I am encouraged by the continent鈥檚 rich history of innovation and ingenuity. After all, Africa is the cradle of humankind, where stone tools were first invented (2.6 million years ago in modern Ethiopia), papyrus was invented by the Egyptians more than 5聽000 years ago, and where the world鈥檚 first university 鈥� in 859 鈥� was created in Morocco.

Today, Africa is more prosperous than at any other time in history, with more children having access to education opportunities, fewer people living in extreme poverty, and most people living in democracies.

A shining example of the continent鈥檚 willingness to meet our shared challenges, which include greater employment opportunities, economic growth, education, and mitigating the impact of climate change, is Africa鈥檚 vibrant ecosystem of social enterprises that put people before profit and strive to solve the issues we collectively face.

As we mark the hosting of the 2021 Social Enterprise World Forum, which took place in late September, it is important that we note the role such enterprises play in Africa, and identify ways in which the public and private sector can support the growth of this critical sector.

Understanding the role of social enterprises

What constitutes a social enterprise? According to one South African study, a typical social enterprise is purpose-driven, is not reliant on grants and handouts, and has a particular identity that shies away from being bundled along with normal businesses, charities or NGOs.

At the previous Social Enterprise World Forum held in Ethiopia in 2019, public and private sector leaders from around the world recognised the important role social enterprises play in addressing socio-economic issues.

In Ethiopia alone, data suggests that half of the country’s estimated 55 000 social enterprises are led by people under the age of 35, and more than a quarter (28%) are women-led.

Youth unemployment in particular remains an issue in most African countries. With the world’s largest youth population – – ensuring gainful and sustainable work opportunities for youth remains a key priority for the continent.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, social enterprises are estimated to directly create between 28 and 41 million jobs. In fact, based on available data, .

Social enterprises can therefore play an important role in addressing youth unemployment. One report estimates that the 141 500 social enterprises in South Africa directly employ 590 000 people, a figure that is expected to grow to 666 000 direct jobs by 2030.

Considering the country鈥檚 urgent need for youth employment opportunities – the latest official data suggest 鈥� the impact that social enterprises could have on youth employment should not be underestimated.

Social enterprises inspire hope

Take the example of the Siyafunda Community Technology Centres. Siyafunda, an Africa Code Week (ACW) partner, is a social enterprise providing a network of community centres that extend access to computers, the Internet and digital technologies to local communities where such access may be lacking.

In addition to its work with Africa Code Week (ACW), Siyafunda provides accredited digital ICT courses and skills training, business and entrepreneurial skills development, adult literacy programs and e-learning facilities.

Vitally, Siyafunda enjoys the benefits of a robust ecosystem of partners, including local, provincial and national government, schools, universities, and private and social organisations.

With research indicating that , improving support for social enterprises could have far-reaching positive consequences for youth employment and skills development across the continent.

Support needed to ensure social enterprise success

As with any emerging small business or start-up, social enterprises face the daunting task of survivability, especially during the early stages of its growth. A study conducted in Mexico found that 83.5% of social enterprises in that country failed within three years. .

A World Bank report found that South Africa was the only country in sub-Saharan Africa that explicitly recognises social enterprises in policy, and recommended that it supports existing initiatives, programs and capacity building, including at universities and NGOs with a view to growing the social enterprise ecosystem and improving its chances of success.

Governments can certainly play a vital role in supporting social enterprises, but the private sector can make valuable contributions too. Private sector support 鈥� via investment, technology and skills transfer 鈥� could accelerate the impact social enterprises make.

This shouldn鈥檛 be a CSR project or peripheral activity: companies must link their support for social enterprises to their core business to ensure relevance and sustainable impact.

For example, larger enterprises could build this type of support into their supply chain processes by committing a percentage of their procurement spend to social enterprises. Leveraging the size and reach of the Ariba network 鈥� which supports more than double the commerce of Amazon, Alibaba and eBay combined 鈥� could give enterprises an accessible entry point to grow their businesses.

麻豆原创, for example, launched its 5x5x25 initiative, which commits 5% of our global procurement to social enterprises and 5% to diverse businesses by 2025. The initiative is designed to leverage corporate support from B2B procurement and technology to give social enterprises a boost and increase their impact.

Considering that (compared to only 27% of for-profit enterprises) and that 35% of social enterprises purposely support vulnerable population groups (compared to only 7% of for-profit enterprises) support for social enterprises can have far-reaching positive consequences for countries, communities and the continent.

Now is the time for private sector leaders to step up and play an active role in the success and growth of Africa鈥檚 social enterprise sector.

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa 鈥� September 9th, 2020 – Looking out over the skyline of the vibrant city of Johannesburg, one youth activist considers the work that still lies ahead to safeguard women鈥檚 rights and safety. In a country with one of the world鈥檚 highest rates of gender-based violence, Amonge Sinxoto is making sure young women are empowered to effect change in their communities.

鈥淕lobally, women鈥檚 safety remains in peril, and they often bear the brunt of gender-based violence. We need to work with young women and cultivate their talent, so they feel confident to help build a safer, more just society.鈥�

Amonge Sinxoto is the co-founder of Blackboard Africa, a 2019 Global Teen Leader and current Allan Gray Candidate Fellow. She has lent her voice to speak on issues related to youth activism on programmes by Google, Facebook, and TEDx. And she鈥檚 only 19 years old.

In 2019, Sinxoto attended the Social Enterprise World Forum in Addis Ababa, where she met 麻豆原创 Head of Global CSR Alexandra van der Ploeg. After Sinxoto shared a proposal of their plans for 2020, Blackboard Africa was awarded an 麻豆原创 grant for 鈧�15,000 to help fund some of the planned activities. 鈥淎lexandra has been a mentor and helped guide us through the disruption from Covid-19 to ensure we can continue our programmes despite lockdown. She has also helped guide us as we make changes to our organisation to ensure we can continue delivering on our purpose, which is more relevant than ever.”

Sinxoto says the statistics speak for themselves: 鈥淪outh African women feel unsafe, bear the brunt of gender-based attacks, and often live in fear even as they contend with immense socio-economic challenges. It鈥檚 time to lean into young women and empower them to become the next generation of leaders in our country.鈥�

Accurate figures over South Africa鈥檚 rate of gender-based violence are hard to come by, partly because most incidents are not reported. However, in one local study in 2011, data revealed that more than one in every three (37.7%) women in the country鈥檚 economic hub of Gauteng have experienced intimate partner violence. And last year, found that 43% of women surveyed reported feeling unsafe.

Blackboard Africa is a registered non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The brainchild of youth activists and social entrepreneurs Amonge Sinxoto and Zingisa Socikwa, Blackboard Africa aims to bridge the leadership gap among young people aged 13 to 25 with a view to addressing Africa鈥檚 challenges.

The organisation runs a number of projects, including the Fan Her Flame leadership programme, a Boys Will Not Be Boys outreach programme for young men, and Pass The Baton, which aims to prepare young people aged 12 to 25 to overcome life鈥檚 hurdles in the pursuit of social impact.

Sinxoto and her team are currently working with two groups of girls as part of the Fan Her Flame programme, one group from Soweto and another from Alexandra township. 鈥淢any of these girls live in trying circumstances with daily battles against poverty and hunger. Despite this, the girls are incredibly bright, but their confidence levels are low. We want to inspire them to see themselves in situations where they can achieve more and make a positive change in the community around them.鈥�

The Fan Her Flame programme takes the format of a series of workshops hosted over several weeks. The goal is for young women to understand their value, learn to better express their challenges and maximise their contribution to the development of their communities. 鈥淲e want to show these young women that there is power in their voice,鈥� says Sinxoto. 鈥淎nd we want to give them practical tools to help them build a better future, including planning techniques that help them set short and long-term goals that bring them closer to their vision.鈥�

She adds that it鈥檚 important that the next generation of female leaders and role models don鈥檛 live in fear of violence and abuse. 鈥淭ackling the issue of gender-based violence requires interventions at multiple levels. Policy reform is needed to improve the structures that govern women鈥檚 rights. Police need to be trained to deal with gender-based issues and increase the intensity at which they investigate gender-based violence. And we need an honest conversation with men, many of whom continue to wage war against the women in our society.”

South Africa鈥檚 government is taking the matter seriously. It released a National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in 2020, which features built on four strategic pillars: Accountability Coordination and Leadership; Prevention and Rebuilding of Social Cohesion; Justice, Safety and Protection; and Response, Care, Support and Healing.

鈥淭he challenges are immense,鈥� says Sinxoto. 鈥淚n one of our communities, up to ten families share a single outdoor toilet. This means young girls often have to walk in the dark of night as far as 1km to use the bathroom, which puts them at incredible risk.聽These are not problems that will disappear overnight, but that doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 meaningful actions we can take now to improve the lives of these young girls and inspire hope.鈥�

To help deliver on its purpose, Blackboard Africa often works with partners and volunteers to help drive the success of its programmes. 鈥淲e are always seeking more industry support, particularly to bring in relevant mentors that can inspire and guide the girls on their journey. Funding is always a challenge: some of the communities in which we work face abject poverty. You can鈥檛 learn when you鈥檙e distracted by hunger, so we work with partners to meet some basic needs within our communities.鈥�

Global head of CSR for 麻豆原创, Alexandra van der Ploeg says young women such as Amonge and her colleagues at Blackboard Africa hold the promise of a bright future for the African continent. 鈥淯ndaunted by the scale of the challenges, Amonge and the Blackboard Africa team work tirelessly to support one of the most vulnerable communities, inspiring hope and creating opportunities for meaningful change in their communities. As a purpose-led organisation, 麻豆原创 is proud to support the vital work they are doing and will continue working with them to create sustainable, positive impact.鈥�

For more information about Blackboard Africa鈥檚 initiatives, please visit

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