Thought Leadership

Care work is a public good that is largely undervalued in the South African economy. It is essential to protecting vulnerable communities, including abandoned, orphaned and abused children; the frail and aged; people with disabilities; victims of sexual and gender-based violence; and refugees. In South Africa, this work includes both preventative and rehabilitative services. South […]

“If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings, and grow.” ~ Alfie Kohn The first 1 000 days in a child’s life holds the key to unlocking his or her life-long potential. By the age of five, almost 90% of a child’s brain will be […]

With the world facing serious challenges in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) (now also known as the Global Goals), society is increasingly turning to the private sector to respond to broader societal challenges. As such, the public expectations of your company have never been greater. Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, […]

From the moment of conception, a series of development phases unfold in children, effectively shaping the course of their lives. These development milestones mark critical tipping points in the learning and growth of children. If a particular milestone is not fully reached, a child’s chances of doing well in the next phase or reaching their […]

“Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”Charles Dickens, Hard Times When learners exit the […]

In late 2013, Tshikululu Social Investments conceptualised the idea of Systemic Social Investment (SSI) and presented it to some of its leading clients. At the time, talking about social investment and systems change in the same sentence was something very new – both to ourselves, our clients and other stakeholders. Up until then, systems change […]

Part 1: Power over An unshakable reality in the work of any social investor is the power-dynamic inherent in any benefactor-beneficiary relationship. Traditionally, the view is that the one with the money has the power – to infer, to influence, to direct, to impose. This dynamic is often further fuelled by compliance requirements of the […]

Part 2: Power with In reflecting on Tshikululu’s experience over the past two decades, we have been able to transcend through and beyond the “power over” dynamic. My favourite example of this is of Tshikululu’s founding social investment (and infrastructure) specialist, who would take time in his first engagements with a school governing body (be […]

Part 3: Power to Recently Tshikululu has been assisting some of its clients to invest in initiatives that drive more purposefully towards definable impact and even achieve systems change.  These clients are not satisfied merely addressing symptoms when they could be tackling the underlying causes of the challenges society faces. We are excited to be […]

Part 4: Power within Tshikululu has found that even after successfully convening a forum committed to achieving collective impact, and even with a robustly debated and jointly agreed end goal, we sometimes don’t see the anticipated movement towards achieving that goal. The energy does not flow as one might have hoped. We’ll have the right […]

Since the announcement of fee-free education by former President Zuma in December 2017, many people and organisations in the Post School Education and Training (PSET) system have grappled with the practicalities of “adequately” funding students. The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) currently finds itself dealing with a new wave of student protests linked […]

Last week’s State of the Nation saw President Cyril Ramaphosa announce that Government would be migrating the responsibility of early childhood development (ECD) centres from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE). This was met with much excitement, accompanied by confusion and questions in some quarters. Without any doubt, […]

The matric results’ announcement was met with much debate about what the “real” matric pass rate is. This has now become an annual practice and, as one education practitioner highlighted, “everyone has an opinion, right or wrong, about education”. Whatever your view on this issue is, the class of 2018 will see over 400 000 young […]

At the beginning of each year, the country’s attention is directed towards the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results. Much of the discussion is typically about the success and/or failure of Government to provide quality education for our children. However, Government is not the only stakeholder that has a critical role to play. Private social investors […]

In 2015/16, one of Tshikululu’s clients approved funding towards the establishment of a pay-for performance platform (or social impact bond) in partnership with a provincial Department of Health (DoH). The focus of this bond was funding home-visits to mothers and children in the first 1 000 days of the child’s life. This was to ensure […]

The role of adaptive management is often underplayed by social investors in terms of strengthening strategies, implementation and impact. Adaptive decisions are based on learning, data, reflection and analysis, and are responsive to changing contexts. Given that they focus more on “what works” instead of “what doesn’t”, they have a critical role to play in […]

A new independent research report carried out by Intellidex and funded by Tshikululu Social Investments has found significant room for improvement in the asset management of Empowerment Endowments, corporate social investment trusts and funds. A new report, Understanding Empowerment Endowments, the first of its kind delving into BEE foundations, has uncovered a number of asset […]

An independent research report carried out by Intellidex and funded by Tshikululu Social Investments has highlighted the risks facing Empowerment Endowments, corporate social investment trusts and funds when effective governance is not in place. Based on a six-month research exercise into the charitable and community components of the 100 largest JSE companies’ empowerment deals implemented since 2002, […]

South Africa’s empowerment endowment trusts have a collective value in the tens of billions, with the potential for significant black economic empowerment impact, a new study has found. A recent independent research report carried out by Intellidex and funded by Tshikululu Social Investments has found that, if managed well, corporate funds and foundations focused on […]

In a National Education and Evaluation Development Unit (NEEDU) report published in April 2013, Dr Nick Taylor concluded that there are two kinds of teachers in South Africa’s school system currently influencing it in a negative way: “those who can’t” and “those who won’t”. Both have significant implications for learners and their futures and, consequently, […]

In recent years the leadership of NGOs, non-profit companies and independent trusts (commonly referred to as civil society organisations) has come under pressure both from a transformation and delivery point of view. This includes regarding their ability to reinvent themselves in our changing developmental landscape.  While these organisations have always been commended for the good […]

We live in an era where vast amounts of detailed information are at our fingertips. Given this, one might question the need to carry out a community assessment before designing a social investment strategy. These assessments play an integral role in developing high-quality strategies aimed at maximising social impact and are a critical part of […]

Organisations remain under enormous pressure to monitor and evaluate their social investment programmes for learning purposes and adaptive management. They are also often faced with heavy workloads due to conflicting demands from multiple donors with different contractual and reporting requirements. Despite these pressures, non-profit organisations must demonstrate the impact and value of their social initiatives […]

With the advent of the BEE codes in the early 2000’s, many large South African companies established trusts as one of several strategies to diversify ownership structures. Unlike most charitable or corporate foundations in the country, these “empowerment trusts” hold shares and are funded by dividends rather than donations. In different ways – depending on […]

The report is based on a six-month research exercise into the charitable and community components of the 100 largest JSE companies’ empowerment deals implemented since 2002, when community schemes started to be included in BEE deals. It follows an earlier research report, The Empowerment Endowment, which undertook research into the scale of BEE foundations. The […]

As more and more funders make the shift from traditional grantmaking to investing in strategic, system-shifting initiatives, conversations around scaling the impact of flagship programmes and successful pilot projects have dominated meeting agendas. The idea of scaling is not a new one. In the for-profit world, expansion of market reach, product offerings and operations form […]

Across the world we commemorate Mandela’s 100th birthday this month. We remember the enormous sacrifices he made and the impact he had on building a democratic South Africa. It is a time to give back and volunteer time to worthy causes. However, the spirit of Mandela transcends beyond our volunteer-time during July… For me there […]

Collaborative approaches to community development can magnify the impact of social investment, but only when the key steps in the social investment value chain are followed. South African social investors show great willingness to collaborate on projects and programmes, but too many fall short on one of the key steps in the value chain – […]

Impact investing in South Africa is increasing – becoming less of a buzzword and gaining traction among development and commercial investors. Given this, and the unique position of social investors, Sibonakaliso Mavuka, Social Investment Specialist at Tshikululu Social Investments, argues that there’s never been a better time for them to lead thinking and action in […]

Looking back to July 1998, it is with a sense of pride that we celebrate Tshikululu’s 20th anniversary today. Many people and organisations have paved the way for our very existence and  ongoing success in South Africa; starting as far back as the late 1890s when De Beers Consolidated Mines first started contributing to the […]

In April 2018, the 15th Skoll World Forum (SWF) on Social Entrepreneurship was held at Oxford University. This is an annual gathering of social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, social investors and other stakeholders, all of whom come together to share knowledge and exchange ideas in the “pursuit of learning, leverage, and large-scale social change”. This year, […]

A collaboration across 13 local organisations is bringing new hope and impetus in addressing some of the challenges facing South African early childhood development (ECD) services. Combining a wealth of resources and experiences, we’re hoping to collectively rethink approaches, responses and ultimately solutions for our country’s children… Giving children access to high-quality ECD services, including […]

E2 offers various forms of support tailored to match entrepreneurs’ specific requirements to enable them to grow their businesses. Tshikululu Social Investments has partnered with E2 who are seeking to invest high-value grants in selected PBO social enterprises, or companies that are seeking to become social enterprises or enhance their self-generated income streams. Organisations must […]

South Africa can look forward to further innovation in social development as the country’s Millennials take up the challenge of driving change. Technology-savvy, outspoken and connected, Millennials are refreshing and disrupting South Africa’s social investment landscape. Born after the 1980s, Millennials have grown up in a world where change is taking place at a rapid […]

It’s an exciting year for the world of social development. Now, for the first time, advanced digital tools allow for in-depth and enhanced Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) that not only tracks progress, but actually assesses long-term social impact and embraces community-driven project design.  Moving beyond traditional anecdotal evidence, new M&E methodologies have created new possibilities […]

Introduced as recently as 10 years ago, impact investing is changing the face of social investment as we know it. No longer just accepted as a given, the correlation between real “impact” and social investment is increasingly being challenged by the “new kid on the block” approach of impact investing. The term – and approach […]

Renewable energy projects continue offering hope for much-needed power access for under-served communities across South Africa. As a partner in this critical space, we’re already helping add impact to some of these projects through targeted value-added initiatives.

When Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga announced the 2017 matric results on January 04, most South Africans would have expected the Eastern Cape to occupy its rightful position, that of being last out of the nine provinces. And like a recurring episode in a movie, MEC Mandla Makupula and his team gave the usual performance. […]