Turning rural school kids into investment champions - Sizwe Mtsweni of Mpumelelo Secondary School

A rural school in Mpumalanga, Mpumelelo Secondary, has repeatedly performed in the JSE Investment Challenge, a national competition where young people engage in simulated trading using virtual portfolios valued at R1 million. The challenge runs from March to September and attracts more than 66,000 participants from 859 schools and universities. Behind Mpumelelo’s success is Sizwe Mtsweni, a teacher at the school who teaches business studies and tourism. In an interview with BizNews, Mtsweni spoke about his investment strategies and how he mentors his students. He explained that beyond the usual challenge of balancing academics and the competition, many of his learners live far from school and don’t have devices, and even if they do, they often don’t have data. As for the mindset he tries to instil. Mtsweni, who returned to teach at his alma mater, says he’s not interested in wearing expensive brands, he’s more interested in owning one. 

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Edited transcript of the interview

Linda van Tilburg (00:00.204)

The JSE Investment Challenge gives South African learners a chance to manage a virtual R1 million portfolio in real market conditions. This year, several teams delivered exceptional returns, surpassing the All-Share Index’s robust 23% gain during the competition period. One school that stands out year after year is Mpumelelo Secondary School in Mpumalanga.

We have Sizwe Mtsweni in the studio with us today to find out what his secret sauce is. Hi Sizwe, great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

Sizwe Mtsweni (00:33)

Greetings, I'm Sizwe Mtsweni from Mpumelelo Secondary School. Greetings to the viewers. Thank you for the opportunity.

Linda van Tilburg (00:44)

I really want to know, why do you always do so well?

Sizwe Mtsweni (00:49)

The reason we do so well in this competition is the way our groups are structured. First things first, each and every group has four members. We appoint a group leader for every group so that they can guide the other members, and we mix them according to their ability, pairing the senior participants with the ones who are starting that year.

So everything we are doing, we are doing it together. We assist each other. We have a session that we call the MP trading session where we share ideas so that each and every one can stay aligned with everything that is happening in this competition.

Linda van Tilburg (01:43)

So tell us about this year, what happened?

Sizwe Mtsweni (01:49)

This year was difficult because there were many activities happening, both domestic and global. But we managed to secure this position because of the hard work and effort that the learners were putting in. We were always checking the news and all the updates from different sources, including our office information.

And also, we’re getting assistance from our previous learners who are now at university. With the effort of everyone, we’ve managed to secure three top positions and two monthly positions. We were able to win two monthly competitions.

Linda van Tilburg (02:36)

I think it’s quite unusual. I did maths at school, and nobody ever taught me about financial markets. So, you know, where does this interest come from?

Sizwe Mtsweni (02:49)

My brother introduced me to this competition in 2019. The first time, I didn’t take it seriously. But the more time went on, especially during COVID-19, that’s when I started to gain real interest in this competition. Then I also introduced it to our principal. And if you check, the prizes are motivating us.

But without that, you see, we are living in a country where there are no job opportunities. So we are always encouraging these learners to learn many things, to be exposed to many things that are going to help them in the future. That’s why most of the learners are interested in this competition.

Linda van Tilburg (03:39)

So can you share a moment from this year’s competition that you are particularly proud of?

Sizwe Mtsweni (03:58)

What I can say is the moment when we won the April monthly competition. Most of the learners were working very hard. And one thing is that we had about four or five young learners, all around the age of 18. So to see the young learners doing exceptionally well, I think that also encouraged me to keep pushing until we secured these three top positions.

Linda van Tilburg (04:26.235)

When you first introduced this to your learners, what was their reaction? Were they keen to learn about it?

Sizwe Mtsweni (04:34)

At first, it was difficult, even for myself. It was like a new thing to me. I had to look at different information from different people. So it was difficult. But because it was during COVID-19, I think even other groups, it was something new to them too. So each and everyone, it’s like we were all starting something new.

With the assistance of others, we managed to do exceptionally well even during that year. But it was difficult in the first year. Because even if you check now, our school is in the rural areas. We don’t have data. We don’t have reliable resources. So we rely on my phone and my own resources. Sometimes it’s difficult to do this competition, but with the support of the principal and other teachers, I think we are growing each and every year.

Linda van Tilburg (05:53)

You mentioned that you're in a rural area with water problems and electricity problems. So what are the challenges that your learners face?

Sizwe Mtsweni (06:02.826)

I think the challenge is that most of our learners don’t have devices to get information about this competition. And even those who have devices, sometimes they don’t have data. So we have to come together in this session that I’m telling you about, the MP trading session. It takes place maybe once or twice a week.

And depending on the situation, if there are updates, we make an urgent meeting so that we can update one another. That’s how the learners get information. But they are confronted by different challenges, not having devices, not having data, and some of them live far from the school. So it becomes a challenge to balance academics and this competition.

Linda van Tilburg (07:10)

So you were also a pupil at this school. Why did you return as a teacher?

Sizwe Mtsweni (07:24)

No, it’s because of passion. I like the community. I was teaching in one of the nearby communities, but I made a transfer because I want to develop the community that I’m living in. There’s a lot of things I want to share with these learners. One of the things is because I love my community.

Linda van Tilburg (07:55)

That’s really nice. What was the outstanding share this year for you? What stood out? The price of gold? What stood out for you this year when trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange?

Sizwe Mtsweni (08:10)

First thing first, I can say, not the banking sector, but the gold sector or the mining sector. The likes of AngloGold Ashanti, Sibanye Stillwater, Implats, and also Sasol, they did exceptionally well this year. Even though these days I think I saw they’re starting to drop a little bit, but at the beginning until maybe mid-year, yeah, I think these shares were doing exceptionally well.

Linda van Tilburg (08:42)

Your pupils, what kind of careers do they eventually go into?

Sizwe Mtsweni (08:47)

Because this is a science school, most of them are interested in careers like engineering. A few, based on their results, go into medicine. But most are into engineering and science-related fields, like animal science, agriculture, and other careers.

I just want to congratulate each and every learner who is participating in this competition. Participating is not just about the prizes, the knowledge is key. They must share the information with other learners and encourage more students to join this competition next year. There are prizes to win, but more importantly, they will gain information and be exposed to many things.

Once you participate, you learn about the economy of South Africa and the global economy. You learn about the politics of our country, because all those factors impact the market. So I think they must encourage more learners to participate.

And I want to encourage more teachers to join this competition as well, because they can also invest for themselves on platforms like EasyEquities, Centric, and others. Yeah, I think the message must reach each and everyone, especially those in rural areas. They must learn more about this competition.

Linda van Tilburg (10:55)

Do you ever invest your own money into the stock exchange?

Sizwe Mtsweni (11:00)

Yes, I’m an investor myself, investing through EasyEquities. And what I can say is this platform helps you save money and build wealth over time. So I encourage more people to do that. Start small.

One clever guy used to say: it doesn’t matter the amount you’re investing, the habit of investing is what’s important. Even if you save R10, even if you save R100, as long as you’re investing something. Because these days, we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

Most people are spendthrifts, they earn salaries, then go and borrow loans. That’s a problem for many South Africans. They spend money as if there’s no tomorrow. So I think we must encourage them to save as much as they can.

Linda van Tilburg (12:19)

Yeah, there’s that saying, people go to shopping centres, buy expensive coffees, when they could rather take that money and invest it in the stock exchange.

Sizwe Mtsweni (12:30)

Ja, and I used to say: those expensive things, those expensive coats, I don’t wish to wear expensive coats. I wish to own the brand of those expensive coats. That’s what I tell people. I don’t wish to wear those things, I wish that one day I can own those brands that they are wearing.

Linda van Tilburg (13:00)

That’s very good. And next year, are you going to participate again?

Sizwe Mtsweni (13:05)

No, each and every year we are going to participate. You’ll see us at the ceremony next year. We are shaking many schools in this competition. So they must come and participate, watch the space. Next year we are coming very hard.

Because this year, there were some changes in terms of rules in this competition. So we struggled a little bit. But I think next year we are coming again. We are going to take all the portfolios, especially the income portfolio, as we normally do.