She left FIFA to build a low-fee school in South Africa.

Stacey Brewer’s journey into tech was anything but linear. A native of Johannesburg, she earned a BSc from Rhodes University and then spent time traveling overseas, working with high-net-worth individuals. She loved meeting new people, discovering new places, and immersing herself in new cultures. After returning to South Africa, she worked with FIFA during the World Cup and then pursued an MBA to secure a job abroad. 

During her MBA at Gibs Business School, her professors constantly highlighted the poor state of South Africa’s education system. Brewer was shocked to learn that while the country was spending a huge proportion of its budget on education, it ranked at the bottom of the world in various competitiveness reports. She was particularly struck by the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study assessment, which revealed that 80% of grade four students couldn’t read for meaning. Her thesis, inspired by this grim reality, focused on building a sustainable financial model for low-fee private schools.

The spark

Her research led her to Rocketship Education in the U.S., a pioneer in blended learning that used technology to drive cost efficiencies and create a data-rich environment for students’ understanding. Brewer was incredibly impressed by Rocketship’s ability to scale effectively and compete with more affluent schools while serving a community of second-language English speakers. She realised that technology wasn’t just an add-on; it was the core enabler for providing affordable, quality education.

Convinced that this model could work in South Africa, Brewer and her co-founder launched SPARK Schools. Two staff members from Rocketship Education, Bailey Thompson and Caitlin Burkholder, even moved from the U.S. to help get the venture off the ground. The first angel investor made an undisclosed investment without taking any shares, simply telling them to “go figure it out”. With additional capital from friends, family, and other high-net-worth individuals, they launched the first campus in 2013 with 160 students and 20 staff members.

The blended learning model

The biggest costs in any educational business are salaries and infrastructure. To address this, SPARK schools have a rotational system that staggers the use of physical space and personnel hours. Grade R to Grade 12 students rotate their school hours between physical classroom lessons and online lessons in a computer lab. SPARK Schools’ unique operational model allows the school to cut costs and still manage to keep it affordable enough for the students who need it the most. Unlike its competitors, predominantly Valenture Institute and Enko Education, which partner with existing schools to offer their services, SPARK Schools exists as a full entity on its own. 

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A mix of the best and the worst

Today, SPARK Schools states that it educates over 17,000 children across 26 campuses and employs approximately 1,500 people, the largest number among its competitors in the industry. Around 64% of their staff are youth, a fact Brewer is extremely proud of, given the country’s high youth unemployment rate. The model’s affordability and quality have been proven effective, with some learners advancing two years in a single academic year. The use of technology creates a data-rich environment that allows for differentiated instruction, helping to close the learning gap for students who arrive several grade levels behind.

Despite the immense success, the entrepreneurial journey has been a mix of highs and lows. Brewer  admits to having many days when she questioned her path, wondering why she hadn’t just pursued a “normal job.” 

Her lowest moment was during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a “really, really, really tough” time. Many families lacked the necessary resources for online learning and struggled to pay fees. However, her unwavering commitment to the students and staff, coupled with a strong support network of family and mentors, has helped her build resilience over time.

The path forward

Being a woman in the tech space is challenging, but Brewer doesn’t see it as a constraint. She believes that leadership is hard regardless of gender, and she feels she has earned her seat at the table without needing to constantly justify herself. 

For Brewer, her dream is for SPARK to expand beyond South Africa and become a strong player across the continent. She wants to ensure that Africa gets a global voice as an innovator in education. With the recent appointment of Earl Sampson as CEO in April 2025, Brewer has shifted to a more supervisory role as the Chair and Strategic Advisor, focusing on product development, cross-border expansion, and new business models to ensure the organisation’s foundations are strong enough to serve more families, bridging the gap between Africa’s literacy and the rest of the world.