Letshego Botswana recently supported Palapye Community Junior Secondary School with sponsorship for P30, 000 towards the school’s Staff Awards Ceremony that was held on 12 April 2022 in Palapye. The ceremony is an initiative by the school to reward and motivate their members of staff who have met the school’s target in the recently released Junior Certificate results for the year 2021. For the past three years, the Palapye Community Junior Secondary School has recorded an improved performance – 2019 (37.5%), 2020 (48.5%) and 2021 (50.4%). The awards aim to encourage and inspire every member of Palapye Community Junior Secondary School to work harder, in pursuit of high and improved academic results.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Letshego Botswana Chief Executive Officer, Fergus Ferguson said, “When financial investments are targeted at social outcomes, impacts can be seen in areas of increased access to education and health care and in creating the right conditions for their development. Our diversification agenda serves this vision and purpose, with the aim to broaden our product capabilities to support these programs. We continue to work with our valued partners to build and enhance the ‘programmatic approach’ which stands to provide new opportunities and value for our customers and communities. Our support to Palapye Community Junior Secondary School also aligns with the national mandate to invest in education, and Letshego’s to increase access to simple and appropriate financial solutions and encourage productive use of loans.”
Letshego strives to improve lives and achieve a sustainable impact in Botswana and across all the markets where they operate. In line with their solution offering and strategic focus on Youth, Health, Agriculture and Education, they align with 9 out of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Letshego Botswana continues to engage to understand the needs of the education sector and schools, to further align their business to meet these needs to create mutually beneficial partnerships to reach their longer-term goals.
Also attending the awards ceremony the Chief of Staff to the Office of the President Boyce Sebetlela said, “These awards area a worthwhile initiative to recognise and reward the hard work and perseverance of Palapye Community Junior Secondary School teachers and staff. It is a notable achievement to have improved the performance of students from a grade average of 37.53% to 50.4% over 3 years. This didn’t happen by chance. The leadership of the school and parents have been working very hard to arrive here. I wish them better next year.”
Investment in education has positive impacts related to income, economic growth, and poverty reduction. Letshego aims to focus on providing financial solutions to improve lives for key players in the education system, from the parents who wish to invest in education for their children and themselves, to the teachers, officers and the schools. Last year, Letshego partnered with Botswana Teachers Union to facilitate the delivery of a bespoke financial literacy program through financial wellness clinics held for teachers across the country over a period of 12 months.