For David Kaleb Abdool, an interest in business began with weekends at his parents’ shop in Trinidad and Tobago. Selling juice and bags of chow gave him his first experience of finding customers. Later, the KidsMBA programme at CTS College helped him build on that enthusiasm, culminating in first place in the cohort’s business pitch challenge.

Originally reported by Guardian Media in November 2020, his story shows how family encouragement and an opportunity to learn can help young people take their ambitions further.

An early interest in enterprise

At 11, David began accompanying his parents to their business in Trincity Mall, Trinidad and Tobago. He helped sell to customers and watched how the family business worked, developing an interest in becoming a businessman himself.

He soon started trying out ideas of his own. He bought juice to sell to friends at the mall and prepared bags of chow to sell at weekends. These were small ventures, but they gave him direct experience of offering a product and finding customers.

His initiative extended beyond selling. When his school organised a walkathon, David collected more than $1,000 in donations in just a few days.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted his plans. The mall closed to the public, leaving him without the customers his small business depended on.

A new opportunity to learn

With his weekend trading on hold, David found another way to pursue his interest.

He enrolled in the KidsMBA programme at CTS College of Business and Computer Science Ltd in Chaguanas. Joining the college’s third cohort, he was one of 17 young people working towards a final Shark Tank-style presentation.

The programme required commitment. Alongside the enjoyment of learning about business came homework, preparation and the effort needed to complete unfamiliar tasks.

Reflecting on the experience, David told Guardian Media:

“It was fun but sometimes it was hard and it took a lot of time and effort to get the homework done.”

His words offer an honest picture of learning. Enjoying a subject does not mean finding every part of it easy. Progress also involves staying with a task when it becomes demanding.

Putting his ideas to the test

At the end of the programme, all 17 participants delivered a business presentation. Five were selected to progress, including David.

The finalists then presented and answered questions from the judges. This gave them an opportunity to practise an important part of business communication: explaining an idea clearly and responding when someone examines it more closely.

David went on to win the challenge, placing first.

For a young person whose first business experiences had taken place at a shopping mall, the competition offered a different setting in which to apply his enthusiasm and demonstrate what he had learnt.

The support behind the achievement

David’s journey also included significant personal loss. Adopted by Agnes and Farouk Abdool at three and a half, he later experienced the deaths of several close family members.

His faith remained an important part of his life, alongside his interest in business. During the pandemic, when churches were closed, he prepared and led services for his family at home.

Following his KidsMBA achievement, David thanked his parents and siblings for funding his place and encouraging him throughout the programme. He also acknowledged his Standard Five teacher at Tacarigua Presbyterian School, Ms Nalini Kamal.

Those thanks are a reminder that a young person’s achievement often has a wider circle of support behind it: people who recognise an interest, make an opportunity possible and offer encouragement when the work becomes difficult.

Giving early ambition room to grow

David arrived at KidsMBA with curiosity and some experience of selling. The programme gave him a structured opportunity to build on that foundation, prepare a presentation and have his ideas questioned.

Winning was a memorable result. The learning involved in reaching that point mattered too: completing the work, preparing carefully and taking responsibility for presenting his ideas.

His story illustrates the value of taking young people’s ambitions seriously. An early interest in business can become an opportunity to practise communication, persistence and decision-making, with lessons that reach beyond a single competition.

For David, weekends at the family shop were a starting point. With encouragement and an opportunity to learn, he took that interest further.

Source: Adapted from “Young man of God gets kidsMBA”, published by Guardian Media on 7 November 2020. This article reflects David’s experience as reported at that time.