What is it? It’s a growing field of financial and social innovation. In short, it is, “investment where specific social objectives are set and measured,” says Sir Ronald Cohen, chairman of the International Social Impact Investment Taskforce, formed at the G8 Social Impact Investment Forum in June 2013. This is an important point: in order […]
The numbers are telling. While 86.9% of organisations in South Africa’s development sector consider impact measurement a crucial process, a whole 61.7% of them recognise that they don’t do enough of it. Let’s think about why this may be. And while we’re at it, let’s look at some impact-measurement case studies and practical tips on […]
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 […]
Across the planet, every day, nurses, doctors and their colleagues wrestle with the challenge of delivering healthcare to those who most need it. Many agree that to enable improvement, we need to learn what works and support innovation. There’s wide consensus that management and business tools could help. Organisations in low-resource settings could benefit from […]
Despite significant government spend, the education system in South Africa is failing our learners. Results are significantly weaker than those of learners in our poorer sub-Saharan neighbour, Zimbabwe, which seems baffling on the surface. But let’s try to make some sense of it. Let’s examine the trending areas of challenge and the potential changes that […]
He was born and grew up in Belhar, Cape Town, in a community characterised by gangsterism and drugs. He’s faced various personal, social and financial challenges, but always had a positive attitude and innovative spark. Altino Louw stoked that spark in the 2013 RAA class and in a business that manufactures quality products from household […]
Social and commercial franchising share the goal of achieving quality-consistent business quicker, easier and with less risk. But can social enterprises truly be replicated and franchised like commercial chains? And if so, will the result be (finger-lickin’) good? [wooslider slider_type=”attachments”] Kentucky Fried Chicken and Nando’s are like birds that migrate to new and distant lands. […]
In 2012, Jim Clifford knew that the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) in the UK was extremely effective at placing challenging children with adoptive parents. More effective than government programmes that wait for aspirant parents to approach them. As head of the not-for-profit advisory at accounting firm Baker Tilly, and an adoptive parent himself, […]
