As a retailer with heart, we love to give back.

We believe in giving back to the communities that we serve in ways that have a positive effect on both the communities in which we operate, as well as the environment.

PEP understands the importance of education and remains committed to finding new ways of encouraging learning, giving hope, and making a positive impact. Our efforts are always underpinned by PEP’s purpose of making it possible for everyone to look and feel good.

Our flagship CSI project is the PEP Academy. Between 2008 and 2023, it helped 28 000 learners and hundreds of teachers. By helping to inspire learning and giving hope, it is designed to make a positive difference to Grade 4 and 5 learners by giving them extra tuition in literacy and numeracy – the building blocks of education.

PEP Academy teachers are encouraged to manage their classrooms so that every child participates and is heard. Learners are encouraged to use physical resources to help them understand abstract concepts.

PEP started the PEP Academies 15 years ago to increase the education level in schools. A PEP Academy includes 165 learners, five teachers and an academy manager responsible for the programme’s day-to-day operations.

Academies are hosted by schools and serve the learners of the host schools. Teachers and managers are recruited from the host schools. A caterer from each community is contracted to provide the afternoon snack.

Academies operate independently, but the school management teams of host schools support and provide an environment conducive to them functioning well.

The academy programme is managed by Social Innovations, who employ the teachers, managers and regional mentors. Social Innovations contracts with service providers to deliver the academic programme for each learning area, which includes curriculum, training materials and in-class support.

The academic partners are Molteno (literacy service provider) and Olico (maths partner).