How local businesses can help reduce inequality

Samantha Massey, Project Manager at Santa Shoebox Legacy

By increasing career opportunities and building tomorrow’s leaders, they create more ways for the business to grow. An area that encompasses all of these areas is early childhood development.

Early childhood development builds the foundation for future education

Evidence shows that the first few years are the most important in a child’s life. However, a new census of early childhood development centers (ECD) in South Africa revealed a number of challenges, including a lack of infrastructure, learning materials and training.

In a recent speech by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, only half of ECD programs have lifelong access to books, while a third have no outdoor play equipment. In addition, 22 percent of ECD workers have not received any training and only 26 percent have attended a skills training program. In terms of infrastructure, 60% of programs have clean latrines and about a third of schools do not have piped water for hand washing.

Here, businesses can play a role by allocating financial contributions from their annual budgets to work with programs like Santa’s Shoebox Legacy, which partner with the private sector to improve centers and transform communities. Businesses can work in specific areas, such as building new infrastructure, providing clean water, building a food park, donating learning materials, or strengthening teacher training programs.

Businesses can reap the benefits now and then.

Engagement with these projects ensures compliance with corporate social investment and socioeconomic development scorecards and improves customer loyalty, employee attraction and retention, and profitability. The proof is in the numbers-

• 77% of consumers say they are more interested in using companies that are committed to making the world a better place. They choose brands with purpose and are four times more likely to buy from them, 4.1 times more likely to trust them and 4.5 times more likely to champion these brands and recommend them to friends and family.
• 67% of job seekers indicate that they would prefer to work for socially oriented companies. Additionally, engaging in socially significant projects can reduce employee turnover by 50% – something to consider after the big layoff. Studies have shown that incorporating employee input into a company’s philanthropic initiatives results in higher productivity.
• A Giving in numbers The report, which examined the corporate philanthropy of 271 of the world’s largest companies, found that the impact of community investment is positively correlated with financial performance. The report emphasized that the companies that invested the most deeply in the community also saw the strongest financial performance. It has a positive impact on customer perception and employee performance, which is not surprising.

A giving economy is a good economy.

The world we live in is constantly evolving. Given that South Africa has been voted the most unequal country in the world, it is now important for everyone to step up and do their part. In the year A report released in 2018 found that in countries with high inequality such as South Africa, this could take nine generations or more to change if nothing is done.

There are many organizations that offer opportunities for everyone to get involved. The way to make our country better is clear considering the macro and micro benefits that companies get while giving back. I urge all businesses to develop ways to improve their triple bottom line by 2022 to ensure the longevity of their companies, improve the country and reduce inequality for South Africans and improve the environment. We need to create a better place and build our future leaders. And this change starts with us!