build businesses and SMEs that in turn will create jobs.

For more information about the Primary Champions Young Business Mind game and to register your team, visit the website.