Social Enterprise and Job Creation in Sub Saharan Africa: Report Launch

Over the past year, we’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Mark Richardson of Social Impact Consulting and Richard Catherall of Kataris Ventures on a continent-wide study on the relationship between social enterprise and job creation in Sub Saharan Africa, on behalf of the British Council. The past year has led us to meet with hundreds of social entrepreneurs across the continent, hold one-on-one interviews with a number of stakeholders, participate in/host roundtable discussions in Accra, Dakar, Cape Town, Addis Ababa and Nairobi and collect data from 1840 respondents.

It has been a formidable journey and one which we will be continuing, as we are increasingly convinced of the import of social enterprise to African economies. The World Bank estimates that the effects of Covid-19 means up to -5.1%[1]growth for Africa, and no-one, including social enterprises, has escaped the resilience test. But one lesson that this period has taught us, is that community and relationships, matter. This has long been a truism for social enterprises, whose core is fashioned around people, purpose as well as profit. This theme is reverberated throughout our findings in myriad ways, not least of all through the fact that women and marginalised groups are often championed by social enterprises. Social enterprises are moving the dial economically too. While on average, one SME creates seven jobs on the continent, social enterprises produce three times that amount. 

We believe that with legislative change, investment and technical support, the possibilities for social enterprise in Africa to make transformational and sustainable impact, particularly in light of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are staggering. Enjoy the read.

If you have any thoughts/questions we would love to hear from you.  questions@songhaiadvisory.com

[1]https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/09/covid-19-coronavirus-drives-sub-saharan-africa-toward-first-recession-in-25-years