Social Venture in Dakar anyone?

Summer is over and we are back to blogging here at WYHWTM! Being an Africa-oriented business and economic development nerd, I recently checked out The McKinsey Quarterly’s new report, “Africa at Work: Job Creation and Inclusive Growth,” which highlights the immense economic potential in the continent’s resources, especially its human capital.  While McKinsey’s announcement that “African economies are on the move” (pg1) may be old news to many, the report provides a glimpse into the endless entrepreneurial opportunities in Africa. 

 

Between 2010 and 2020 McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) estimates that Africa will add 122 million people to its labor force, making it the largest labor force in the world by 2035. Currently many African workers are what McKinsey has delicately termed ‘vulnerably employed’ a concept that includes subsistence living and self-employment in the informal economy without social safety nets. The prescribed solution to this prevalent status is an increase in available ‘stable wage-paying jobs,’ namely from manufacturing, agriculture, and retail & hospitality. MGI’s recommendations to put Africa’s economic growth on a similar trajectory to that of South Korea and other emerging markets include: expansion of large-scale commercial farming on uncultivated land, increase in manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP via either low-cost manufacturing hubs or higher-value-added manufacturing, and modernization and formalization of the retail and hospitality sector (replace informal markets with shopping malls and remove barriers to travel and tourism). While the recommendations provided in the report make perfect sense for a continent on the traditional and seemingly never-ending ‘development path’, they beg the question – what can African countries learn from the shortcomings of the traditional development path and avert in their own evolutions? I personally believe that the possibilities of alternatives paths to alternative states of ‘development’ or well-being are endless. But that is for another day…

Lest we forget, “Africa’s growth needs to be inclusive if it is to improve human welfare and ensure increasing social and political stability.” (pg1) Yes, thank you McKinsey. In order to make this explosive growth inclusive, policymakers, business and entrepreneurs must address the very salient need for work experience opportunities and more hands-on vocational training programs for high-demand skills. ‘Where are the entrepreneurs in this picture?’ one might ask. Interestingly, MGI draws a distinction between ‘opportunity entrepreneurs,’ those who seek to leverage market opportunity and ‘necessity entrepreneurs,’ those, including street hawkers, who are just trying to survive within current market conditions (pg52). ‘Necessity entrepreneurs,’ of which Africa’s share is high compared to other emerging markets, fall under the ‘vulnerable employment’ category. Again, skills-building initiatives are needed to promote ‘necessity entrepreneurs’ to the ‘opportunity entrepreneur’ level.

This is where my restless, creative and entrepreneurial side kicks in and I start thinking of a million potential ventures that could possibly meet these growing needs, particularly in the metropolitan areas of ‘transition economies’ like Ghana, Tanzania and Senegal that have relatively stable sociopolitical contexts and hoards of unemployed energetic and smart young people. There is clearly a need for more homegrown solutions and job creation. Strategic support of local entrepreneurship (the opportunity kind), social innovation and the creative economy are proven methods being used to stimulate transitioning cities within the U.S. (Pittsburgh anyone?), but are rarely at the forefront of US driven economic development efforts elsewhere. (One theory is that this does not support the true agenda of extracting the most value for the U.S. out of the economic development of emerging markets – cheap labor, cheap goods, natural resources, favorable trade terms, low-barrier investments…but I digress). 

So there are at least two needs clearly identified: closing the gap between smart, energetic youth and jobs, and creating new stable jobs in a less foreign-investment-centric way through local entrepreneurship….hmmm. Since this forum is meant to also serve as a platform for sharing unperfected ideas, let’s have a go:

What: A social enterprise based in Dakar, Senegal addressing the two needs stated above

Mission: To engage local young people in local economic development efforts

Two Strategies:

• Support youth job readiness, training and placement
• Promote local entrepreneurship in social and creative sectors

 Services for youth clients would include:

•  Post-graduate internships and job training
• Career development
• Vocational and other workshops
• Entrepreneurship incubator
• Social innovation support programs

 Services for local and foreign institutional clients would include:

• Job posting and internship/full-time recruiting
• Job training/orientation facilitation
• Venture investment opportunities
• Consulting (marketing, strategic management, economic development…etc)

 Sustainable Business Model: Simply put, income from the institutional clients (companies and government agencies) and higher-income youth clients would subsidize services to lower-income youth clients and more socially-oriented activities without a direct source of revenue. This model may also require supplementary income generation, which could be accomplished in the form of another social enterprise branch also used for vocational training purposes (boutique, restaurant, temp agency….etc).

What do you all think? Granted, this is a very simplistic description, I would love to hear your initial reactions, questions, thoughts, related interests and suggestions! A hearty and challenging dialogue is key to any ideation process. Thanks in advance for participating!

Ambassadors for Africa: Bridging the Gap

by Ebele Ifedigbo

 A version of this post originally appeared on Africa.com under its "My Journey, My Africa" section.



My Journey with Africa started as one of deep confusion and chronic discord. Like most African children born and raised in the United States, I struggled with my Nigerian status. Growing up, I was particularly perplexed as to why my parents chose to curse my life with such a weird name as ‘Ebele’- didn’t they know that people would continually butcher the pronunciation or, worse, give in to the temptation of calling me incredibly stupid nicknames like ‘Belly’?

Being the hybrid product of a Nigerian father and a black American mother only compounded my African identity struggle. It seemed like I never really fit in on either side: Africans saw me as essentially black and they tended to see blacks as lazy and uncultured; blacks saw me as essentially African and they tended to see Africa as a place full of naked tree-swinging tribes and starving babies.

Of course I had my family there to keep me grounded in Nigerian culture and values but, given the fact that I was actually raised in a black American community, I felt a lot further removed from my African identity than from my black American identity. As I got older and the desire to truly know myself set in, I became increasingly curious to learn more about Africa: I got my Nigerian cousins to teach me Igbo, I started listening to music artists like Flavour and 9ice to complement the Bob Marley and 2pac collections that had long flooded my iPod, and I took so many Africa-focused electives in college that I ended up qualifying for a minor in African Studies. But just knowing about Nigeria and Africa wasn’t enough for me. Deep down, I really wanted to understand more about the intersection of the African and black American experiences: How might we learn to find strength in our similarities while still proudly celebrating our differences? And, most importantly, how could I use my inter-sectional positioning to help bridge the deep cultural divide I’ve unfortunately had to navigate my entire life?

My passionate drive to unite my bifurcated communities has led me to create a new organization called Ambassadors for Africa (AFA). Founded in February 2012 by me and my partner Shirley Torho, AFA brings together black American youth ages 7-24 from all walks of life for a program designed to develop their global leadership capacity while preparing them for a life as advocates for meaningful and sustainable African development. At the core of AFA’s program model is our abiding belief that the black American community has been a sorely overlooked ally in the ongoing struggle for lasting African prosperity. Furthermore, we believe that exposure to the African cultural and socioeconomic milieu will empower black youth with a more complete perception of their personal identity and equip them with a more dynamic understanding of the pressing issues facing Africa-descendant communities, both in America and abroad.

After completing a curriculum rooted in responsible volunteerism & cultural exchange, social entrepreneurship, and Black & African Studies, youth participate in service trips to Africa, where they form sustainable relationships with African youth & community partners in key sectors. Upon their return to the United States, participants complete collaborative social action projects to effect change in the areas of African development most meaningful to them. Long term, AFA will serve as a critical facilitating link between AFA alumni and continental African communities and organizations, fueling and facilitating their contributions to the continent over time.

While my personal Journey with Africa has been a decidedly rocky one involving years of inner-conflict, discovery, growth, and self-acceptance, I am forever grateful because the challenging journey has led me to a place of unwavering appreciation and genuine empowerment through my African identity. Best of all, my Journey has led me to what I believe is my true life purpose. Through Ambassadors for Africa, I have the invaluable opportunity to use my bi-cultural life experience as a platform for creating a powerful and mutually-beneficial cross-continental exchange of ideas, resources, and support. The prospect of strengthening and unifying both sides of my Africa-descendant community brings me immense joy and satisfaction and I am quite excited to see where this Journey will take me next.

To learn more about Ambassadors for Africa and to join our nascent movement, please visit and 'like' our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/Ambassadors4Africa or email us at: ambassadors4africa@gmail.com.

If you would like to help us with funding (and you definitely should!), you can contribute to our Indiegogo campaign at: www.indiegogo.com/AmbassadorsForAfrica.

--

Ebele is a budding social entrepreneur whose foremost passion in life is the pursuit of lasting social and economic empowerment for the black community worldwide.
@Ebele_Ifedigbo
@Ambass4Africa

A Day in the 'Burgh

The other day was a perfect example of why it feels bittersweet to be leaving Pittsburgh at summer's end. When people ask me "How's Pittsburgh?" I tell them that I've been pleasantly surprised. Inevitably eyebrows shoot up in disbelief and the curious pry further, "Really?" Then I launch into my speech about how Pittsburgh's post-industrial decline created a vacuum that served as a magnet for change agents. Usually whomever I'm talking to will search for hints of denial in my face and probably think, 'Poor girl, there must be something in the water..." While that is certainly true (chlorine from Marcellus Shale fracking), there is definitely something special about the 'Burgh. Let me tell you about my day, and maybe you'll understand.

First, some context: I've been working with former Echoing Green Fellow, Andrew Butcher, co-founder and CEO of GTECH Strategies, to develop GTECH's local support base. GTECH, which stands for Growth Through Energy & Community Health, is a thought and action leader in the region and nationally that works with communities to transform economic and environmental liabilities into assets. Their most well-known projects here are the fields of sunflowers planted on vacant lots, of which Pittsburgh has many. 

So the other day I had a meeting with a local venue to talk logistics for an upcoming GTECH event. The venue is the Waffle Shop in East Liberty (historic Brooklyn-esque neighborhood). The Waffle Shop originated as a CMU student art project with a community development twist. It's a cool diner space with weird late night operating hours and yummy waffles. The coolest part though, is that there is a talk-show stage open to the community, with film equipment used to stream the shows live online. In this way, the Waffle Shop serves as a collaborative "third space" for the community to perform and dialogue. We are very excited to be organizing a GTECH event, which will be a brunch panel discussion on Social Entrepreneurship, at such a fitting venue.

After my meeting at Waffle Shop, I couldn't resist going next door to Conflict Kitchen's take out window to grab an Iranian sandwich to go. Conflict Kitchen is a take out stall that only serves foods from places that are in conflict with the U.S. Right now they are offering  sandwiches from Iran, and in few months they will change the entire facade of their storefront window and their menu to reflect another country (North Korea, Afghanistan, Venezuela...you name it).

After savoring my sandwich through another meeting for a school project, I headed over to CMU's Project Olympus for an Idea Lab roundtable discussion on Social Entrepreneurship in the region and nationally. The Idea Lab is student social enterprise incubator led by and for grad students to develop early-stage ideas. Project Olympus is an incubator space and program for for-profit student enterprises that spin out of CMU, of which there are many. It was interesting to have such a rich array of organizations represented in the discussion - Idea Lab, Project Olympus, UPitt Law's Innovation Practice Institute, Scenable, and SponsorChange. We started by talking about Pittsburgh's potential as a hotbed of social innovation. Apparently at a CMU talk last year, Mayor Fetterman of Braddock, PA (itself, a very special place) said something in the spirit of, SW PA, and Pittsburgh in particular, has the potential to be the silicon valley of social entrepreneurship because the need is just so big. Agreed.

With projects like PopUp Pittsburgh, a constant stream of innovation challenges, and companies like Google setting up shop to scoop up nerdy talent, things are looking up for the 'burgh. There does seem to be a dearth of available funding in the area for social ventures. However, PA just recently joined the ranks of NYC, VT, CA and a few other states that allow for the creation of Benefit Corporations (B-Cors) with charters specifically stating that the purpose of the corporation is to not only bring value to shareholders but also to have a positive impact on people and planet. Annual audits will be conducted to ensure that this holds true.

So if you are planning a social venture to do with economic development, consider Pittsburgh as an ideal testing grounds with opportunities and incubators galore!

I will miss the economic development energy and buzz, the strip district, the underground foodie culture, and the techie-ness, if not the unpredictable weather and chlorine-rich water. Oh, Pittsburgh.