Opportunity Issue 103

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
through development, funding and facilitating access to markets
for small and medium-sized enterprises.
A social entrepreneur is a person who pursues an innovative idea
with the potential to solve a social and/or economic challenge.
Social enterprises that will be considered for incubation in the
Mbewu programme are technology start-ups and those that are
active in agriculture (including agro-processing), industrial services,
the green economy, the creative industry and social innovation.
Finalists incubated into the Mbewu programme join the ranks
of past social entrepreneurs who are already blazing a trail in their
respective industries. Successful candidates incubated into the
Mbewu programme will receive mentorship, funding to scale up
their operations and access to markets.
Since the launch of Mbewu, Barloworld has been encouraged
by the zeal and enthusiasm that South Africans have demonstrated
in developing innovative solutions that address socio-economic
challenges in a sustainable manner. Through the Mbewu platform,
we seek to unlock the potential of this growing sector of the economy
and give promising start-ups in various fields the ability to scale up
and blossom to their full potential.
Addressing food security
One of the successful candidates, Denzhe Development Agency,
facilitates vegetable farming and agricultural skills development for
ABET graduates, a focus area for economic growth and addressing the
food security threat. Another social enterprise to have been mentored
is Sindingulwazi, a recycling enterprise which fights drug addiction by
offering addicts skills and an opportunity to earn a living from recycling.
Community members are enabled with access to food from the
gardens and the surplus is used to generate an additional income.
Through waste management and rehabilitating of illegal dumping
sites, Sindingulwazi extracts the recyclable waste and sells it to generate
additional revenue whilst eradicating the culture of illegal dumping.
A catalyst for change
Barloworld is acutely aware of the challenges facing South Africa, and
how the outbreak of Covid-19 has exacerbated the triple challenges of
poverty, unemployment and inequality. Mbewu represents a tangible
intervention that Barloworld has put in place to use the transformative
power of social entrepreneurship to be a catalyst of positive social
change. “We firmly believe that the private sector has an important role
to play in helping social entrepreneurs to overcome the common barriers
such as lack of financing solutions, human capital and information and
networks. Through Mbewu, we believe that we can contribute positive
to the growth of entrepreneurship with a social conscience and support
a rare breed of men and women to foster positive change in a profitable
and sustainable manner," says Noluvo Vovo Ngcwabe, Head of Corporate
Social Investment at Barloworld.
"Over the past three years we have been impressed by the quality of
the entries we have received for induction into the Mbewu programme,
which is indicative of the high level of social entrepreneurship in South
Africa. With the level of innovation that has been a surprising but
welcome by-product of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are confident that
the quality of the entries we will receive this year will blow our socks
off. We are pleased that we could utilise our platforms and the power of
our brand to contribute to economic growth and foster positive social
change," Ngcwabe concludes.
New applications are invited every year for the programme.
Eligible social entrepreneurs are invited to apply at
www.barloworld.com/mbewu
ABOUT THE GROUP WHO WERE SUPPORTED BY THIS FUND
The Creative Arts Cohort
A group of creative artists were able to grow and scale their enterprises as part of Mbewu,
Barloworld’s social enterprise incubator. The programme’s financial and non-financial support
includes enterprise development skills, coaching and mentoring.
Art Versatile
Founded in 2008 by visual artist and creative entrepreneur
Litha Ncokazi, Art Versatile is a value-driven art, design and
tourism hub based in Arcadia, East London, in the Eastern
Cape. Since its inception, Art Versatile has grown steadily and become a branded
house with a strategic design of six units.
Leshego Ceramics
Leshego Buy Back and Recycling Centre is a recycling and jewellery manufacturing
co-operative established in 2017 by five previously-disadvantaged youth. It is
founded by qualified and talented pottery and jewellery craft artists. Some of
the company’s products being manufactured include
handmade recycle jewellery including necklaces, bracelets,
earrings and bookmarks.
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