Die MOS, Six Years In
Roedolf van der Westhuizen, CEO of Die MOS Inisiatief, reports on the organisation’s first six years, and reflects on what it’s built and where it’s going.
By Roedolf van der Westhuizen
When I think back to 1 July 2019, I see a handful of notes on my desk and one big question in my mind: What will we call this thing we believe in so deeply? Five days later, we chose a name: Die MOS Inisiatief.
MOS stands for Moedertaal in Onafhanklike Skole, or “mother tongue in independent schools”. But the word mos is also a true South Africanism. Like braai or lekker, it lives across languages and communities. And that is our vision – an education movement rooted in Afrikaans, but inclusive of all mother tongues, true to our Constitution and true to the children who trust us with their future.
Six years later, here we are: sharing our first audited financial statements for MOS Uitreiker Ltd, the company that houses our smart bond programme, a bold step that has helped us take this vision even further, faster.
From One Preschool To A National Network
In November 2019 we bought our first school: Kleinhoewe Kleuterskool. It taught us how to run a real preschool – not just in theory, but on the ground, with real families, teachers, and, most importantly, real children. Three months later, in March 2020, we acquired Futurum Akademie, which transformed us overnight from a single preschool to a true group that could serve children from nappies to matric.
Then the world stopped. Lockdown. March 2020. For us, it was business as usual. Our small team was already spread between Cape Town, Gauteng, North West and the Northern Cape. We met on Google Meet long before remote work was the norm. It taught us resilience and agility. These were lessons that would shape our growth.
In February 2020 we began developing the MOS Learning System, our own curriculum framework designed for a modern world where every learner is treated as an individual. This framework is the cornerstone of what we believe the Fourth Industrial Revolution school should look like. We call this a Learning School, where the focus shifts from teaching to learning, because in the Information Age, not a single person can call themselves a master of any subject any longer. Now, a teacher’s role moves from the front of the class to the back of the learning space to guide learners through their pursuit of knowledge and understanding. By August, we realised it could do more: it could work for homeschooling too. So, we launched MOS Wêreldwyd, a byproduct and a parallel path that gave us scale and opened doors for families ready to question the status quo.
On 27 January 2021, MOS Wêreldwyd welcomed its first 32 learners in Grades 7 to 9. At that point, we were still recovering from learner losses at our two physical schools due to Covid, but we believed in the longevity of our offering.
In June 2021, we purchased Knikkie Knakkie Kleuterskool in Wonderboom, Pretoria – our first feeder for a strong public primary school, Laerskool Wonderboom. The site also set the stage for a high school based on our Learning school model. We are in the process of developing it today.
In January 2022, we planted a flag in the Karoo: Karos Akademie opened its doors in Beaufort West as our first true Learning School — a high school driven by our Learning System. Two years in, Karos Akademie has delivered two Grade 12 classes with a 100% IEB pass rate, proof that small towns deserve big results – and can deliver on it.
By the end of 2022, we added Abra-Kedabra Crèche in Bellville, Linden Akademie in Johannesburg, and a minority share in Vuurvliegie Akademie — securing Afrikaans education supply lines in both the Western Cape and Gauteng. In January 2023, Karos Akademie and MOS Wêreldwyd enrolled their first matriculants.
An Historic Leap: The Smart Bond Year
Until this point, every expansion had been funded by careful reinvestment and equity partners who believed in the mission, as well as some bank loans. But we knew we needed a new tool to match our ambition. In April 2024, we issued our first smart bond on Mesh: the MOS 10-Year Prime+2% Floating Rate Bond.
You backed it. You trusted us.
Your capital did not sit still. With your investment, we:
- Completed Phase 1 of Kosmos Akademie in Middelburg, moving from temporary church halls to a modern campus ready to house 250 learners, and a master plan to grow to 1,300.
- Launched Knikkievallei in Krugersdorp, our first full public-private partnership with Kenmare Marlothii NPC and Laerskool Kenmare.
- Expanded Karos Akademie with Phase 2 to keep up with rising enrolment.
- Made key capital upgrades at our existing schools, improving facilities, strengthening sustainability and boosting enrolment.
- Secured new acquisitions like Emmanuel Kindersentrum in Pretoria and a stake in Rots Akademie in Linden, Johannesburg, growing our footprint in Gauteng.
- Broke ground on new ideas like our MOS Kleinskole Netwerk, an innovative way to keep rural Afrikaans schools alive by helping communities open viable schools with as few as 20 learners, backed by our system and teacher network.
- Opened Kabouterbos Kleuterskool in Brooklyn, Pretoria, the newest addition to our early childhood cluster.
And crucially, we did what we promised: we paid four coupon payments on time, with a fifth around the corner. And many investors reinvested, showing that they see the momentum we see.
One Milestone At A Time
A seasoned desert traveler once said the only way to cross the Sahara is to follow the black oil drums the French left behind – one every five kilometres. Keep the one behind you in sight, the one ahead in focus, and take the next step. That’s how you cross a desert. That’s how we built the MOS dream.
Your investment in our bond is part of that journey. Every drum behind us is a project we finished, a learner we served, a school we opened. Every drum ahead is a new milestone: the high school in Wonderboom breaking ground this year, Hartland Akademie in Hartenbos opening when conditions allow, more Kleinskole launched, more learners enrolled, more futures shaped.
The Road Ahead: Nine Years To Deliver More
Schools do not mature overnight. It takes five to seven years for a new school to reach sustainability. That’s why we structured a 10-year bond: seven years to stabilise, three years to deliver and repay, with refinancing and bank partners to protect your investment and free up capital for the next cycle.
The R100 million you helped raise in our first issuance is just the beginning. Over the next decade, our goal is to grow MOS Uitreiker Ltd into a trusted, repeatable debenture programme that can unlock at least R2 billion worth of instruments – responsibly, transparently, and always linked to real assets: new schools, new phases, land, and the systems that make mother-tongue education possible.
You are part of this with us, not just as financiers, but as partners in a mission bigger than any balance sheet. We are backed by the Trust vir Afrikaanse Onderrig, guaranteed by TAKKE, and guided by an experienced board who keep us true to our promise: that every child deserves quality mother tongue education, from city centres to Karoo towns.
Thank You
Bill Gates famously said, “Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10.” That’s our story. Year by year, we’ve missed plenty of short-term targets. But six years in, we’re far ahead of what we thought was possible.
And that’s why I am so optimistic about the next nine.
Thank you for trusting us, with your capital, with your confidence, and with the children whose future we are shaping together. We don’t just invest in schools. We invest in people who will lead, serve, and build a country that honours its languages, its heritage, and its children.
Together, we’re crossing this desert. One drum, one step, one milestone at a time.
At Mesh, transparency matters. We want you to have full access to the financial performance of the businesses you’re invested in, so you can stay informed and confident in your portfolio.
Click here to view the audited annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, from MOS Uitreiker Ltd.
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