You can tell a great deal about a country’s future by what sits on a child’s school desk. In high-performing education systems, nobody wonders whether a learner has a pen, a workbook, or a ruler. These basics are guaranteed. In South Africa, for millions of learners, they are not, and the impact is devastating. A child without stationery is disadvantaged from the very first step in their learning journey, creating a gap that limits opportunity over time.
This gap carries a real cost for both learners and for the country’s long-term growth. When you give a child the tools to learn, you give them a fair chance. When you extend that chance to millions, you create the foundations of shared, inclusive progress.
That is why forward-looking economies view education as an investment, not an expense. South Korea, Finland, and India all built competitiveness by treating education as national infrastructure. Their success came from consistent commitment, reliable resourcing, and the understanding that human capital drives economic strength.
South Africa will need the same foresight. While government remains central to addressing this challenge, no modern education system can rely solely on the state. The private sector has a direct stake in skilled workers, stable communities, and growing consumer markets. Citizens, too, play a role through coordinated, consistent support.
Small change. Big impact.
This collaborative effort is needed now more than ever. In the Western Cape, for example, more than 1.2 million learners are currently in schools, and that number will rise by at least 120,000 by 2030.
More learners require more classrooms, teachers, and resources. Budgets are strained and infrastructure backlogs are significant. Without additional support from businesses, communities and citizens, that gap will only expand.
The Western Cape Education Department delivered stationery to the value of R25.3m to schools for the 2026 school year, but we could do so much more with the support of the private sector, working together to support the learners who need it most.
It is this principle which underpins the collaboration between Edu Invest and Checkers. Edu Invest is a catalytic project, housed within Wesgro, in collaboration with the Western Cape Education Department, which works to attract private sector investment into the education sector in the Western Cape.
Support Act For Change Back-to-School campaign
Aligned with this objective, Edu Invest is proud to support Checkers’ Act For Change Back-to-School campaign. By donating R5 at any Checkers till point nationwide, your contribution goes towards the Act for Change Fund, helping Meals on Wheels Community Services distribute stationery to learners in underserved communities.
R2 will also be contributed to the fund when you purchase the limited-edition Act for Change exam pad from Checkers supermarkets before 1 February 2026.
Many other leading stationery brands – including Pritt, Bostik, Henkel, Staedtler, Penflex, Bic, Butterfly, Casio calculators, KV Art, Freedom Stationery, Bidvest, Palm Stationery, CTP stationery, Sappi and Plastafrica – will also donate a percentage of sales in Checkers stores from their products to help provide stationery to schools in need.
What gives this model its impact is its structure. It leverages retail networks, logistics systems, technology, and consumer behaviour to address critical gaps in classrooms. It shows how the private sector can apply its scale and operational expertise to social challenges in a way that moves the needle, not just the sentiment.
And that leads to a broader responsibility we all share. Education and economic progress are tightly linked. When education quality declines, economic growth slows. When growth slows, job creation weakens. And when jobs disappear, the country’s future comes under threat.
We can also do something to address this challenge, in whatever way we can. There are many worthwhile education back-to-school initiatives that can help make a real difference. Your small change can have a big impact.
Through strategic initiatives like Edu Invest and the support channelled via innovative efforts such as Checkers’ Act For Change’s Back-to-School campaign, we can ensure that what sits on a child’s desk becomes a marker of possibility, not limitation.
