As Co-Chair, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, Group Executive Director: Naspers and Prosus took to the podium at the official launch of the South African Education Accelerator, grounding the private sector’s commitment in both data and moral urgency. She drew attention to the 1.1 million children between the ages of three and five currently receiving no form of early education, reminding those gathered that behind every statistic is a child with the full right to become the leader they were born to be. She was clear that this accelerator is not about government asking business for funding, it is about South Africans across every sector finding a shared way forward. On behalf of Naspers and Prosus, she pledged support across three priorities: strengthening early numeracy, supporting mathematics education, and connecting learners in focus schools to technical and vocational pathways. “The greatest gift any society can give its children is a foundation that is solid — a foundation of confidence, of literacy, of numeracy, and of the unshakable belief that learning belongs to every child.” Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa #SouthAfricanEducationAccelerator #FoundationLearning #StrongFoundationsStrongFutures #GovZAUpdates #EducationZA

“The future does not begin when a person enters the labour market. The future begins when a child learns to read, learns to reason, and learns to dream.” Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube today addressed the official launch of the South African Education Accelerator, delivering a compelling call to action for government, business, philanthropy and civil society to unite around the foundational years of learning. The Minister reminded those gathered that Africa stands at the edge of a profound demographic transition, and that the engineers, scientists, nurses, teachers and innovators of tomorrow are sitting in African classrooms today. She was unequivocal that foundational literacy and numeracy are not one priority among many ; they are the priority that makes every other priority possible. From AI and coding to green energy and entrepreneurship, she argued that all future skills rest on whether a child can read for meaning, reason with numbers, and believe in their own capacity to learn. Through the Accelerator, Minister Gwarube outlined two connected streams of work; building the evidence base for strong foundational numeracy, and strengthening focus schools as credible, dignified pathways into the economy; emphasising that multiple learning pathways do not lower expectations, but rather open more doors. “The child cannot wait. Together, we will build strong foundations for strong futures.” - Minister Gwarube #SouthAfricanEducationAccelerator #FoundationLearning #StrongFoundationsStrongFutures #GovZAUpdates #EducationZA