They tell you to get close to power. Book the breakfast with the deputy minister. Sit on the panel with the MEC. Collect selfies in the corridors of Parliament as if proximity were a strategy. In development, this is the first myth we learn, and the first one we should unlearn. The longer we have worked in this field, the clearer the inversion has become: the closer you move to political power, the further you drift from actual funding, integrity and impact. The state does no

Image credit: Stock photo via HubSpot (original source: Thinkstock/Shutterstock integration) The invitations arrive like promises. “Access to markets.” “Visibility to funders.” “A platform for growth.” But you already know what the room looks like before you get there. A circle of plastic chairs or cocktail tables. Branded banners collapsing slightly at the edges. A projector running a loop of logos. Small businesses, NGOs, social enterprises, all dressed in their best versio

If Section 18A only appears in your life as a receipt you hand to your accountant, you’re leaving impact on the table. Section 18A is one of the few levers in South African tax law that lets you redirect a slice of what you owe into work you actually believe in, if you use it intentionally. Context: What Section 18A actually does Section 18A of the Income Tax Act allows individuals and companies to claim a deduction for qualifying donations to approved public benefit organisa

If your B‑BBEE reports look impressive but the communities around your operations can’t see the difference, you don’t have a transformation strategy – you have an accounting strategy. B‑BBEE points only translate into community impact when spend is treated as social investment capital with a clear theory of change, not as a quota to be filled. Context: B‑BBEE is a lever, not a goal The B‑BBEE framework was designed to shift economic power, skills and opportunity towards black

- Photo taken on a development mission to Ghana in January 2026 - Every few years, it helps to pause, look up from the work, and re‑introduce ourselves. GrowZA Social Investment Agency started as a simple idea: if we could connect real development opportunities with the right mix of capital, partnerships, and discipline, we could help social investment do what it promised on the label. Over time, that idea has evolved into a hybrid social investment platform that works across

Low-Earth-Orbit satellite networks are fast becoming a new frontier in Africa’s digital landscape. Starlink’s rapid expansion across more than twenty African markets has sharpened the debate: can countries unlock the benefits of frontier connectivity without diluting their own economic and regulatory sovereignty? What happens when a technology arrives faster than the policy frameworks designed to govern it? The recent Vodacom and Starlink partnership, covering enterprise and

Every year, a handful of reports quietly shape the way the corporate world thinks about impact. This year, Benevity’s State of Corporate...

The Valuable Truth 2022  report makes the reality clear. Corporate commitment to disability inclusion is uneven and fragile. Only 54% of...

Fosh trainees simulate electrical installations in VR – safer, faster, and ready for real work South African industries are leaving...

President Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Washington, brought South Africa back into high-level geopolitical focus. The engagement, including the controversial Oval Office meeting with Trump, created a high-visibility moment for South Africa’s diplomatic posture. The delegation, comprising political leadership, business figures, labour voices, and cultural ambassadors, presented a unified front. Yet the mission, lacked the delivery architecture required to translate this into s

Reintroducing GrowZA After Five Years It’s been five years since we first launched GrowZA—yet we never set out to build an agency at all....

It’s an uncomfortable truth we seldom openly discuss in the development sector: the rise of the "government-funded NGO." At face value,...

The Institute of Directors in South Africa (IODSA)  has initiated a public participation process  for the draft King V Code on Corporate...

The Mangrove Model thought experiment by GrowZA’s think tank explores how development can become adaptive, decentralized, and regenerative

South Africa’s education system holds immense potential, yet too many young people find themselves excluded from the opportunities that...

20 development experts from 13 countries convened in Paris (January 2025) for a global urban think tank relating to the redevelopment of...

Previous GrowZA ED programme participants - The dynamic husband and wife team (Nigel and Christynn) from Jacobs Jam Enterprise...

We are proud to announce that GrowZA  will play a leading role at the upcoming 8th International Conference on Corporate Social...

In the world of social investment and philanthropy, the allure of established pathways is strong. It’s tempting to continue funding what...

King’s College London has invited Craig Kensley, Executive Director of GrowZA, to host a Social Entrepreneurship Masterclass in January 2025