A new Siemens Stiftung study reveals the potential social enterprises offer the African labour market
A study conducted by Siemens Stiftung and commissioned by the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" predicts that social enterprises can provide up to one million new jobs in twelve African countries between 2020 and 2030.
The African population is growing rapidly and is expected to double by 2050. This creates a need for new employment opportunities, especially among young people. To meet that need it is important to use the potential of social enterprises (SEs) to create jobs. The study "Social Enterprises as Job Creators in Africa - The Potential of Social Enterprise to Provide Employment Opportunities in 12 African Countries 2020-2030" identifies both job creating and job inhibiting factors that play a role for SEs. It considers different country contexts and demographic aspects of the twelve countries analysed and shows ways in which SEs can be supported to exploit their job creation potential.
Social enterprises focus on solving social problems through the products and services they offer. Simultaneously, they are often concerned with creating employment and income opportunities for marginalized groups. The study estimates that SEs could, within the twelve countries, create up to one million new jobs in the next ten years. To leverage their employment creation potential, SEs, which are often young start-ups, need support – especially in countries with fragile structures. Specifically, the study proposes measures in form of financial and technical support as well as greater integration of SEs in political processes, for example through associations that represent their unique common interests.
“We welcome the results of this study, which highlights the potential that social enterprises have for job creation in Africa”, commented Thomas Rolf, Head of the GIZ Global Programme on Training and Job Creation. “The report offers valuable insights on how social enterprises can best be supported to overcome obstacles in their day-to-day work and will hence help us in better achieving our job creation goals.”
You can find the Siemens Stiftung’s press release on the study’s publication
here.
Find all three parts of the study - Main Report, Country Profiles and Case Studies - here.