Social investment is entering a more demanding phase in South Africa, where persistent food insecurity, high unemployment and limited economic opportunities are forcing businesses to reconsider how they contribute to society.
The question is no longer simply how much companies donate, but what they can help build through their existing capabilities, commercial relationships and infrastructure.
According to Statistics South Africa’s 2025 General Household Survey, 22% of South African households reported inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate reached 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with youth unemployment standing at 47.4%, according to Stats SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey.
These challenges are closely connected. Food security depends on resilient producers, suppliers and households, while economic participation requires access to markets, skills and opportunities to develop sustainable livelihoods.
The issue was explored at the 2026 Serious Social Investing (SSI) Conference at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) on 8 October, where I participated in a panel discussion on how businesses can support entrepreneurship and job creation at scale.
The central argument is that social investment must move beyond funding individual programmes towards building pathways that enable people and enterprises to participate sustainably in the economy.
“The opportunity is to move beyond funding programmes and think about how business can create pathways that turn entrepreneurship into sustainable livelihoods and greater economic participation,” I said.
Funding remains an important catalyst, but financial support alone rarely guarantees the long-term success of an enterprise. Entrepreneurs also need customers, market access, skills, professional networks and opportunities to participate in established value chains.
Businesses have an opportunity to contribute through assets that extend beyond financial donations. Their supply chains, procurement networks, infrastructure, expertise and customer relationships can create practical routes into the economy, helping enterprises develop the capabilities required to become commercially sustainable.
At SPAR, the Supplier Development Hub provides one example of this approach. In its 2025 Integrated Annual Report, the Group reported investing R13.8 million in the initiative. The programme supports emerging farmers in developing the capabilities required to become commercially competitive and participate more sustainably in formal markets.
The principle also applies to addressing food insecurity, where the contribution of business can extend beyond the immediate provision of food.
Through its Isonka programme, SPAR works with Operation Hunger to support community-based feeding projects around its distribution centres. The programme combines immediate hunger relief with initiatives such as vegetable gardens, skills development and income-generating activities, helping communities work towards greater self-sufficiency.
SPAR’s partnership with FoodForward SA provides another example of how existing business systems can be used to generate social value. The partnership helps redirect safe surplus food to beneficiary organisations serving communities in need, linking food waste reduction with improved access to food.
In 2025, Encore contributed more than R3.1 million worth of SPAR private-label food to FoodForward SA.
The partnership also extends to initiatives such as World Food Day, through which SPAR has joined FoodForward SA and other partners in food-packing activities and community-focused interventions. In 2025, SPAR contributed more than 61,000 meals, alongside messages from its divisions, as part of the World Food Day effort.
These initiatives illustrate the potential for businesses to use existing infrastructure and relationships to connect social investment with tangible outcomes.
Whether helping an emerging farmer enter formal markets, redirecting surplus food to communities or supporting local projects to develop income-generating activities, the emphasis should be on creating value that extends beyond a single intervention.
This approach is particularly relevant given South Africa’s unemployment challenge. With approximately five million young people unemployed in the second quarter of 2026, developing viable pathways into economic participation has become increasingly urgent.
Businesses cannot solve unemployment alone. However, they can use their existing commercial ecosystems to create opportunities for entrepreneurs, suppliers and communities to participate more meaningfully in the economy.
This also requires a different approach to measuring social investment. Impact should not be assessed solely by the amount of money invested or the number of beneficiaries reached. It should also consider what remains after a programme ends.
Has an enterprise become stronger? Are livelihoods more resilient? Have new economic opportunities been created? Are individuals and communities better positioned to participate in the economy?
These questions shift the focus from measuring activity to evaluating lasting outcomes.
For businesses, this represents a move away from treating social investment as an activity separate from their core operations. Instead, it requires examining how commercial capabilities and everyday business activities can contribute directly to social and economic development.
This does not diminish the role of government or civil society. Rather, it recognises that businesses have a distinct contribution to make through their commercial reach, expertise, infrastructure and established relationships.
Ultimately, the next chapter of social investment will be defined by a shift in the questions businesses ask. Instead of focusing primarily on how much they can give, they must consider what they can help make possible.
That means creating practical pathways from entrepreneurship to sustainable livelihoods, strengthening local enterprises and ensuring that social investment contributes to lasting economic participation.
Moving beyond the donation is not about abandoning financial support. It is about ensuring that support becomes a foundation for something more enduring: stronger enterprises, more resilient communities and greater opportunities for people to participate meaningfully in the economy.
Written by Justin Julius, SPAR North Rand Divisional Merchandising and Marketing Executive. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial position of The Southern African Times.
