This blog is penned by Reinoud Willemsen, Reinoud has been instrumental in the network in South Africa and is a key partner of Social Value International.

On the 10th of December, Lethlogonolo (“Tlhogi”) Ntsondololwana completed the practical parts of the inaugural Social Impact Management Programme. Hosted by Property Point for the year, Tlhogi applied all the knowledge and expertise gained throughout the year on the analysis of one of the small businesses that Property Point support. She presented her findings to Mr Zecks Mafuna – owner of Zamafuna, Property Point and the project partners The Experience Factory and Embedding Impact. The presentation and the analysis of the business showed that she understands the theoretical and practical aspects of the social value principles in a satisfactory and convincing way.

Zamafuna: Social Value Creation for a small business owner

Lethlogonolo (Thlogi) investigated whether the fundamental challenges that Zamafuna faces as a business have been adequately addressed by the tailored approach to Local Economic Development that Property Point has developed.

Zamafuna is a small construction company based in one of the local townships in Johannesburg, Tembisa. They focus on building maintenance and paving services.

In 2016, Property Point conducted a baseline assessment on Zamafuna to provide a critical reference point for assessing changes and impact. This assessment was also used to identify gaps in the business. And just like many other small and growing businesses in the local communities, there was a need for compliance, financial management, networks, technical skills, and business management skills interventions. Working on these challenges accelerated Zamafuna’s procurement readiness and competitiveness within the marketplace.

Thlogi mapped out all the stakeholders and adequately articulated the different aspects of the Theory of Change, after having identified the problem with adequate reasoning. She applied the critical thinking skills gained throughout the graduate programme to the solution offered to Zamafuna to understand what material outcomes were achieved.

In the end she managed to show a Social Return on Investment (SROI) ratio of 3,38, which implies that for every R1 invested by Property Point there’s R3,38 of social value created for the business in the form of an increase in access to markets leading to increase in jobs for the local community, improved business efficiencies and not forgetting a significant and sustainable increase in revenues and profits. As Mr. Mafuna pointed out, this social value is not just realised for him, but also for the community he works in and from which he derives his employees.

About the Social Impact Management Graduate Programme

After an intense 1-month training in the basic aspects of social impact management and personal development, the selected graduates are placed within partner companies to gain practical experience whilst continuing learning the depth of social impact management and being guided on mastering the personal development. Throughout the year, each graduate works on a specific project whereby they are expected to apply the theoretical frameworks.

At the end of the year, each of our SIM Grad talents is expected to put together an informative report and a presentation, and present to all the stakeholders involved. During the presentation, the attendees shared their thoughts, asked questions, and provided suggestions for improvement. The adjudication of the presentation, together with the report, form the portfolio of evidence (PoE). The PoE, together with the exams, are the inputs for the local accreditation, whereas each graduate is also writing SVIs level 1 Certificate Exam.

On Monday 14 December, the other three graduates from the first cohort will be presenting the results of their projects, and undoubtedly setting the bar high for the graduates in the current 2nd cohort and any other cohort to follow.

www.simgrad.co.za