Learning by Playing, Learning by Doing

In life, we master one thing by first doing another. We crawl before we walk. We count before we calculate. Every skill builds on a foundation.

Yet in entrepreneurship, especially in South Africa, where high unemployment forces many into business out of necessity, people are expected to build without that foundation and the results are painfully predictable: higher costs, lower sales volumes, price pressures and competitors who are already better positioned. For entrepreneurs from underserved communities, the starting line is often not just far back, it sometimes feels invisible.

What’s missing in many cases is financial socialisation: the exposure and practice that allow people to interpret and act on financial and business information with confidence. It’s not just about numbers. It’s about instincts, attitudes and habits that can only be formed through lived experience. Without that, the entrepreneurial journey is far harder than it needs to be.

At Avo Vision, we have seen how powerful it is to begin with experience. That’s why we use business simulations as a safe space for learning. Here, entrepreneurs don’t only read about running a business, they run one. They make pricing decisions, manage costs, serve customers and see the immediate consequences of their choices. They are learning by playing, learning by doing.

The beauty of this method is that mistakes become lessons, not disasters. In a simulation, there is space to try, fail, adjust and try again. By the time participants move into their real ventures, they carry with them the confidence of having done it before.

Simulation is only the first step. Our incubation programme builds on that foundation with technical training, mentorship and market access. Entrepreneurs are not left to walk alone. They grow with a safety net, with people to call, networks to join and guidance to rely on.

This step by step process, first safe practice then supported reality, creates momentum. Each layer builds confidence. Each experience reduces the cost of failure. Over time, entrepreneurs develop not only the skills to run their businesses but also the resilience to keep going when challenges inevitably arise.

Resilience, to me, is the ability to persevere and overcome despite the barriers in front of you. In underserved communities, those barriers are higher: lack of capital, limited networks and requirements that feel like exclusions. But when entrepreneurs can draw on real experience, even simulated, resilience grows. They learn to face obstacles not with despair but with determination: I’ve done this before. I can do it again.

This is the essence of financial socialisation. It is not about flooding people with information they cannot act on. It is about giving them accelerated, practical experiences that seed the right behaviours, instill confidence and affirm their dignity. Every participant already brings life experience, resourcefulness and resilience. Our role is to connect those strengths with business principles in a way that works.

This is where Avo Vision differs from traditional training models, which often stop at information. Knowledge alone is not enough. We live in a world where anyone can learn concepts from YouTube. But confidence, the courage to act, comes only from having done it before. That is what our simulations and incubation offer.

Entrepreneurship is not a quick fix. It is a journey and journeys are better when they begin with the right first steps: safe practice, guided growth and a strong foundation. Only then can entrepreneurs not just start businesses, but sustain them and in doing so, strengthen their communities.