PRIMARY school students are being given US$10,000 in virtual money to learn how to become shareholders in the businesses behind everyday purchases, as the Caribbean Stock Market Game returns for a new Jamaican cohort with greater emphasis on local companies.

The programme allows children to research businesses, practise buying and selling shares, and follow the performance of their investments without using actual money. Its partners, WizdomCRM and Street Forrest Business Consultancy, are targeting 25,000 students annually across Jamaica.

To help fund that reach, Former Jamaica Stock Exchange Managing Director Dr Marlene Street Forrest told the Jamaica Observer that corporate support is being sought for an 10,000 licences at US$6.66 each. That would put the initial sponsorship at US$66,000.

“To reach a penetration rate of 25 per cent, we are targeting 25,000 school children annually across Jamaica, with focus on grades four and five” Street Forrest said.

The programme was relaunched on Wednesday for the October-to-December cohort initially covers 10 Kingston schools. WizdomCRM is supporting the first 700 licences, each covering one student.

According to Street Forrest, efforts to broaden capital market participation have been hampered by waiting until adulthood to introduce people to investing.

“For many years, we have spoken about also broadening the participation in Jamaica’s capital market. And one of the things that I have found is the repetition that we have had to have with adults,” she said at the virtual relaunch.

“So we go again and again because what we have not done is create a sustainable path towards persons understanding investment.”

The game starts each student with a simulated US$10,000 portfolio, which they can use to make practice investments in Jamaican and overseas shares. Buying shares represents ownership in a business; within the simulation, students can explore that relationship and see how changes in share prices affect the value of their holdings.

They can investigate what companies sell, consider information about their operations and choose which shares to buy. As prices change, they can review their decisions, sell holdings or adjust the mix of companies in their portfolios.

That process introduces concepts such as profit and loss, percentages, exchange rates and diversification — spreading investments across different businesses and markets to manage risk, the organisers explained.

They have refreshed the platform to give Jamaican companies greater prominence after students in an earlier cohort gravitated towards international names such as Apple and Tesla.

WizdomCRM Chairman Orlando Powell said the Jamaica Stock Exchange now appears first when students explore the available markets. The organisers also confirmed that simulated local trades remain unlimited while restrictions apply to international trades, noting that the intention is to expose children to global markets while ensuring they recognise opportunities closer to home.

“Because the idea, too, is for the students to understand our local markets, to understand what obtains here. Because there is a tendency to just go over to global and look at Apple, Microsoft, etc,” Street Forrest said.

The emphasis on familiar businesses is also intended to help children connect investment concepts with everyday life. A product on a supermarket shelf, for example, can become the starting point for learning about the company that manufactures or distributes it and what it means to be a shareholder.

“What we’re trying to do also is to help our students appreciate the difference between just being a consumer … and becoming owners of productive assets,” Street Forrest said.

Students are supported by teachers, animated guides and an artificial intelligence tutor called Maven, which accepts typed or spoken questions and can read explanations aloud.

During the launch, Powell demonstrated how a child could ask about Jamaican and international companies, receive explanations using familiar examples and then move to the trading section to make a simulated purchase.

The platform can be accessed through a computer, tablet or mobile phone. A currency converter allows students to use their virtual US dollar funds for trades in Jamaican shares.

According to Powell, US share prices on the platform move in real time, while Jamaican prices are updated at the end of the trading day.

Teachers are being encouraged to devote approximately 30 to 45 minutes weekly to the programme, potentially through a stock market club. School visits and online learning sessions will provide support, while automated reports will help teachers and principals follow student participation and progress.

Street Forrest said the opportunity to make decisions and examine the consequences is an important part of the exercise. Even with AI available to explain concepts, students should develop the judgement to consider their options and learn from their choices.

The partners now seek support from banks, investment houses, listed companies and foundations to bring those lessons to more schools, particularly children with limited exposure to investing.

“We are saying that we are inviting you to invest in financial education for the next generation,” Street Forrest said.

Under their seven-year partnership, WizdomCRM provides the technology and learning platform, while Street Forrest Business Consultancy supports Jamaican relationships, coordination and sponsorship engagement.

The partners intend to use participation data and programme results to attract funding for future cohorts. Their longer-term plans include extending financial education across secondary schools, universities and workplaces, with the Jamaican experience also intended to support expansion into Mexico.

For the current cohort, competition was scheduled to begin on October 15, with an awards ceremony planned for December. Recognition will cover participation, improvement, analysis and teamwork as well as investment results.

Organisers said cash prizes, certificates and other awards would be available for students, teachers and schools, although full prize values and judging criteria were not announced.

Meanwhile, parents and teachers interested in participating can visit caribbeanstockmarketgame.com. Registration requires details including the student’s name, email address, country and school.

Street Forrest said registration would remain open after the competition begins, with teaching support available to help newcomers catch up. Schools not already listed can also be added to the system once their details are provided to the organisers.

Deputy chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Winnie Berry (second row, third left), shared a photo opportunity with stakeholders and students during last year’s Wizdom CRM Virtual Stock Market Game Awards Ceremony, hosted in collaboration with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) at the JSE headquarters on Harbour Street in Kingston. The stakeholders are (from second row, left) JSE Group Business Development Manager André Gooden; Berger Paints Chief Financial Officer Chamika Cuffy; then JSE Managing Director, Dr. Marlene Street Forrest; assistant chief executive officer in the Media Services Unit of the Ministry Nadine Simms; and teacher at Half-Way Tree Primary School Debbie Smith. The students are from (front row, from left) Ashauni Lyons, Nalani Cole, Kahleel Hutchinson, Khalif Wright, Foluke Simpson and Kyle Mighty. (Photo:JIS)