Social Entrepreneur 2009 Finalists Announced

Posted by Staff Writer on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 9:40pm.

Ernst & Young South Africa and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship  announced today, this year’s finalists for the annual South African Social Entrepreneur awards.g52irb8k7f

In its fourth year in South Africa, the Social Entrepreneur Awards are an important element of Ernst & Young’s World Entrepreneur Awards Program.  Social Entrepreneurs are innovators who implement practical and sustainable solutions to address problems in numerous areas including job creation, health, education, environment, access to technology and job creation. Whether for-profit or not-for-profit, these individuals and their organizations have transformational social change as a primary focus.

“South Africa is proving to be a hotbed of social innovation”, said Dr François Bonnici, Head of Africa for the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship during the World Economic Forum on Africa last week, “And our partnership with Ernst & Young South Africa highlights novel and impactful approaches to existing challenges in the country.”

The current network of the Schwab Foundation spans over 150 social entrepreneurs and their organizations from more than 40 countries.  Selected social entrepreneurs are connected to the world’s business, political and media leaders through the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum.

“In today’s challenging economic times, the role of entrepreneurship and in particular, social entrepreneurship is an extremely important one.  Many entrepreneurs believe that the global recession represents an unprecedented opportunity for growth and innovation” states Zanele Xaba, Country Leader for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards Program.

The finalists for the annual South African Social Entrepreneur awards are Jackie Gallagher of Sparrow Schools, Bertie Lubner of Ma’Afrika Tikkun, Shona McDonald of Shonaquip, Trevor Mulaudzi of The Clean Shop and Noel de Villiers of Open Africa.

About the Finalists
Sparrow Schools was founded in 1989 with the primary objective of providing access to appropriate education, vocational skills training and extensive learner support to marginalized and learning disabled children and youth to improve their access to employment. Every year it provides affordable quality private education, vocational skills training and extensive learner support to 600 disadvantaged children and youth who cannot cope in mainstream schools.

Ma’Afrika Tikkun provides a holistic and integrated service empowering township communities to care for children from the time of birth into poverty until they are at an age where they contribute positively to society. It provides home based care services to shack residents (health and social services), establishes and operates early childhood development centers and provide facilities for older children through after school youth development programs in the townships of South Africa. In addition, Bertie Lubner is also the founder of the Field Band Foundation in South Africa, which through the participation in marching band activities young people are given opportunities to learn about music, dance, teamwork, discipline, time-keeping and competitiveness. The foundation aims to develop self-confidence and self-esteem in children.

Shonaquip is a social business that provides support services that promote inclusion and equal opportunity employment for persons with disabilities. It designs and builds postural support mobility devices and body support equipment. It promotes and supports the distribution of appropriate mobility and other assistive devices as well as offering professional and clinical training on safe wheelchair provision for clinicians, therapists, rehabilitation workers, wheelchair users, their care providers and families.

The Clean Shop recognizes how the lack of decent toilet facilities in schools, negatively affects the education of school children. The social purpose company now conducts daily cleaning and hygiene services for hundreds of schools as well as universities, mines, supermarkets, petrol stations etc, so that more than 40,000 people benefit from clean ablution facilities and hygiene education. The Clean Shop employs 350 people with a healthy turnover of over R1m a month. It is poised to take on many more schools in partnership with the South African government.

Open Africa is a truly innovative hybrid non-profit enterprise that uses the development of tourism routes with community participation as a tool for development, poverty alleviation and conservation. Routes development focuses on the biodiversity and cultural attractions of rural and marginalized areas in such a way that the conservation of these attractions is encouraged. It has established 56 tourism routes in Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia, with 2,114 participating businesses employing 27,500 people across the six countries.

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To learn more about the Schwab Foundation, please visit: www.schwabfound.org