R8 billion to do something spectacular for South Africa

Founder Chris van der Merwe said transitioning the Curro private school group into a non-profit, public benefit organisation (PBO) had tremendous benefits.

He shared details about the Curro and Jannie Mouton Foundation deal in a discussion at the 2026 BizNews Conference in Hermanus.

Van der Merwe, who started his career as a primary school teacher, had big dreams about improving education in South Africa.

He completed a doctoral degree on what educational institutions needed to compete globally, and was keen to put this knowledge into practice.

He applied for a senior position at the Western Cape Department of Education in his field of expertise. However, he was unsuccessful.

He realised that the only way he could fulfil his educational dreams was to start his own school. In 1998, at the age of 31 and working as a deputy principal, he resigned.

He used his R240,000 severance package to launch the first Curro school, with 28 pupils, on church-leased premises in Durbanville.

He partnered with co-founders Thys Franken, Eddie Conradie, and Eduard Ungerer, who focused on the academics while he drove the business.

The concept worked, and they launched three further Curro schools in Langebaan, Silver Lakes, and Roodeplaat.

Scaling their private school model required funding, and they partnered with PSG Group and its founder, billionaire businessman Jannie Mouton.

PSG bought a 50% stake in Curro for R50 million and brought in a team of chartered accountants who shared critical business insights.

The partnership produced exceptional results, growing Curro into the biggest private school network in South Africa with 189 schools serving 72,000 learners.

In 2017, Chris van der Merwe stepped down as Curro CEO after 20 years at the helm of the private school group.

Chris van der Merwe’s second life

In 2017, two things happened in Van der Merwe’s life. He became the chief executive of Stadio, and he was appointed to the Jannie Mouton Foundation.

When he joined the foundation in 2017, it had R200 million in cash. By March 2025, the cash balance had grown to R8 billion.

It was Van der Merwe’s responsibility to allocate this capital to help South Africa on behalf of the Jannie Mouton Foundation.

Mouton’s son, Jan Mouton, was chairing the trust from London, and Van der Merwe was based in Stellenbosch.

“I told Jan that we could not even spend the interest on the R8 billion. Can’t we do something spectacular to help the country?” he asked.

A few weeks later, Mouton’s other son, Piet, phoned Van der Merwe and asked him for a meeting.

Piet unveiled a plan, masterminded by his brother Jan, to use the R8 billion to buy out Curro’s shareholders and delist the company from the JSE.

Shareholders would receive a 60% premium, which would make them happy, and Curro could become a public benefit organisation (PBO).

“Something spectacular would happen. The R600 million cash flow could go to growing the school group instead of the shareholders,” he said.

In October 2025, Curro shareholders overwhelmingly supported the move, with a 99.98% vote in favour of the plan.

The deal became unconditional in late December 2025 after receiving the green light from competition authorities in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.

Curro officially delisted from the JSE on 13 January 2026, signalling the start of a new era for the school group.

This was the largest single act of philanthropy in South African history, shifting a large private infrastructure into a vehicle for public good.

The new Curro

The new Curro board had its first meeting on 11 March 2026, with Piet as chairman. Van der Merwe said it was a special moment.

Curro was no longer beholden to shareholders or dividend payouts, which means it had a new business model and a new vision.

Instead of paying out profits, 100% of any surplus generated by the schools is now reinvested in the organisation. The Jannie Mouton Foundation’s goal is to use these funds to build new schools in underserved and rural areas.

It will also be used to upgrade existing facilities and provide thousands of bursaries for underprivileged students.

By operating as a non-profit, the group can focus on long-term educational impact rather than short-term financial results.

The existing leadership team remained in place to run the 189 schools independently, ensuring academic standards remained consistent.

Since going private, the group has already begun consolidating its brands. In February 2026, Curro received approval to fully acquire the Meridian Schools operations.

Meridian Schools were previously part of a complex joint venture, and the deal brought those cost-sensitive schools entirely under the new non-profit umbrella.