A panel of international judges have selected students from Corona Secondary School, Agbara as winnersof the one thousand five hundred dollars Top Global Business Plan Prize at the 2018 edition of the school enterprise challenge.
The School Enterprise Challenge is an initiative of ‘Teach A Man To Fish’, a UK charity organisation. 1,137 schools across the globe participated in this programme. The aim of which is to help students learn valuable 21st-century business skills they can use to support their schools and local community.
Corona Secondary school students participated in this enterprise challenge and came up with a business called Keke Goods, an online business that delivers groceries to people who find it difficult to get to the market themselves in the Agbara community. The name Keke goods is derived from the mode of delivery i.e. through the use of a tricycle commonly known as ‘keke NAPEP’ Or ‘Keke Marwa’.
The Keke has been found to be able to navigate rough roads and move faster than regular vehicles in the case of traffic, which is a regular occurrence because of bad roads. Seeing that our school is sited in the countryside and surrounded by several farmers market such as Lusada, Ikoga and Agbara markets.
It became very profitable to buy directly from the farmer and sell to our parents on visiting days, since many of them reside in the up country areas. The company is owned and run by Corona Secondary School Students.
Students in the School Enterprise Challenge are involved at every stage of their school business. Over the course of the programme, students write a business plan, conduct market research and balance a budget – and all this is in on top of making and selling their products or services!
“We are on a mission to tackle youth unemployment and the ‘learning crisis’. The impact shown by these winners reminds us why it is so important to give young people the skills and experience to become the job creators of tomorrow,” says Nik Kafka, chief executive officer, Teach A Man To Fish.
Sustainability and social responsibility is at the heart of the School Enterprise Challenge. In 2018, student teams generated an impressive average profit of $390 and used these funds to support their schools or important local causes, as well as re-invest in growing their businesses.
Ayomide Akinyemi a member of the team says “The School Enterprise Challenge through the activities of Kekegoods has taught me the importance of market research in setting up and running a business”. “The enthusiasm I see in my students as the carry out their different roles within the business operation is quite enormous. In addition to learning entrepreneurial skills they are learning to work in teams” says Ibironke Sonuga, team leader of the
Corona Secondary School is leading the way in sharing the positive impact of school businesses, not only for students, but for the Agbara community as well.
KELECHI EWUZIE
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