South Africa (Spring 2019)

Desire to make a positive social impact

By Lindsay

Since around sixth grade I have had a desire to make an impact, I wanted to change the world, to leave a mark and do good.

To me social impact is an individual’s actions that can have an impact on the well-being of a community or an ecosystem.  Since around sixth grade I have had a desire to make an impact, I wanted to change the world, to leave a mark and do good. I had a teacher that inspired me to want to save the manatees. From there on I had a passion for volunteer work. Then in college I thought I was going to be a marine biologist and I changed from wanting to save the manatees to saving the sea turtles. I didn’t end up as a marine biologist and while I did study sea turtles for a semester I haven’t saved them…yet. I think of that desire to make an impact now as I am on the verge of leaving for South Africa. Where for the first time since I was an undergrad I am embarking on a mission for good. With my history of wanting to save animals you may think I am going to South Africa to save the sharks or maybe elephants or lions. But I am going to South Africa to work on a project with microgrids. An energy solution that was mostly foreign to me until I joined this class, and while I am still not an expert, I have learned a lot in the couple of months leading up to the trip.

Access to electricity and modern energy sources is a global problem. Of the world’s 7+ billion people, more than 1.2 billion do not have access to electricity. Nearly twice that number lack access to safe and reliable energy. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, more than 620 million people lack access to electricity, and current population growth rates outpace growth in energy access. Even as I write this if you Google “power outage, Johannesburg” there is news of a widespread power outage from a day ago. Many share a vision that future communities (residential and commercial developments, university and industrial campuses, military installations, and so on) will be self-sufficient with respect to energy production and will adopt microgrids. A typical microgrid portfolio includes solar and wind resources, gas-fired generation, demand-response capabilities, electrical and thermal storage, combined heat and power and connectivity to the grid. Advanced technologies such as fuel cells may also be included.

Make no mistake I also look forward to going on a safari, something I have wanted to do since I wanted to save the manatees. But I also hope to be able to make a small difference in the brief time we are there. I look forward to working on our consulting project and working with the client company to answer questions and begin to hopefully provide some solutions and find a way to make microgrids more accessible and financially feasible for companies in Johannesburg and beyond to other parts of Africa. I can’t wait to get there and continue the social impact mission I have had since I was younger.

The importance of empathy and understanding in international business

By Kara

Through this experience, it became clear to me that in order to make a difference in the lives of others, it takes observation, understanding, and empathy.

During undergrad, I interned abroad for an international NGO that works to combat poverty worldwide. The organization wasn’t just giving money or supplies, but going into these communities, and providing people with necessary tools and the foundation to be able to fight for their rights. Through this experience, it became clear to me that in order to make a difference in the lives of others, it takes observation, understanding, and empathy. This is the essence of human-centered design and design thinking, learning not just what a user needs, but what they want: something they will actually use to solve the problem. I’m very passionate about wanting to work in international development and global justice, but I know I can’t make sustainable change without having a hands-on understanding. I wanted to be a part of this field seminar so I could have this international experience, and see for myself how people are using business to make a difference in the lives of others.

Now, I am excited to get to South Africa and get feedback on the projects we have been working on, as I believe it can be difficult to get out of this mindset that is the US way of doing business. With this class consulting project, it was more important than ever to first take a step back and analyze the environment we would be working in. After a PEST analysis (political, economic, socio-cultural and technological), we knew that addressing the problem in South Africa would not just be the duplicate of how we would address it in the US. Given how we still see impacts of systematic racism in our country today, even over half a century since the Civil Rights Movement, I’m expecting to see that the effects of apartheid still play a big role in the way South Africa operates. This system that established white minority rule, legally discriminating and separating people by race, ended not even 30 years ago. That information is crucial to consider when visiting and working with companies in Johannesburg. Still, our company’s feedback will also be crucial to our success, as there is no better resource for understanding the context of the problem than the people experiencing it firsthand.

I’m very much looking forward to visiting all of these organizations that are addressing social inequities across the country. I hope to specifically learn more about how social impact can also bring forth a profit, as I have come to believe that CSR has a positive impact on a company’s bottom line. Additionally, I am interested to learn more about how South Africa is adapting to and combating climate change. Overall, it will be enlightening to get a perspective outside of the limited one I have regarding “best practices” and social justice. What strategies and ideas are social impact professionals in Johannesburg using that could be applicable to business back home in the US? Aside from the experience itself, I hope to take away new insight and a breadth of knowledge that I may be able to use in my future social impact-related career.

Experiencing a new culture and learning about social impact

By Iswarya

I am looking forward to travelling to South Africa to experience the new culture and learn more about how social impact organizations are working to create change.

When looking into the companies that we’ll be stopping, I’m inspired by the work they are doing to effectively affect change in different facets. Especially after the end of the apartheid, the lengths Exthat the governments and these organizations are willing to take are impressive.

This past summer, I read Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime, and that really helped shape my outlook on how the Apartheid is still really ingrained into the communities and how people identify themselves. I am looking forward to learning more about the Apartheid in our visit to the museum because I think that this experience will allow me to better understand the mission behind the organizations that we are visiting. It’s important to recognize the deep-rooted segregation that still exists and I believe that with the help of these empowering organizations trying to enact change progress can be made.

On a lighter note, I have always wanted to visit South Africa for the opportunity to go on a Safari and see the wildlife that I’ve only ever been able to see in documentaries. When I learned that we would going on a safari as a part of our plans I was so excited! I recognize that opportunities like this are far and few between, so I’m looking forward to the diverse experiences that this program has to offer. I’ll be checking in later to let you know how the trip is going, but for now I’m going to go finish packing for the adventure of a lifetime!

Disruption from daily routine and reflection on learning

By Patricia

I’m excited to have that time to shift out of my day-to-day routine and reflect on the incredible opportunity to end graduate school with this field seminar.

We leave for South Africa tomorrow and I, for once, find myself looking forward to spending upwards of fifteen hours on a plane. I’m not typically such a fan of flying, but I’m excited to have that time to shift out of my day-to-day routine and reflect on the incredible opportunity to end graduate school with this field seminar.

We’ve been researching and working on our projects for weeks, but in the context of typical assignments, work, and midterms, I haven’t had the chance to think through the many ways in which this trip ties together the topics I’ve studied over these past two years.

My group is working on a clean energy project. At first, I was intimidated by the complexity of energy issues in South Africa and impressed by the ecosystem of startups and NGOs committed to improving clean energy access and performance. We wondered how we would possibly get up to speed on the relevant challenges and develop actionable recommendations for our organization. While certainly a challenge to work on such a project from so far away, before long, we were drawing upon things we have been learning in finance, case competitions, sustainability classes, and even a weekend workshop on excel tips and tricks. I’m excited to meet our organization partners in person and share our ideas in just a few days!

Business school has flown by and I feel like all the information I’ve learned is swirling around in my head— and on my increasingly disorganized desktop. I look forward to taking some time to reflect on things like cross-sector partnerships, social innovation, and systems change and arrive in Johannesburg jet lagged, perhaps but a little more clear eyed to see how the organizations we’re visiting put these concepts into practice.

Philanthropy in Africa

By Kathryn

Why do people give their hard-earned money away to others? Why do they give their valuable time, their irreplaceable networks, their limited goods, to others?

As a fundraising professional, these questions are ones I often ask myself. What motivates individuals, wealthy or otherwise, to give of themselves?

In the United States there is a strong culture of philanthropy. There are many reasons this is and could be the case. The idea of the “American Dream,” in which anyone can achieve their dreams and many people rise up from nothing, is perhaps part of it – people are ready and willing to give to others, to help them have the same opportunities for advancement. The US tax laws incentivize giving, especially of the wealthy at greater levels. And our form of democratic government in many ways is seen lacking in the services it provides to its people – which means nonprofit charitable organizations must step in to fill the gaps. People see the value in this, and are motivated to give.

As my team and I began corresponding with our nonprofit client, it became clear that philanthropy and the culture of giving on the African continent did not quite work the same way.

We are working with the client on fund development, and they made special mention of asking us to help with American and European foundations and individual philanthropists. With some further research, it became clear to us why this was the case – the idea of formalized giving of money or services is a relatively new one in Africa.

Traditionally, within many African cultures, support (financial and otherwise) is both freely given and owed to family, to religious groups, and within the local community. While giving in all forms has always been a regular part of life – the term Ubuntu is used often, which means “I am because you are” and refers to individual responsibility to greater humankind – the giving was always informal and not monitored (UBS Philanthropy Advisory, 2014).

As wealth on the continent continues to grow, however (12 Africans appeared on the 2018 Forbes list of billionaires and between 2000 and 2004 the number of millionaires on the continent grew by 145%), many are becoming interested in a larger strategy around giving; many are looking into their local communities and beyond; and many are more concerned with their impact than ever before (Conway-Smith, 2015). In response, networks of individuals interested in more strategic philanthropy, and creating an African culture of organized giving, have formed. The African Philanthropy Forum, formed in 2014 and currently boasting over 430 members, is one such organization.

Since a more formalized concept of philanthropy is newer and tax regulations only incentivize up to a smaller, capped amount, many of local South African nonprofits struggle to raise the funds necessary to effectively focus on their mission. And with the fourth largest wealth-poverty gap in the world (54% of national income is passed through the wealthiest 10% of individuals), there exists a lot of need (Sieff, 2018).

I’m excited to see what African philanthropists can accomplish in the coming years, and in the next week I’m looking forward to talking with some of our local company contacts about their experiences in this area.