Why is entrepreneurship instrumental for social change?

Entrepreneurship for social change was on spotlight during week 3 of the Inaugural Startup Business Festival event. The programme featured a representation of influencers, esteemed guests, field expects and mentors to deliberate on what is social entrepreneurship as well as its importance in bringing about social change.

In addition, entrepreneurs perpetually left audiences in high spirits with their heart-warming stories.

The likes of Dithebe Menoe, Thato Mphuthi, Theopilus Afrotist, Zethu Kunene as well as Kagiso Malema; Julia Paris and Prudence Erens were some of the speakers for the week.

Indeed, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) initiatives have been sporadically running programmes seeking to expose, stimulate and comprehensively empower young entrepreneurs to drive positive social change through entrepreneurship and innovative ideas. Also encouraging youth to become champions of change within their respective communities with the aim of benefitting from an idea that can contribute towards social change.

However, with the current social challenges in the country, it then bags a question – is the government, including private organizations doing enough to encourage and support sustainable social innovation?

The reality is that government cannot do it alone and private organisations can only do so much based on annual performances. It then rest on programmes and events like the Startup Business Festival to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where social entrepreneurs will be empowered to initiate social transformation and thus contribute to sustainable development in the country.

On the same breath, showcasing some of the benefits and the impact of social entrepreneurship to potential funders, government and relevant stakeholders will strengthen the ecosystem. In this way, entrepreneurs will not cease to create sustainable and pioneering solutions in pursuit of addressing social change.

Enabling entrepreneurs to adopt and infuse social change in their business’s goals is exactly what the festivals aims to achieve.

At the backdrop of the current pandemic, there is a demand to make things better. It is more important than ever to build sustainable organizations that inspire significant social change. Social entrepreneurship can aid alleviate social distress and create opportunities for the next generation. It is more than just a source of income, but it creates a future that goes beyond the business.

For more information about the Startup Business Festival please visit www.startupbusinessfestival.com or Facebook at @startup business festival or info@startupbusinessfestival.com