Civil society activists in Johannesburg are usually associated with protest marches, T-shirts with cool slogans, and Braamfontein. As CEO of the South African Human Rights Commission, I attend meetings instead of marches and wear, not T-shirts, but pinstripe suits. Do we have anything in common? The one thing I have in common with my civil […]

What do civil society activist do – and not do?
Inside | Kayum Ahmed
He is CEO of the South African Human Rights Commission and a recipient of the Leiden University Nelson Mandela Scholarship, and the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans Award. Kayum is a board member of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics and a member of the Millennium Development Goals National Coordinating Committee for South Africa.

Is it true that South African employees don’t care about investing responsibly?
Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a disconnect between our values and our money. I’m a senior lecturer at the UCT Graduate School of Business. Every year when the time comes to review my retirement fund, I wonder why, despite the fact that I’m currently working for one of the most dynamic and […]
Inside | Dr Stephanie Giamporcaro
She has a PhD from la Sorbonne on the Sustainable and Responsible Investment market in France. She’s published a range of peer- reviewed articles, a book on political consumption and the African Investing for Impact Barometer. A self-confessed “true Parisian”, Stephanie is now based in Cape Town where she’s a senior lecturer and research director at the UCT Graduate School of Business. She still likes to spend time cooking decadent French and Italian meals for friends. But these days, (like a true Capetonian), she sometimes likes to hike.

African innovation: The leapfrogs and left-behinds
For all the excitement about innovation in Africa, one cannot simply use it to “leapfrog” over all problems. And where does that leave the role of society and state? First, some questions: 1 Is the term “innovation” being abused in the contemporary African growth story? 2 How do tech-based innovations and other “leapfrogs” relate to […]
Inside | Dr Jolyon Ford
Originally from Zimbabwe, Jo is an associate of the Global Economic Governance programme at Oxford University. His PhD was on “Peacebuilding and the Private Sector: regulating business after conflict,” and he’s worked extensively in government, intergovernmental projects, civil society, academia and consulting. Mainly, Jo’s focus is on sub-Saharan Africa, and in navigating society’s changing expectations of business, from “resource nationalism” to an innovative blend of “people, planet and profit”. This article is partly drawn from a May 2014 post on Jolyon’s insightful blog, www.privatesector-publicworld.blogspot.co.uk.
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