VIII. Outlook

This study has brought forth a range of recommendations on how social enterprises’ job creation potential in Africa could be leveraged. Based on a macro-level analysis of social enterprise ecosystems in 12 focus countries, it has been found that social enterprises could create an additional 1 million jobs in these countries. In order to enable them to leverage their job creation potential, interventions are needed to strengthen the financial and technical ecosystem as well as the enabling environment.

We explicitly invite readers whose interest was raised through this report to get in touch with us. We are happy to integrate new stakeholders, discuss our approach, and refine our plans as needed to best contribute to the strengthening of social enterprises and enable them to become an even more important job supplier in African labor markets.

However, the definition of these possible interventions is just the beginning. At Siemens Stiftung, we are aware of the fact that more dedicated efforts from a range of involved players are needed to move from theory to practice. To support these efforts, a roadmap for the handling of the study’s results has been developed:

STEP 1

(Q2 & Q3 2020): Baseline research

Analysis of future job creation potential in Africa

– Macro- and micro-level analyses on quantitative job creation potential of social enterprises in selected African countries by 2030

– Definition of multiple recommendations on how to financially and technically support social enterprises and improve their enabling environment

STEP 2

(Q4 2020): Publication & Validation

Dissemination and expert review of the findings

– Distribution of report: with the official launch of the study, the report will be distributed through Siemens Stiftung’s network and channels.

– Presentation of key findings and recommendations: selected high-profile conferences, as well as own formats will be used to present key findings and recommendations and allow for questions to be raised and discussions to take place.

– Multi-stakeholder roundtables: follow-up stakeholder roundtable(s) will be organized on selected recommendations to allow for more specific working sessions with selected players that are interested and able to support the implementation of recommended interventions.

STEP 3

(Q1 and Q2 2021): Project development

Development of concrete project concepts based on the previous results of the study through joint efforts with relevant stakeholders

– Project design: In order to solidify the findings of this study, projects that involve concrete measures that leverage job creation potential of social enterprises need to be rolled out. To do so, selected recommendations need to be broken down to identify further information needs, relevant stakeholders, and implementation roadmaps.

STEP 4

(Q2 2021 and onwards): Project Implementation

Realization of the construction of concrete projects on site with relevant stakeholders

– Project Implementation: The recommendations of this study will only create positive social impact once projects will be launched and implemented successfully. This requires concerted actions from a broad range of stakeholders who we envision to implement concrete projects in Africa in 2021 and onwards.