From funding to futures (part 1): From charity to systemic change

South Africa is at a crossroads. We face the weight of entrenched poverty, youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability. Yet, in the same moment, we hold the extraordinary possibility for social investment to shift from a peripheral role to becoming a driving force of systemic change. At Tshikululu, we see a transition from funding as a short-term fix to investment as a lever for building a better, fairer future. This transition entails that we shift our thinking on social investment in three key ways:

1. from charity to systemic change,
2. from programmes to partnerships, and
3. from accounting to accountability.

At Tshikululu, this is how we see the future of social investment, and it is that future we will be exploring in this three-part series of articles, beginning here with the shift from charity to systemic change.

The Evolution of Corporate Social Investment

Over the past three decades, corporate social investment (CSI) has become embedded in our development landscape. However, as Bridgespan’s 2022 study[1] reminds us, South Africa is evolving beyond compliance and moving towards investment that creates real, lasting change only in the last few years. Trialogue reports that CSI spend in South Africa grew from R11.8 billion in 2023 to R12.7 billion in 2024, representing the strongest growth since the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, education remains the top priority for 92% of corporates.[2]

And still, the World Bank continues to rank South Africa as the most unequal country in the world.[3] We cannot expect CSI, or even B-BBEE, to carry the burden of structural reform. Government and foreign aid outspend CSI many times over, but what CSI can do is drive innovation, partnership, and systemic reform. This is not about charity – this is about changing the system.

Social Investment as a Catalyst for Change

Across South Africa, investors are realising that social investment is not just a line item on a balance sheet, but a catalyst for systemic change. The idea of strategic philanthropy is not new, but we are continuing to see progress towards a greater emphasis on leveraging social investment to create lasting change, not only to meet immediate welfare needs. Lasting change requires changes to the systems that create and perpetuate the problems we see in our context.

Examples of Systemic Impact: Optima

Tshikululu’s long-standing partnership with Optima demonstrates how targeted investment can shift an entire system. Optima is an education trust committed to improving the quality of basic education and learner outcomes. Optima, with support from Tshikululu, carried out a strategy review that led to a pivot away from investing in secondary schools and towards early-grade learning to be better positioned to create long-term, systemic change in the education system.

Discovery

Another client, Discovery, has also been particularly skilled at leveraging its intellectual property to strengthen systems and communities – some examples being using Discovery Insure’s digital car tracking technology in a programme that gets children to school safely, and the well-known Pothole Patrol, whereby community members can report potholes that need repair, to reduce road fatalities and accidents.

A Call for Bold, Collaborative Solutions

As the new CEO of Tshikululu Social Investments, I step into this role with humility, and with enormous respect for the 27-year journey Tshikululu has walked, from being an early leader in the social investment space in South Africa to a proudly trusted partner to companies, foundations, and government. I also step into this role with urgency, recognising that the challenges we face demand bold, collaborative solutions that work. My next article will explore the second of the three key opportunities we have identified to shape the future of social investment: moving from programmes to partnerships.

[1] Bridgespan (2022). Philanthropy in Africa. https://www.bridgespan.org

[2] Trialogue (2024). Business in Society Handbook. https://trialogueknowledgehub.co.za

[3] World Bank (2022). South Africa: Inequality in Southern Africa Report.