It has become imperative for business to demonstrate greater social participation and create value in the communities where they operate. But the growing availability of corporate capital for social development has not necessarily resulted in funds finding an effective home. Money often flows to the best-known development programmes or is directed through governments or aid agencies with their own development agendas. This leaves under-developed and under-resourced initiatives, working on the ground to effect change, without access to capital markets. And while corporate philanthropy plays a vital role in the development of communities, is not enough to lift people out of poverty and address South Africa’s historic imbalances. The SA Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) is an innovative platform providing a range of high-impact social investment opportunities from grants to financial investments in responsible initiatives that offer market-related financial returns. This, together...

How an interdependent approach to leveraging globalisation will create a business culture that's sustainable and fair to all. A key ingredient for building the firm of the future is the setting up of a culture that can evolve, sustain and grow. Relationships, learning, adapting, evolving – simple to use words – not so simple to understand or, for that matter, apply in a particular context. For one, the mechanistic worldview [what became the order in the Industrial era] suggests the need for rigid structures. Today’s realities are quite different. Relationships are being formed without any physical contact: very deep relationships are being founded on areas of common interest.

The London G-20 Summit, April 2nd, marked a useful new beginning for multi-lateralism.  The eclipsing of the G-8 was as necessary for the world as the new informal proposals by China, India, Russia and Brazil for a new global reserve currency to complement the US dollar and the euro. 

Signs of a new era in economics emerge, bringing hope for real and systemic change. 

Crises are normal and of all times: they are always generally unexpected, with the next one quite different from the previous one (as we have put the breaks and stress-tests in place to prevent the previous one from occurring again), and more difficult to contain, manage and resolve. What the current crisis has taught us is how interdependent the world has become;