Corporate SA Has a Big Role to Play In Alleviating Poverty

Poverty is a huge problem in South Africa and remains widespread in 2024. I think I once a saw a statistic that says around 55% of the population lives below the national poverty line, which is set at R992 per person per month (I stand to be corrected). I immediately checked my expenses and that gave me a picture of how dire that is.

Here is something that we hear too often: South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, with a Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) of around 0.63. We are no longer shocked by this. It has become just another description. It is as if we got shocked and moved on.

I would like to explore the role of corporate SA when it comes to fighting poverty. A lot is being done, but a lot could be done strategically. I am not saying corporate SA is the magic pill. I am also not saying corporate SA is doing nothing. I am just saying that the impact could be taken up a notch.

There are 3 things that I think Corporate SA could look at doing differently in order to make a dent in the poverty rates in South Africa.

Intentional Corporate Social Responsibility and Investment

According to corporate responsibility consultancy Trialogue's latest research findings, South African companies spent an estimated R11. 8bn on corporate social investment (CSI) in the 2023 financial year. Kudos to them! Honestly. While this sounds like a huge number, it is actually not. It is the common economics problem of scarcity: people trying to satisfy unlimited wants and needs with limited resources. So, what should we do with these limited resources? Maybe it is time to step on governments toes. Let us push CSI to more than just food parcels and supporting ECD centers (that is also important by the way). Let us look at more than just temporary relief. Let us look at strategic economic growth matters that government keeps failing on.

Intentional Skills Development

When you empower an employee, you empower a family. Corporate SA needs to look at legacy Skills Development. Example, if a mother who has a child with a disability is your employee, how can you empower both the mother and the child to keep the legacy of success in that family? That is just one example. The principle here is to deliberately combat poverty traps. Remember, a family can be on its way to breaking chains of poverty and go back to the broken chains in a snap. That trickle down effect into generations can take us back as a country. Therefore, corporate SA should start to look at Skills Development as an instrument to fight poverty instead of just training.

Intentional Economic Transformation

Sometime I wish we could do away with transformation leaders in corporate SA who think transformation is just a KPI. They are taking away benefits that could uplift the poor. They keep implementing internships that lead people straight into employment. They do not think strategically about Employment Equity. They throw money into Socio-Economic Development for the sake of their performance appraisals. Where are the future transformation leaders? Who is preparing them? Where is the transformation leaders 2035 agenda? We need intentional transformation leaders. Policies are there, but they need brains behind them.

I want to believe that poverty will significantly reduce in South Africa in the next coming years. I really do. At the same time, I am extremely scared. I know poor people. I know them personally, not from a book. I know how affected they are. We already have too many of them. The thought of us as a country creating more poor people terrifies me.