The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has announced that the 2025 edition of its annual Virtual Trading Game (VTG) and Investment Challenge (IC), its flagship financial literacy initiatives aimed at enhancing financial literacy among South Africans, have kicked off.
The engaging educational programmes, tailored for university students and high school learners, as well as the South African public, provide participants with the invaluable opportunity to acquire real-world investing and trading knowledge and skills.
Participants have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a dynamic simulated trading environment, with top performers standing the chance to win a series of amazing prizes.
This year, the JSE’s long standing Investment Challenge heads into its 52nd year with the continued goal of fostering financial literacy among South Africa’s high school learners and university students.
“The JSE takes great pride in spearheading the Investment Challenge, offering learners and students an early opportunity to delve into the world of investing and cultivate sound financial habits. By promoting financial literacy from a young age, we are empowering South Africa’s youth with the essential tools to achieve their financial goals,” says Ralph Speirs, senior CSI Officer at the JSE.
High school learners can look forward to monthly prizes of R500 each for top performers, along with R500 for their school’s principal and R500 for the supervising teacher. Additionally, annual prizes valued at R330 000 will be awarded in the form of investment vouchers.
For university students, the monthly prizes are R3 000 worth of investment vouchers. The grand prizes include three awards totalling R120 000 in investment vouchers. In addition, the top-performing university team will win an all-expenses-paid trip to an international stock exchange.
The VTG, similarly to the Investment Challenge, aims to provide a risk-free platform for participants to hone their trading skills and compete for their share of some amazing prizes. Players receive a virtual portfolio of R1 million to trade JSE-listed shares, allowing them to develop and test trading strategies without risking their personal savings.
Primarily geared toward the South African public, the VTG, now in its fifth year, features a revamped prize structure designed to reward both consistent performance and strategic trading. In addition to the grand prizes awarded at the end of the competition (March to September) – totaling R400 000 – monthly prizes will be awarded to the top three portfolios each month, from March to August.
The prize structure is as follows:
Annual Game (March – September):
- First prize: R100 000 investment voucher
- Second Prize: R50 000 investment voucher
- 3Thid Prize: R25 000 investment voucher
Monthly Game (March, April, May, June, July, August):
- First Prize: R2 500 investment voucher
- Second Prize: R1 500 investment voucher
- Third Prize: R1 000 investment voucher
“The JSE is committed to empowering South Africans with the knowledge and skills to participate confidently in the stock market,” says Speirs. “The Virtual Trading Game provides a risk-free platform for individuals to learn about investing, develop their trading strategies, and win fantastic prizes. With the introduction of monthly prizes, we’re creating even more opportunities for participants to be rewarded for their efforts and build a solid foundation for their financial future.”
Students who wish to participate in this year’s Investment Challenge can register on university.jse.co.za and high school learners can register on schools.jse.co.za.
For the non-students, aspiring investors can register for the Virtual Trading Game via the website on virtualtradinggame.jse.co.za.