The EMSP was established in 2007 for learners from the rural and/or disadvantaged schools affiliated with the Trust’s Beyers Naude Schools Development Programme.

The EMSP has always aimed to create a viable, vibrant network of young leaders. The programme has been supporting learners as they advance their education with the end goal of assisting bright young South Africans to become promising businessmen and -women who go on to have a positive impact on their communities by becoming agents of change and breaking the cycle of generational poverty. To date the programme has invested over R160 million and over 140 students have gone through the programme.

The Eric Molobi Scholarship Programme (EMSP) launched the Kagiso Trust Alumni Programme during its 10th Anniversary celebration in 2017. The Alumni Programme seeks to reconnect previous EMSP/Kagiso Trust Bursary beneficiaries with current beneficiaries. We want to inculcate the spirit of ploughing back and paying it forward. Alumni can give back through various ways, from mentorship to employment

Having focused on these sectors for ten years, the EMSP will be expanding into other sectors going forward. We seek to grapple with opportunities and threats that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has presented. To encourage a network of young people into whose hands we can, with confidence, entrust our future.

The EMSP was named after one of our founding Trustees and former Chief Executive Officer, the late Eric Molobi. This was in recognition of his contribution as an active citizen as well as his passion on matters pertaining to education. When Eric was incarcerated as a political prisoner on Robben Island, he furthered his studies – one of the examples of how much he valued education.

Each year, students are carefully selected from disadvantaged, mostly rural, schools affiliated to the Trust’s Beyers Naudé Schools Development Programme (BNSDP). The programme then funds the selected students during their three to four-year degree. The investment finances the students’ university tuition fees, textbooks, educational equipment, accommodation, transport, administrative and management expenses.

The EMSP model ensures that students’ psycho-social needs are addressed, and the students’ parents and/or guardians get to know Kagiso Trust personally. Additional support is provided to beneficiaries through:

Visits to the students’ homes for parents and/or guardians to meet Kagiso Trust;

Acclimatisation support to help students adjust to their environment;

Technical support in the form of a laptop bought for each student;

Financial support for tuition and a monthly living allowance;

In-service training opportunities are sought out for engineering students who struggle to get placement.