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South Africa’s children deserve much more — social entrepreneurs are a critical solution

Randy Mampuru
By Randy Mampuru
7 Dec 2023
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Social entrepreneurs have the potential to drive much-needed change in South Africa’s educational landscape, much faster. But the private sector needs to step up to provide funding and opportunities, particularly for women.

When Ntsebo* joined an after-school learning centre in Dobsonville, Soweto, she was quiet and withdrawn. From a poor household where she shared a room with her three older siblings, she had always been shy and her marks at school were rock bottom.

But in the space of a few months, thanks to some one-on-one coaching and tutoring, her confidence blossomed. She started opening up and asking questions and her academic performance took flight. By the end of the year, her whole family was amazed to see her getting top marks for mathematics.

There are too many children like Ntsebo all over South Africa. Rich in talent but poor in opportunity. It is estimated that 80% of South Africa’s Grade 4 pupils (about 10 years old) can’t read well enough to understand what they are reading.

Weak educational outcomes have been exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19 and the country is consistently rated as among the worst in the world when it comes to science and mathematics education. There is a lack of qualified and experienced teachers in our schools, and this adds another layer to the complexity of South Africa’s failing education sector.

Read more in Daily Maverick: It’s time for outrage about the quality of learning in SA’s schools

I could go on. The list of what is not working in our education system is endless and it is holding our children captive. As Dean and Director of Henley Business School Africa Jon Foster-Pedley writes, this country is sitting on a volcano of potential talent, but is unable to access this because of the systemic failure of educational institutions.

Help from social entrepreneurs 


This is a complex problem that can only be solved if all role players come together from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. In this landscape, social entrepreneurs are uniquely placed to play an important role by virtue of the fact that as socially motivated businesses, often working in difficult spaces, they tend to be a link between all three sectors.

Already, there are millions of social entrepreneurs in Africa at work fixing problems through innovative solutions while running a financially sustainable business. Often leveraging the power of technology, they train and employ youth, provide access to healthcare and social protection and accelerate agricultural innovations.

The Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum (WEF) has extensive research showing how innovators are changing the spaces in which they operate in inclusive and sustainable enterprises in all sectors across the continent. From running schools to providing green energy solutions and efficient online healthcare services.

But, in common with small enterprises everywhere, the failure rate of social enterprises in South Africa is high. This is mostly due to a lack of financial resources and lack of familiarity with simple business processes.

Funding conundrum


Research by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) shows that less than 2% of impact investing capital in South Africa goes to smaller and medium business organisations. In the education space, many NGOs talk about donor fatigue when it comes to the struggle of obtaining investment for especially programmes and projects targeting children and schooling initiatives.

Government budget cuts and dwindling donor funds have increased the need for private sector help, but with a sluggish global and local economy, many organisations are cutting down on spending and funding.

On top of this, funding conditions can be onerous and difficult for social enterprises to get right. Applying for funding can take months to be approved and for social entrepreneurs in the non-profit arena, they are faced with a perpetual struggle to keep the doors open and the lights on.

Pronounced gender gap


Research shows that this is particularly the case for women entrepreneurs. Dr Daphne Mashile-Nkosi recently spoke of the gender gap in the entrepreneurial landscape at the 2023 Central University of Technology’s annual Women Entrepreneurship event:

“Our society does not value the pursuits of male and women entrepreneurs equally. The general belief is that women can’t do it. Women entrepreneurs face this problem with private banks as much as they do with development finance institutions who are supposed to be catalysts of empowerment and development more than the private sector.”

At the same time, the problems in South Africa are growing. Poor education is a problem that compounds over time and if we don’t pay attention to the education of our youth now, we will see unemployment rising even more along with devastating social and economic consequences of young people unable to study or gain training to enter the workforce to support themselves. 

Providing more opportunities for our children and funding those organisations which are already doing so should be a moral and ethical priority for the SA private sector.

Foster-Pedley says the future of South Africa’s youth should be a concern to all in the country. He believes there needs to be a change of mindset, which will see responsibility for education shared by all, not a burden for some. We all stand together, or we all fail. “Every young person deserves an equal chance. In almost every case, we are not poor because we are less able, we are poor because we have less opportunity,” he said.

There is a bigger picture here, and it couldn’t be more important. The struggle for social entrepreneurs is not only about supporting a business that is already working to grow, but supporting and augmenting their ability to bring hope and relief to our communities.

When it comes to our children, no one is more deserving of it and without it, we erode our very future. DM

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