SASIX

Buy a share in hope for Christmas

Fri, 27 November 2009

Make Christmas Matter is an innovative online campaign that makes giving easier, as well as more considered. This novel online shop offers virtual gifts, like vegetable seedlings for a community food garden, or a mobility cane for a sight-impaired person. The gifts are all linked to four carefully assessed and inspiring social development projects that are listed on the South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX).

Choosing worthy causes

Make Christmas Matter uses the SASIX intensive assessment process to select the projects that will benefit. This includes peer review panels, site visits, organisation and risk assessments, research, evaluation and detailed reporting. This way, shoppers can rest assured that their money goes towards effective, sustainable solutions to South Africa’s problems and that the donated money will be properly spent and accounted for. All organizations funded through Make Christmas Matter have to submit detailed reports on the progress and completion of their projects. Highlights from these reports are posted onto our news pages, so that our investors can track how their gifts have helped to change lives.

Let's find out more about this year's Make Christmas Matter beneficiary projects:

Building blocks for life

In the rural Umzinyathi district of KwaZulu-Natal, lies an isolated community called Mbuba. Elderly women manage the households while absent parents seek employment in the cities. Community leaders estimate that less than a quarter of the remaining adults are employed and almost half of families live below the poverty line. With only one pre-school, a primary school and no high school, children have limited access to learning and development opportunities.

The Make Christmas Matter project will install and equip an educational toy library in a secure container, improving the quality of play opportunities and providing children with constructive leisure time activities. The library will include a covered play area where facilitated play sessions will introduce educational toys, games and the library concept. Over 200 local children will be able to borrow toys from the library and teachers will have access to the equipment to complement their lessons in class.

Sowing the seeds for learners

As part of the National Curriculum, schools are expected to include environmental topics but many lack the resources, skills or information to do this. The Eco-Schools support project aims to increase awareness of the natural environment among all sectors of the community in the Midlands Meander area. Focusing on rural schools, the programme helps teachers integrate environmental education into the teaching curriculum, with emphasis on wise resource use, creativity, sustainable living and community building.

The project aims to nurture capable, confident, curious children who are sensitive to environmental issues, who have the resilience to cope with a changing world and are able to contribute positively to their communities. Make Christmas Matter gifts will provide environment and conservation learning opportunities to 122 learners and 5 educators at Dargle Primary School; establishing a food garden, a recycling programme and taking learners on conservation field trips to areas of local natural significance.

The gift of a sparkling new kitchen

There's an extraordinary nursing home in Pinelands, Cape Town, called St Josephs, who provide 24-hour nursing care to 145 chronically ill and disabled children who cannot be nursed at home. St Joseph's addresses the overall needs of each child by providing physiotherapy and formal education up to Grade 7.

This project will allow the home to upgrade their kitchen, fitting new stainless steel worktops, shelves and sinks to bring the home back into compliance with the most recent government health regulations. It will also ensure that the children in St Joseph's care receive the very best in terms of hygiene standards in food preparation.

Priceless independence

There are over 724,000 people with sight disabilities in South Africa. One of the biggest challenges they face is poverty and the lack of resources to afford the tools and helpful devices they need for daily living. The South African National Council for the Blind (SANB) provides tools such as mobility canes and Braille paper to disadvantaged people with visual impairments across the country.

The SANCB, through its national network of over 100 member organisations, has identified a need for these devices in the Free State. This project will provide mobility canes, signature guides, and liquid level indicators to 96 visually impaired people, restoring their dignity and independence.

How it works

Buying a gift is a simple three-step process:

1. Choose a great gift from makechristmasmatter.co.za.
2. Personalise an electronic gift card and send it to friends, family or business associates explaining what you have bought and the impact it will have.
3. Checkout and know that your gift has just helped to change lives in South Africa.

Created by GreaterGood South Africa and sponsored by the Cadiz Foundation, Make Christmas Matter has raised over R2 million for 22 development projects ranging from a family planning programme in the Northern Cape to an environmental project that manages the rehabilitation and release of animals back into the wild.

Those who don't celebrate Christmas can still make a difference all year round by buying gifts on gifts4good.co.za for any special occasion.

Networking for an Ethical Economy

Fri, 27 November 2009

In a recent report on ‘responsible citizenship’, Time Magazine notes how, since the onset of the recession, we have had to re-learn one of the most important lessons of the Great Depression. The report cites Franklin D. Roosevelt, who summed up this lesson in 1937 saying: “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics.”

The Responsibility Revolution

Only a decade ago, “responsible consumerism” and its associated vocabulary (“fair trade”; “free range”; “carbon neutral”; “sustainability”; and so on) were located at the fringes of society. In recent years, largely as a result of the conscientious efforts of the environmental movement, we have witnessed a shift that has seen responsible consumerism emerge from behind the Lentil Belt, and into the mainstream. Increasingly, consumers are demanding that the products they buy should, at the very least, not do damage to the planet, and ideally should have a positive social and environmental impact.

Socially responsible investing (SRI) applies the same logic to financial investments as responsible consumerism does to buying products. SRI combines investors’ financial objectives with their commitment to social concerns, such as social justice, economic development, peace or a healthy environment. Globally, as people begin to take more responsibility for the impact their investment decisions might have, the number of SRI funds has been growing rapidly. These funds currently account for 11% of all money invested in US financial markets – amounting to around US $ 2.7 trillion.

The Need for Networks

In South Africa, to meet the demand for socially responsible investment products, the JSE launched the SRI Index in 2004. Although this effort to make socially responsible investing more accessible should be applauded, there is still much work to be done before a mature SRI market emerges in the country.

Here, as well as globally, investors are becoming more demanding about seeing their investments generate real social impacts that can be measured and reported on. This presents new challenges for SRI indexes, which still commonly rely on “do-no-harm” as their guiding criteria, where social impacts are anecdotal and incidental to the main operation of an investment. Investors are increasingly demanding that their investments have social and environmental development built into their operations, and that their financial bottom line is always accompanied by a social and environmental bottom line.

These ‘blended-value’ investments are a new and evolving way of investing.There is still a lot of debate about what criteria should be considered, and what the best tools and measures are for evaluating these criteria. Innovation and collaboration are needed to find solutions to the challenges presented by the transition from fringe to mainstream investment practice.

Finding SAIIN Solutions

In order to facilitate the debate on how best to achieve meaningful, measurable social impact, while still providing a financial return, GreaterGood South Africa in partnership with Cadiz Holdings and Noah Financial Innovation have founded the South African Impact Investing Network (SAIIN). SAIIN operates as a national membership organisation along the lines of other partner organisations operating around the world. Through research, networking and public education campaigns, SAIIN aims to facilitate a more dynamic impact investing sector in South Africa.

Frank Cadiz, MD of Cadiz Holdings and Raymond Ndlovu, Chairman of Noah Financial Innovation summed up their involvement in SAIIN saying: “As concerned corporate citizens, as well as members of the financial services industry, we at Cadiz Holdings and Noah Financial Innovation are enormously excited about this opportunity to be part of a new social enterprise movement which will give communities access to capital and investors the chance to get real social as well as financial returns on their investments.”The national discussion that SAIIN seeks to lead will help pave the way to meet both financial and developmental goals in South Africa. It will find ways to tap into the trillions of Rand invested in financial markets in order to make a positive impact on communities. Most importantly; SAIIN will be instrumental in finding ways for South African investors to make decisions that are not only good morals, but good economics too.

Find out more about SAIIN

SASIX calls for Proposal - August 2009

Mon, 31 August 2009

Call for Project Proposals

The South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) invites non-profit organisations, preferably working in the Presidential Poverty Nodes, to submit proposals for listing in the following sectors:

• Vulnerable People
• Environment and Conservation
• Food Security and Agriculture

We are also calling for proposals with project budgets of R50,000 and less (Small Budget Projects) in any of the six development sectors as part of our Giving Season campaign.

To understand and appreciate the ‘good practice’ projects that we list as well as listing requirements and process, it is critical that you visit the following links:

• Application Form for Listing and Small Budget Application Form
• Requirements for listing
• The listing process and timelines

Application Deadline: 12 noon on 17 September 2009

SASIX is a social ‘stock exchange’ where carefully selected development projects are listed for people to invest in. The return on the investment is always social, and may be financial, but is nonetheless vital to the development of South Africa.

BEE: not so bad, after all

Thu, 5 February 2009

Black Economic Empowerment is a hotly contested topic. All too often, its transformation benefits are overshadowed by misunderstandings. It’s easy to forget that BEE is about empowerment across the spectrum of business and society. GreaterGood SA’s new writer, Carey Finn, explains what it’s really about and how it works, arguing that it’s a positive, holistic approach to development in South Africa.

Black Economic Empowerment, or more accurately, Broad-Based Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) has gained a bad reputation in South Africa, without much opportunity to mount a defence. The term is often used interchangeably with Affirmative Action, though they are two different things. Affirmative Action is the government’s broader policy towards transformation in the country, while B-BBEE is focused on transformation within companies. Sure, they’re both about redressing the imbalances of the past, but B-BBEE goes beyond simply changing the complexion of your CEO. It’s not called broad-based for nothing.

Settling the score

Companies with an annual turnover of over R5 million are required to become B-BBEE-complaint, as are any private companies that want to do business with government enterprises or organs of state. Compliance is measured by a scorecard and regulated by the BEE Codes of Good Practice. The scorecard evaluates seven elements: ownership, management, employment equity, skills development, procurement (suppliers and their scorecards), enterprise development and socio-economic development.

These elements add up to a holistic, sustainable approach to transformation. By taking into account the different levels of business, the scorecard ensures that transformation occurs throughout. For example, investing in skills development expands the capacity of employees, creating new leaders. At the same time, supporting emerging businesses allows them to grow, creating more jobs for unemployed South Africans and boosting the income of local communities. These communities, in turn, are further supported by the company’s socio-economic development projects – creating a sustainable pattern of growth and development in the country. B-BBEE goes much further than simply replacing people at the top; it produces a ripple effect across society as a whole.

SASIX gives you socio-economic points

Companies get points for their transformation in each of the seven elements. For example, investing in a social development project that benefits mostly black people can generate points for the scorecard. Using your Corporate Social Investment budget to benefit local non-profit organisations is a great way of integrating transformation into business processes, while uplifting the community at the same time. In this way, B-BBEE has led to more focused investment into black communities – gone are the days when the corporate social investment budget is spent on the CEO’s wife’s favourite charity.

The majority of GreaterGood SA’s SASIX projects are B-BBEE-compliant, as well as many causes registered on our giving marketplace, which means that more than 75 percent of the contribution value benefits black people. We’ve introduced a B-BEE check into our registration process to help our corporate donors claim scorecard points.

Feeling the effects

The ownership and employment equity elements of the scorecard are often what cause controversy – people feel that a small white elite has simply been replaced by a black one, without any real change in the lives of ordinary South Africans. But remember, the scorecard looks at the whole picture: it awards points not just for the transformation of ownership or management but also for a company’s investment in building skills, boosting enterprise and developing local communities.

B-BBEE has already had a positive effect on South African society. Black enterprise development projects have given many unskilled people in informal areas the opportunity to start and grow their own businesses. And in the workplace, exclusion on the grounds of race, gender and disability has been replaced with an inclusive approach to disadvantaged groups, giving people who have never had the chance, the opportunity to shine.

Here to stay

Despite complaints that qualified white jobseekers are overlooked in favour of unqualified black people, B-BBEE does not call for the hiring of unskilled people simply because they fulfil equity targets; and being black does not mean being unqualified.

What is clear is that B-BBEE is here to stay and we need to embrace it for what it is: a transformation policy for growth, development and equality.

Exchanging views

Thu, 5 February 2009

GreaterGood SA is lucky to have Nicky Newton-King, Deputy Chief Executive of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, on its board of trustees. A leading figure in the world of financial markets and a key driver behind the JSE’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index, Nicky has some refreshing views on corporate social investment and its impact on development.

As the world's 14th largest exchange, trading over R8billion a day, the JSE faces a constant challenge to develop strategies that ensure that it remains globally and locally relevant. And sitting on GreaterGood SA’s board of trustees has given Nicky Newton-King a different perspective on the world of social development.

“Running an exchange like the JSE,” says Nicky just before setting off for the World Economic Forum in Davos, “we’ve really tried to see how we can be a powerful voice in the sustainable development debate. Working with GreaterGood SA has helped to give me a perspective on the real grassroots issues. “

Stepping up

Not that Nicky needed any introduction to the issues around sustainability – she was closely involved in introducing the JSE's Socially Responsible Investment Index which measures environmental and social sustainability as well as governance and related sustainability concerns. Launched in 2004, just before the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, it was the first index of its kind in an emerging market.

“We have criteria which we use to measure a company’s performance on the triple bottom line.The number of companies which meet the criteria has increased dramatically since it was started. We are slowly moving away from voluntary towards mandatory participation, recognising that sustainability is an issue that affects all of us and we must step up to the plate, particularly at the moment.”

Sustainability a ‘must have’

Nicky agrees with predictions that it will be a difficult few years for development in South Africa. “Access to funding is going to be a major issue,” she says when asked about the outlook for the country’s socio-economic development. “The second big issue is that, of course, socio-economic challenges are going to increase rather than decrease as more and more people are living in dire circumstances and as businesses face increased pressures simply staying afloat which runs the risk of trumping any commitment to sustainability. The challenge for businesses is to balance innovating their business model with remaining committed to the triple bottom line.”

“So the nature of the debate around sustainability and business is moving away from being a ‘nice to have’ to a question of, ‘we have to do this, we have so much that needs to be done – let’s get going.’”

Corporate commitment

As one of Africa’s leading business people, Nicky is confident that South African companies will heed this call. “Business in South Africa already understands the need to be involved and is quite creative in how it goes about it,” she continues. “But we need to keep that going and also ensure that it is done as a core part of the business’s sustainable operations, rather than being separated out into charitable giving.”

“What we’ve tried to do at the JSE is to use our central voice in the capital markets, making companies and investors aware of sustainability best practices so that we celebrate and reward the companies that are the best performers.”

A social stock exchange

Joining the GreaterGood SA board in 2006 shortly before the launch of our SA Social Investment Exchange (SASIX), Nicky Newton-King was on hand to support the development of Africa’s first social ‘exchange’ which has raised over R13.5 million for social development projects in just two years.

Nicky’s experience of running an exchange like the JSE, as well as the SRI Index, will prove invaluable when she participates by video conference in the inaugural meeting to create a global federation of social investment exchanges, spearheaded by GreaterGood SA, in Italy this month.

The success of SASIX generated a great deal of excitement and has led to the development of GSIX – a Global Social Investment Exchange. This global exchange, regulated by a federation of social exchanges and supported by in-depth intelligence from country exchanges, aims to create a more efficient and dynamic social capital market.

Point of departure

“The point of departure has to be finding out how best to meet the needs of both the recipient of the investment as well as the investor (donor),” Nicky says when asked about her views of setting up social exchanges. “There is a critical need to connect social investment vehicles with funding that they wouldn’t normally have access to.”

“But,” she concludes, striking a note of caution, “running an exchange is an extremely expensive operation. While I think the category of social investment is critical and timeous, it would be a mistake to think one can only channel investment to social investment vehicles by operating separate social exchanges. More pragmatic, is to create a separate listed category of investment – social investment products – and use existing exchange infrastructures to mobilize the investment and trade in such social investment vehicles to minimize costs.”

Creating a generation of South African entrepreneurs

Thu, 5 February 2009

Research indicates that unemployment has become the top concern for South African citizens, trumping other issues like HIV/AIDS and crime. Fifteen years after the end of apartheid, the country’s unemployment rate stands at between 27-40% with youth unemployment at even higher levels. In response, government is focusing on enterprise development to boost economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation.

Inequality

Poverty, created by the inequalities of the past as well as the dynamics of the global economy, remains one of the major challenges facing South Africa. Recent studies show that inequality is widening despite economic growth and that wealth creation policies are having little impact on the poor and marginalised in society.

A lack of employment opportunities and a shortage of suitably skilled individuals is a major contributing factor to poverty. Over the last two decades, the formal economy has been shedding jobs and many workers have been retrenched. In fact, some 55% of the country’s labour force depends on employment in small firms for their livelihood. And with the current global economic crisis, unemployment levels are set to increase.

Critical factor

Enterprise development is recognised worldwide as critical in facilitating economic growth which, in turn, is essential for addressing poverty-related issues, such as unemployment, gender inequality and poor health. Investing in enterprise development can create jobs, stimulate productivity and address social exclusion.

Enterprise development includes investing time and capital in helping people to establish, expand or improve sustainable businesses that contribute to the local economy. This can be through the provision of financial support such as microloans and microfinance as well as infrastructural support such as access to markets and business training.

Empowering women entrepreneurs

The provision of microcredit and microfinance services to women, in particular, can have a significant impact on their position within the household and community.

By removing their dependence on men for financial support, women can take the initiative, earn an income and support their children. This is the aim of SASIX project, the Siyazigabisa Home of Hope's Business Skills Training. The project enables vulnerable women in the Tembisa community to increase their business administration and financial literacy skills and equip them to establish viable business units.

According to the 2007 GEM Report an increasing number of female entrepreneurs entered the South African market between 2005 and 2006, in line with international trends in the growth of women entrepreneurs. Support of these budding businesses is vital for ensuring their success.

Unlocking the potential of SMMEs

The South African government’s enterprise development policy focuses on the provision of support for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and the promotion of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. Unlocking the potential of these SMMEs is key to addressing unemployment because supporting entrepreneurs can facilitate job growth, build personal confidence and stimulate innovation.

The category of SMMEs comprise a range of businesses from survivalist and micro enterprises, which are survivalist in nature and outside the formal economy, through to very small, small and medium enterprises. Government interventions focus on this latter group of very small, small and medium enterprises, which are considered to have the potential for expansion.

The challenge in South Africa is that a large percentage of SMMEs tend to fall within the survivalist category and generally tend not to have the potential for job creation. Even with very small, small and medium sized businesses, there is no guarantee that they will realise their potential for job creation. In addition, a total of 80% of all new businesses collapse within two years in South Africa so emerging businesses need considerable support to enhance their likelihood of success.

Entrepreneurship training in schools

For the last five years, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor study has identified education and training as the key factor limiting an improvement to South Africa's rate of entrepreneurial activity which is low compared to other developing countries. South African entrepreneurs contribute only 35% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared with 60% in countries like India and Brazil. And although our new curriculum aims to teach entrepreneurial skills, in reality, obstacles such as a lack of resources, skills and confidence among teachers often prevent learners from taking these skills on board.

The South African Institute for Entrepreneurship (SAIE) entrepreneurship teacher training project, another SASIX-listed initiative, provides innovative training materials to enable teachers in the Eastern Cape to overcome just such obstacles. It is an example of best practice through its use of original, creative methodologies that encourage experiential learning, with the aim building a new generation of South African entrepreneurs.

Best practice

SASIX focuses on enterprise development projects that support entrepreneurship education and training, projects promoting mentoring to enable skills transfer and increased business sustainability, and those which address gender inequalities by focusing on women’s empowerment through microfinancing.

With the shrinking of opportunities for employment in large firms and the growth of self-employment, enterprise development is becoming an increasingly important avenue for job creation and economic growth globally. The challenge is to find effective and innovative ways to provide appropriate support services to entrepreneurs to enable their businesses to achieve their potential.

SASIX shortlisted for prestigious global award

Tue, 20 January 2009

GreaterGood SA’s South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) is one of just three international finalists for the Global Development Network’s prestigious Most Innovative Development Project Award.

“We are thrilled that the innovation of SASIX, as a platform for meaningful social investment and development, is being recognised at a global level,” says Carol Tappenden, Managing Director of GreaterGood SA.

SASIX is a South African process and technology platform which connects social investors with the development world. SASIX lists evaluated projects in priority development sectors for corporate and individual donors to invest in. The return on their investment is primarily social, rather than financial, but is nonetheless vital for South Africa’s future.

SASIX applies the same sort of assessment and due diligence consideration to projects as would be applied to financial investments and so helps to raise the bar for public, corporate and civil society participation in social development in South Africa. The Exchange also works to level the playing field by giving small, pioneering non profit organisations the same access to funds and capacity development as the better-known causes.

“When we created SASIX in June 2006,” continues Tappenden, “we wanted to move corporate and individual donors from a compliance mentality of ‘tick-box’ or ‘feel-good’ giving to a more strategic and measured approach to tackling the challenges we face in South Africa.” Since then, SASIX has had a great deal of success: R13.5 million has been invested in 53 social development projects from across the country.

The Most Innovative Development Project Award is part of the Global Development Network's Tenth Annual Global Development Conference to be held in Kuwait City, Kuwait, under the auspices of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

The success of the SASIX platform has generated a great deal of excitement and has led to the development of GSIX – the Global Social Investment Exchange. This will enable someone in Portugal to invest in assessed and evaluated development projects in Kenya or Mexico, for example. This global exchange, regulated by a federation of social exchanges and supported by in-depth intelligence from country exchanges, aims to create a more efficient and dynamic global development sector.

For more information email sasix@ggsa.co.za

Breaking new ground

Mon, 6 October 2008

When GreaterGood South Africa created SASIX in June 2006, we hoped to move corporate and individual donors from simple ‘feel-good’ giving to a more strategic and measured approach to tackling the very real challenges we face in South Africa. SASIX’s extraordinary success since then has allowed us to break new ground in the social investment sphere by introducing socially responsible investment opportunities and taking the concept global.

With the help of considered corporate and individual givers, SASIX is taking on South African development issues and having a great deal of success: over R15 million has been invested in 49 social development projects in just over two years. This has had a positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people living in impoverished communities all over South Africa.

Levelling the playing field

“SASIX represents the next step in a giver’s journey,” says GreaterGood SA Executive Trustee, Tamzin Ractliffe. “It is about more considered social investment which demands real results.” The research, evaluation and monitoring of projects listed on SASIX aims to raise the bar for public and corporate participation in social development in South Africa as well as build a culture of accountability for social performance amongst beneficiary organisations.

SASIX also works to level the playing field by giving small, pioneering non profit organisations the same access to funds and capacity development as the better-known causes. And while most non profits today are typically funded by a single instrument – the charitable donation – there are, in fact, a range of alternative financial instruments available that could provide investors with a social and a financial return; and non profits with a sustainable alternative income stream.

Innovative solutions

There is an enormous savings pool in South Africa – around R3 trillion in largely life and pension funds – but only an estimated R10 billion is dedicated to socially responsible investing. At the same time, South Africa is struggling with an infrastructure backlog that needs to be urgently addressed. The global precedent shows South Africa lagging seriously behind international trends in the use of commercially viable responsible investments for pension fund portfolios.

This, coupled with our experience with both the corporate and the development world, has led to the evolution of SASIX so that it can provide investments on a continuum from SASIX Social investments (or grants) to SASIX Financial investments which offer market-related financial returns in socially responsible initiatives.

Working with fund-managers, the Cadiz Group, we are creating a socially responsible investment product that will combine investment return imperatives with sustainable development. The first R10 million investment into SASIX Financial projects is already yielding positive returns – both socially by supporting low income housing for families and financially by performing better than typical comparative benchmarks.

“This is an investment in the future of our country,” says Carol Tappenden, GreaterGood SA’s Managing Director. ”The returns are financial, certainly, but these investments will also yield real, measurable change in people’s lives.”

A forum for change

The success of SASIX and the development of SASIX Financial has led to the creation of the SA Social Investment Forum (SA SIF). The forum is a national membership association which aims to raise awareness about the value of investment in social enterprises and to advance the visibility, credibility and growth of socially responsible investing (SRI) in South Africa by stimulating debate, providing research and examining the opportunities that exist for SRI investors.

“We need to establish an effective framework within which interested social investors can understand more about the range of returns that responsible investment can provide, beyond the clear financial benefits.” says Ractliffe.

Going global

The SASIX concept is also being expanded to create the Global Social Investment Exchange (GSIX). GSIX is intended to be a federation of Country Social Investment Exchanges linked by comparative operational and due diligence frameworks that aims to raise the bar for effective social and responsible investment globally.

The central idea behind the Global Social Investment Exchange is to make robust information on social development available to interested companies and individuals no matter where they are in the world. The power of technology means that it really doesn’t matter where people live – an investor in France can research and support causes in South Africa without having to leave the comfort of their home.

Like a financial stock exchange, country social investment exchanges under the GSIX umbrella will provide a range of investment opportunities, whether these are purely social or combined social and financial forms or responsible investment, establishing a global social broking, investment and trading service for businesses and individuals alike.

For more information email carol@ggsa.co.za for details on SASIX Financial or GSIX.

Aid is not enough

Mon, 6 October 2008

While companies and consumers are becoming more aware of their social responsibilities, South Africa still faces huge, un-met challenges. The growing availability of capital for social development is not always finding an effective home. And although philanthropy plays a vital role in the development of communities, is not enough to lift people out of poverty. We need to look at new and innovative ways of giving people and their communities access to the capital they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

South Africa is an upper-middle-income country in per capita terms. The number of South African dollar-millionaires increased by almost 14% between 2006 and 2007, according to the latest Capgemini Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report, and a rapidly growing black middle class is boosting the country’s house, car and retail sales. But despite this relative wealth, the distribution of income is among the most unequal in the world with an estimated 51% of South Africans living below the poverty income line.

Imbalances

A great deal of money has gone into development in South Africa since the fall of apartheid. A recent Human Sciences Research Council national survey on social giving in South Africa found that regular citizens give roughly R12 billion a year from their own pockets to help others and corporate philanthropy stands at an estimated R5 billion per year. South Africa has a thriving civil society, large amounts of aid funding and a government committed to social upliftment and poverty alleviation. Yet things do not seem to be getting substantially better for the very poor in the country. And our major challenges – HIV/AIDS, housing, education, food security – show few signs of being adequately addressed.

In South Africa, and across the continent, donor funds are mainly channeled through governments or large grant-making foundations that have their own specific development agendas. Individual donors are faced with sometimes confusing and competing choices and a lack of adequate giving channels. So the small, grassroots organisations – often doing the most vital work at the coalface of poverty – lose out.

Corporate philanthropy has limits too: research in 2003 indicates that 15% of corporate social investment funds in South Africa focus on company employees with a further 49% going to the communities in which companies operate. Two-thirds of this spending was targeted towards urban and peri-urban areas, with only 34% going to rural communities. It seems that the areas with the greatest needs, and with the least access to resources, are not receiving the bulk of corporate investment.

Innovative solutions

What is becoming clear is that innovative solutions are needed to address the huge imbalances that exist between South Africa’s rich and poor. “Our belief is that results-oriented business processes and technology tools can do much to redress these imbalances,” says SASIX founder, Tamzin Ractliffe. “Technology networks can transform the traditional map of development, expand community horizons and allow the kind of progress in a single decade that was once only possible after generations.”

SASIX aims to move both corporate and individual donors from a compliance mentality of ‘tick-box’ or ‘feel-good’ giving to a more strategic and measured approach to tackling poverty in South Africa. It also insists on measurable returns, either social – in terms of lives changed – or financial and social. This philosophy helps raise the bar for public and corporate participation in social development in South Africa as well as build a culture of accountability for social performance amongst beneficiary organisations.

Investing responsibly

Another major growth area for the South African development sector is socially responsible investments. The South African financial services sector manages a national endowment of approximately R3 trillion in life and pension fund savings. Only a very small proportion of this - around R10 billion or just 0.33% - is directed towards investing in a socially responsible manner. At the same time, South Africa is struggling with an infrastructure backlog that needs to be urgently addressed.

Over the last three decades there has been an explosion of innovation as a growing international community has experimented with a variety of approaches to tackling some of the world’s most intractable social problems. By creating and adopting a rich diversity of strategies, all of which are now coming together within the field of socially responsible investment, markets and business, capital and commerce can be harnessed not simply for the creation of individual wealth but also for the creation of wealth, prosperity and value in its fullest sense.

Although South Africa lags behind many developed countries in terms of both strategic philanthropic giving and socially responsible investing, a new social enterprise movement is forging new development strategies that will change the face of social investment in the country and beyond.

Email us for more information about socially responsible investing.

Sector spotlight: HIV/AIDS

Fri, 3 October 2008

HIV/AIDS is the biggest health and development challenge facing South Africa today. With an estimated 5.7 million currently infected, we have the highest number of people living with the disease in the world. AIDS increases the death rates of young and middle-aged adults, where mortality is usually at its lowest, which has serious consequences for the country’s social and economic functioning. As mortality increases among the prime populations, children and the elderly lose family support and community structures disintegrate.

Quick facts

• An estimated 5.7 million South Africans are currently living with HIV.
• Women aged 15-24 account for 90% of the latest HIV infections for this age group.
• Death from AIDS is thought to be 30% more costly to households than the death of a family member from any other disease.
• AIDS has dropped life expectancy in South Africa to an average 50 years of age.

The nature and extent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa has profound economic and social consequences. The illness and death of men and women who are breadwinners is a major hindrance to poverty alleviation and in many cases has taken families further into poverty. This is because death from AIDS, which is characterized by prolonged illness, is estimated to be 30% more costly to households than the loss of a family member to any other disease. Aside from the direct financial costs of HIV/AIDS on households, caring for the ill and orphaned has increased the burden of work on women and children.

Women and children

A 2007 study by the National Department of Health, found that 29.1% of pregnant women were estimated to be HIV-positive, with the highest prevalence rates in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. UNAIDS research found that females aged 15–24 account for 90% of the latest HIV infections for this age group.

Women of childbearing age appear to be particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and to the transmission of the virus to their children. Of direct consequence is the devastating effect that AIDS is having on children. UNAIDS estimates that 280,000 children under 15 were infected with HIV in 2007, with many more made vulnerable by the disease. Roughly 1.4 million South African children have been orphaned by AIDS, and there are millions of children who are living with sick parents unable to care for their basic needs, with older children often required to leave school to take on the role of primary caregiver.

Turning the tide

In March 2007, the National Department of Health published the Operational Plan that commits to providing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to all South African citizens. This multi-sectoral plan is a significant advance on previous plans and although the government has been widely criticised for failing to put high-level political support behind the plan’s implementation, the recent appointment of Barbara Hogan as Minister of Health has given new hope to the HIV/AIDS sector. However, an uneven delivery of health services means that many communities are still not receiving effective programmes in prevention, treatment and care.

Recognising the urgency of the situation, civil society and the private sector have pioneered initiatives to respond to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS. These include political campaigns for access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment by all citizens, interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus and awareness advertising campaigns and national “edutainment” programmes aimed at education and prevention. In addition, thousands of grassroots programmes have been initiated throughout the country including home-based care programmes staffed by dedicated volunteers, and programmes promoting voluntary testing and counselling as well as treatment and access to medical care.

The staggering growth in the number of children orphaned by AIDS has been met by a significant increase in the development of community-based daycare centres, crèches and after-school drop-in centres that provide regular meals, caring adults and educational support, and help give these children some form of stability.

Investing in HIV/AIDS projects

The problems caused by AIDS have far-reaching consequences for human development in any society. At national level, the effect becomes apparent as the losses accumulate and resources diminish, thereby curtailing options for development and change. Both individual enterprises and the economy as a whole suffers as many employees with skills become unable to work or die. Other employees’ productivity is affected as they struggle to care for sick family members or deal with bereavement.

Despite the government’s growing commitment to tackling these challenges, state funding is not enough to address the needs in prevention, treatment, care, support and research. Private investment and support is needed if we are to address the enormous challenges that this pandemic poses to our country.

Best practice

SASIX focuses on HIV/AIDS development projects that improve the health and quality of life of those infected and affected by the disease by increasing their access to health care and other social services as well as boosting their ability to actively take part in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS within their homes and communities.

SASIX offers investment opportunities in projects that:

• focus on education and awareness-raising to prevent the spread of HIV and empower people to make choices that minimise the risk of being infected with HIV.
• promote voluntary testing and counselling in communities, educational institutions and workplaces.
• help people with HIV/AIDS to obtain anti-retroviral treatment and medical care and to adhere to medical treatment.
• respond to the needs of children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS, with an emphasis on caring for their basic needs as well as efforts to keep them in school.
• promote gender equality and reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection, involving men and boys in the effort as well.
• assist HIV/AIDS civil society organisations to strengthen their capacity and outreach efforts.
• provide training and counselling for members of community-based organisations involved in identifying and monitoring vulnerable children and families, mobilising community resources to offer them material and moral support and assisting them with home-based care.
• advocate for and protect the rights of people living with AIDS and their families, ensuring their access to health and welfare services.

Invest in HIV/AIDS projects