Epoch and Optima Trusts

Tshikululu provides full fund management services including social investment strategy development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, financial oversight, compliance and governance.

The Epoch and Optima Trusts are three independent trusts that were founded by Anglo American as a result of endemic persistence of very poor outcomes of the education system in Mathematics (in terms of both quality and quantity). The trusts aim to improve mathematics participation and quality passes through three different programmes:

• The Maths Challenge Programme (MCP), which focuses on secondary schools that consistently produce a substantial number of quality maths passes, with a specific focus on African learners;
• A pilot Primary School Programme, which aims to support feeder schools for the MCP to strengthen the complete “pipeline” of maths education; and
• A Teacher Learnership Programme which aims to produce qualified and practically trained teachers who will add much-needed value in South African maths, science and language teaching.