Being an entrepreneur is about more than just starting a business; it’s about developing entrepreneurial skills, which can be instilled in children from a young age.
Principal of the School of the Nations’ Primary Division, Mischka White-Griffith [Photo: Elvin Croker]
School of the Nations, one of Guyana’s leading private education providers, embraces this philosophy with its ABE Endorsed KidsMBA programme.
WHAT IS KIDSMBA?
The KidsMBA programme, tailored for children aged 11 to 15, complements and enhances traditional school education. It provides a real-world taste of the life skills, know-how, and aptitude necessary to run a business or become an entrepreneur.
This innovative programme introduces self-employment and business management concepts to kids from all backgrounds. It emphasises sustainability as a key component of future business models and serves as an introduction to future business studies.
DEVELOPING BUSINESS ACUMEN
Mischka White-Griffith, Principal of the School’s Primary Division, detailed how the KidsMBA programme works. As part of the curriculum, students are required to develop and implement a business plan.
We have quite a few children who actually have businesses operating, and they are still in school.
MAXIMISING POTENTIAL
White-Griffith believes that people often underestimate children’s capabilities. This programme helps them unlock their full potential.
This is the opportunity for them, within the safety of their age and everything else, to experiment with an idea in terms of having that feeling of success but, most importantly, to have that feeling of failure and to understand that if you are going to go into business, failure will happen, but you have to learn from it.
RESPONSIBILITY AND REAL-WORLD SKILLS
White-Griffith shared personal insights from her experience, noting that two of her own children have completed the programme. Beyond business creation, the KidsMBA instils a sense of responsibility in participants.
It gave them that element of responsibility, like in the last batch when we were looking at costing, and we were looking at the material cost, and I introduced the concept of time and how much of their time they have been investing in the product and that time has a value.
She emphasised the transformative nature of the programme:
It is very transformational, and that is what we want our children to understand. You can dream big, yes, but in order to achieve the dream, it comes at a cost, and time is important.
ENCOURAGING PARENTAL INVESTMENT
White-Griffith urges parents to invest in their children’s future through this programme.
Invest! It is the best decision you can ever make for your child because they are going to grow beyond our imagination.
COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM
The KidsMBA programme covers a wide range of topics, including Business Ideas and Unique Selling Proposition (USP), Business Name and Logo, Business Plan, and Financials. This comprehensive curriculum equips students with the necessary tools to succeed in the business world.
GLOBAL RECOGNITION
Forbes Magazine has recognised the ABE Endorsed KidsMBA as one of the world’s leading children’s entrepreneurship programmes.
By offering the KidsMBA, the School of the Nations is not only preparing children for the future but also empowering them to become the business leaders of tomorrow.
