Educating South Africa’s micro-entrepreneurs, investing in livelihoods

Mass poverty is one of the world’s most fundamental problems, typically addressed through multi-billion aid programmes. But a grass-roots research project in the impoverished townships of South Africa suggests that there is another, sustainable solution.

It isn’t the first study into the impact of applying business thinking to social issues. But prior initiatives on skills training among micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries have tended to show that any benefits are small or short-lived. This project is remarkable because it is the first to demonstrate the opposite. Rajesh Chandy, who holds the Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship at London Business School (LBS), and is one of the three academics who devised the project, points out: “You can solve some of the problems of poverty and growth in the world by doing better business.”