Our Foundation
Our Story
How one question sparked the creation of Mini CEO, and why we're committed to empowering the next generation of South African young leaders.
How It All Began
Mini CEO began with a simple question:
What would be possible if children were exposed to practical life skills earlier?
As a mother and someone who has spent years working within the education sector, I often found myself reflecting on my own journey. Many of the skills that have helped me navigate adulthood, entrepreneurship, and personal growth were not skills I learned in school. They were lessons I had to discover later — through experience, failure, persistence, and self-development.
I began thinking about my daughter and the world she is growing up in.
The future belongs to those who can think critically, communicate confidently, solve problems, adapt to change, understand money, and create opportunities for themselves and others. Yet many children are only exposed to these concepts much later in life.
That realization sparked the idea for Mini CEO.
What started as notes, sketches, and mind maps in my bedroom became a vision to create something I wished existed when I was younger — a space where children could learn practical skills in a fun, engaging, and age-appropriate way.
Mini CEO was built on the belief that children are capable of far more than we often give them credit for.
By introducing entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership, communication, agriculture, teamwork, and problem-solving at an early age, we are not trying to rush childhood. We are giving children tools they can carry with them for life.
Our goal is not simply to teach children how to make money.
Our goal is to teach them how to think.
- To think creatively.
- To think independently.
- To think responsibly.
- To think with confidence.
We want children to understand the value of hard work, the importance of resilience, how to learn from failure, how to identify opportunities, and how to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
Most importantly, we want them to believe that they are capable of building solutions, creating opportunities, and shaping their own future.
– Mpho Mnyakeni
Founder, Mini CEO
Vision
To become South Africa's leading children's entrepreneurship and leadership movement by partnering with schools, parents, and communities to equip young learners with practical life skills, financial literacy, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking from an early age.
Mission
To provide Grade R–3 learners with engaging, practical, and age-appropriate experiences that develop leadership, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, communication, agriculture, and problem-solving skills.