Start thinking out the box
THESE ENTREPRENEURS BELIEVE THE IMPACT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFIT South Africans can change the future to one of opportunity and hope.
Social entrepreneurship is the mother of all social change. It is a field that is accessible to all, irrespective of education, social standing, race or background. It is a buzzword lately and is simpler than we might think.
Imagine facing a problem every day – one that is shared by your community and is so blatantly obvious or even so entrenched in daily routine that we no longer pay it any heed. A simple solution one day comes to mind that would solve this problem: outrageous, different or so straightforward that you do not believe it has merit or that someone else hasn’t already thought of it.
Sound familiar? Well, this is the pretext for any social entrepreneur’s golden idea. The mind shift that needs to be made for aspiring social entrepreneurs is to see familiar problems in a fresh way and to find the earning potential in that problem.
The key to social entrepreneurship is to spot opportunities in the negative and the solution must impact positively on certain social, environmental or cultural areas such as education, health care, poverty alleviation or community development.
Traits that set social entrepreneurs apart from traditional entrepreneurs is their ability to place purpose above or on the same level as profit.
The impact of their idea or business model extends beyond the bottom line, incorporating the wider community and environment and has a longer-lasting effect compared to traditional business models. They often challenge conventional thinking of measuring business performance on financial results only, while at the same time these impact assessments are often difficult to measure or report on, if done at all.
According to the United Nations Development Programmes Human Development Report, South Africa ranks 119th in the
See familiar problems in a fresh way
world in areas such as life expectancy, education and income per capita. Unemployment rose to 27% in 2017, with youth unemployment figures almost double that. This means that three out of 10 people and one in two of South Arica’s youth are unemployed. With 60% of the country’s population under the age of 35, the country is facing a growing crisis with regards to its future.
Social entrepreneurship aims to not only address unemployment in the youth, but the spillover effect of its impact further raises the standard of living in the wider community to the benefit of the broader environment. This element of business impact ought to be integral to any business looking to be part of taking South Africa forward.
All South Africans can play a part in advancing social entrepreneurship and its impact on the economy by elevating purpose in daily consumer choices by choosing better alternatives to the products they normally purchase and consume. They can be intent on understanding the stories of those they buy from and share the stories they encounter where local businesses are making a difference in the community. Celebrate the innovators and South Africans might change their future of uncertainty to one of opportunity and hope.
Lucas Odendaal is an investment analyst at Mergon and part of the Nation Builder collaborative.
SA ranks 119th for life expectancy, education and income per capita. United Nations Human Development Report