A South African game-based learning company is taking its entrepreneurship model global after being selected by The King’s Trust International to roll out an enterprise game across six Commonwealth countries.
Sea Monster will redesign and develop the Trust’s Enterprise Game, extending its approach to entrepreneurship education beyond Africa into a broader international programme.
“We couldn’t be more delighted with our collaboration with Sea Monster,” says Jo Parsons, director of delivery and impact at The King’s Trust International. “From the outset, they invested the time to truly understand not only the goals of the project and the ambition of the charity, but crucially the lived realities of the young people this game is designed to empower.
Sea Monster, launched in 2011, develops games, simulations and interactive digital experiences aimed at building entrepreneurial skills. Its work is backed by more than R16-million in funding and support from SME investment firm Edge Growth.
Edge Growth invests in high-potential small businesses and supports them post-investment, with a focus on scaling entrepreneurship as a driver of economic growth.
Sea Monster’s approach centres on using games as a practical learning tool, particularly in markets where traditional education and business training are not reaching enough young people. South Africa’s youth unemployment rate is about 45.5%, among the highest globally.
The company argues that games work as an entrepreneurship tool because they are:
- Data-driven: Every interaction generates measurable learning outcomes, allowing educators and partners to track real skill development rather than relying on test scores alone
- Deeply engaging: Players spend extended, voluntary time inside the learning environment – not because they have to, but because they want to
- A safe space to fail: In a game, failure has no real-world consequences. Players can test strategies, make mistakes, learn from them, and try again – a freedom that is particularly valuable for young people from communities where the cost of failure in real life is extremely high
- Systems thinkers: Good games teach players to understand cause-and-effect, resource management, and strategic decision-making – precisely the systems thinking that entrepreneurship demands
Its design approach reflects local conditions, particularly in emerging markets. Tools need to be “mobile-first, able to work offline, culturally relevant, and affordable”.
The partnership with The King’s Trust International represents its most significant global deployment to date. The Trust is one of the world’s largest impact organisations, with entrepreneurship as a central focus.
Sea Monster has previously worked across financial services, non-profits and international programmes. The company provided the following details of previous projects:
Some of their other impressive and ‘game changing’ partnerships include:
- In partnership with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, Sea Monster developed AGEC, a mobile-first business simulation game that reached over 10,800 players across four countries, achieved a 74.4% completion rate, boosted business valuation knowledge by 448%, and earned international awards
- With Nedbank, the team created Chow Town, the first African banking experience on the Roblox platform, attracting 1.5-million young South Africans, earning an 81% positive rating, and introducing multiplayer gameplay
- For Lemonade Day USA, Sea Monster built My Lemonade Day, a digital companion app that transforms the youth entrepreneurship programme for ages 5–13, supporting financial literacy and enabling scalable programme delivery
The King’s Trust project expands Sea Monster’s work into a multi-country rollout, applying a model developed in South Africa to a wider global context.
The deal reflects a broader shift in entrepreneurship education, where locally developed digital tools are being adapted for international use.
Backed by continued support from Edge Growth, Sea Monster is positioning its approach to game-based learning as a scalable way to equip young people with business skills in markets where access to traditional training remains limited.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.