It is essential for entrepreneurs to consider innovative and creative solutions for social issues to create a ripple effect for economic growth and increased human resilience. Creating an adaptable inclusive environment strongly linked to human development for the vulnerable can bridge the social divide.
As we celebrated Mandela Day on July 18, we reflected on what it means for early childhood development, food security and creating just cities 30 years into democracy. Quality care at the early childhood development level plays an important and crucial role in defining the growth paths of lives.
The pursuit of innovative entrepreneurial solutions for the desired foundation of human development is even more paramount as the world changes at an exponential rate. In that same breath, there is certainly room for solutions from small and medium enterprise (SME) that bridge the social divide while creating employment. The June 2023 Quarterly Labour Force Survey highlighted unemployment in South Africa, estimated to be 32.6%. This is room for disruptive SMEs to thrive.
A September 2023 dialogue between The Conversation Africa and Imraan Valodia, a professor of economics and dean of the faculty of commerce, law & management at Wits University about inequality in South Africa confirmed we are the top unequal country in the world with a Gini coefficient of about 0.67. The Gini coefficient is a statistical measure of how income is distributed in the population of a country.
In this new GNU, SMEs should find an opportunity to play a pivotal role in creating just cities
This takes a value between 0 and 1, but ours is exceptionally high in comparison with Sadc countries. Namibia’s is 0.59, Zambia’s 0.57 and Mozambique’s 0.54, while Global North economies such as Scandinavian countries have much lower scores, ranging between 0.24 and 0.27. Among the developed countries, the US has a high level of inequality with a Gini of 0.41. China’s is 0.38 and India’s is 0.35, Russia’s low at 0.37. Brazil, more like South Africa, has a higher level of inequality at 0.53.
One in three people worldwide struggles with severe or moderate food insecurity. In 2012 South African department of health introduced an operational guide on nutrition for early childhood development centres. Essentially, cradle-to-grave innovative solutions must be considered across the spectrum, from rural and peri-urban to urban human settlements.
The Studies in Poverty & Inequality Institute in August 2021 investigated the things people need to have as a basis for a decent standard of living in South Africa. The institute’s socially perceived necessities survey identified the following as the top 10 of the 34 necessities:
- Mains electricity in the house;
- Someone to look after you if you are very ill;
- A house that is strong enough to stand up to the weather — rain, winds, et cetera;
- Street lighting;
- A fridge;
- Clothing to keep you warm and dry;
- For parents or other carers, to be able to buy complete school uniforms for their children without hardship;
- A flushing toilet in the house;
- Paid employment for people of working age; and
- Somewhere for children to play safely outside the house.
In the context of just communities/cities, spatial planning remains a historic challenge. The birth of democracy in 1994 came with a legacy of glaring differences in quality of life, economic activities in different parts of the country and huge differences in access to a decent quality of life.
The introduction of the Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) addressed these differences, but glaring inequality still remains. In this new government of national unity, SMEs should find an opportunity to play a pivotal role in creating just cities as part of a partnership with the department of human settlements, while creating jobs.
Additionally, digital skills, robotics, coding, technological expertise and knowledge should be regarded as conduits for skills development in that sector and a catalyst for change in the communities.
In the context of the constitution, provision was made for early child development. As Mandela Month is commemorated in 2024, the late statesman’s words, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, echo.
As we say goodbye to July, we should continue to call for a huge nudge for entrepreneurs to access opportunities in the revitalised government and be part of a stronger backbone. The disruptive collaborations are set to create a sustainable environment to solve the societal challenges for a modernised life and access to basic needs for just transitions and just communities.
Remember to make every day a Mandela Day. Do not wait for next July. Start now, where you are, with what you have. Just start.
• Ndlovu is Director SME at Old Mutual Corporate
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