Energy through Empowerment

My team is working with IFAW Holdings, which is a holding company with the mission of empowering women across South Africa through investments in local companies. Our entrepreneur, Lorraine Mpahlele, partners with small businesses in the hopes of both making a profit and expanding employment, training, and funding opportunities for women throughout the business. The company’s mandate aligns closely with BBBEE legislation, which encourages black and female empowerment; the legislation requires diversity in equity and executive composition and encourages companies to partner with women owned and black owned companies.

In our learnings about South Africa, I have been very impressed in the country’s efforts to right the wrongs of apartheid. The Black Economic Empowerment Legislation explicitly tries to redistribute wealth across the population similarly to how political power was redistributed after the end of apartheid. There are mixed opinions about how successful this legislation has been, as there are millions of people still living in poverty that have not seen its benefits. However, the imbalance is being openly discussed and managed, which is very different than in many other countries where racial or social inequities are considered taboo.

The fact that the country has acknowledged the inequity and announced explicit goals for improvement has given the country a sense of energy and entrepreneurial spirit that is hard to describe. Lorraine is filled with a passion for business but wants to make sure that this economic growth is accompanies by social change. From what I’ve heard from other teams, this idea of giving back to the community is shared by many of the entrepreneurs we are working with. It has been very inspiration to be partnered with Lorraine, and as we work with her to solidify the company strategy we are looking forward to seeing all of her dreams turn to reality.

Kristin