social entrepreneurship Archives

19Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Getting SA’s Social Entrepreneurs Investment Ready

The impact investing market now stands at around US$715 billion globally and this figure is climbing steadily[i].What’s more, 43% of impact investors have funds allocated to Africa, with 52% of investors planning to increase their African investment over the next five years[ii]. With South Africa being the largest market for impact investing within Southern Africa[iii], are our social entrepreneurs ready for this investment? Ashleigh Sibanda, Programme Manager: Business Incubation at business growth specialists Fetola explains that investment readiness refers to the capacity of an enterprise to understand and meet the specific needs and expectations of investors. “While there are thousands of social enterprises in the country, not all of them possess this. In fact, the World Bank cites th...

SA’s Social Entrepreneurs Need Support to Succeed

South Africa’s 141,500 social entrepreneurs are both solving the country’s most pressing problems and contributing to the economy in the process, with the creation of nearly 600,000 jobs and an estimated 76,000 more by 2030[i]. Sadly, however, approximately 70% say they struggle to raise funding due to a lack of networks[ii] and40% don’t even know what type of funding to raise[iii]. What’s more, their choice of business model could be impacting the amount of funding they raise[iv]. “These entrepreneurs need support and guidance if they are to succeed,” says Ashleigh Sibanda, Programme Manager: Business Incubation at business growth specialists Fetola. Together with FNB, Fetola has recently opened entries for the 2021 Social Entrepreneurship Impact Lab™(SEIL) Programme. Running for the se...

N’Gunu Tiny on Why social entrepreneurship supports local communities throughout Africa

Transformative tech and social innovation expert N’Gunu Tiny talks about how social entrepreneurship helps communities in Africa. N’Gunu Tiny, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Emerald Group, is an expert in transformative tech and social innovation. His book Impacting Lives will be published in Fall 2021. Before the pandemic, Africa was surging ahead with local and national developments across all sectors. And COVID-19 isn’t slowing the emergence of social entrepreneurship that is creating ways out of poverty and empowering Africa’s people. From technology to healthcare, grassroots organisations and local communities are fighting to improve local economies. Social entrepreneurship is the key to encouraging this level of development throughout the continent. Social entrepreneurship is...