Corporate Interest, Enterprise Development

Social enterprise development in South Africa – creating a virtuous circle

2 September 2010

Interest in social enterprise (SE) in South Africa is growing and we are seeing an increase in activity in this space. The impetus for this interest is in part driven by perceived advantages that social enterprise has: over government – in efficient delivery of services; over conventional business – on trust, accountability, and purpose; and over charities and NGOs – due to financial sustainability and access to capital.  And it is in part driven by the BBBEE regulations which place an increased emphasis on supporting enterprise development.

There is a growing body of work which supports the role of social enterprise, but in South Africa the concept is still relatively new and as such is not well understood. Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship are often used interchangeably, despite some clear differences, and definitions of social enterprise can be contentious.

That being said, support for social enterprise is increasingly popular among social investors wanting to break cycles of dependence in society.

Tshikululu Social Investments commissioned a scoping study, undertaken by SE consultant Bridget Fury,  to give an overview of who is playing in this field locally, different approaches to SE already to be found, and the state of policy debate in this regard.

The results of this study are available on our website in the Research section of our Media Centre.

Please note that information contained in any of these documents may not be republished without due acknowledgement being given to Tshikululu.