SSP interviews Thebe Foundation GM

19.09.11

BY YASSI TAMDJI

SSP: In the business world that is often motivated by profit, Thebe sets itself apart by not being a profit-driven company for its own sake but for the sake of the community. Please further describe your commitment to the interests of the community.

MOKGETHI TSHABALALA: Thebe was started by a community-based trust, the Batho Batho Trust, the trustees of which were legends in South Africa’s history – Nelson Mandela, Beyers Naude and Walter Sisulu. The mandate, and indeed the challenge and our reason d’être, was to explore and activate a model of using a profit-making enterprise in a free market economy to utilize its value creation for the greater good of society. We accepted that challenge and even today we continue to fine-tune that formula. Through the years, the Trust – using no other source other than its shareholding in Thebe, has been able to support community causes of various kinds, primarily in South Africa, but also in a few other southern African countries as well.

The Thebe Group of Companies has invested well over R200m in community development over the reporting period, directly benefitting many previously disadvantaged communities. Over this period, not only did communities benefit directly, but a number of communities were empowered through the sustainable development of very small businesses, which are the economic drivers within these communities. Education and Health featured very high in most of the social investments reported for this review. As a demonstration of this commitment, Thebe recently established the Thebe Foundation to coordinate the entire social spending by the Thebe Group and harness our collective power to effect positive change.

SSP: It is clear that Thebe takes its corporate responsibility to the community seriously. What do you think the role of access to quality education plays and will play in the promotion of socioeconomic transformation and development in South Africa? In essence, why is investing in education so important for Thebe?

TSHABALALA: Education, the ability to read, write and count effectively, as well as to reason logically, open the door to economic and hence developmental opportunities in this current scenario. Access to education is not the same as access to meaningful and quality education, which ultimately opens doors and breaks cycles of poverty within communities. Thebe believes that economic freedom has as part of its beginning, access to meaningful and quality education.

SSP: We are grateful for your support in recent years. Through grants from Thebe, seven SSP scholars are able to attend the best schools in Gauteng and will complete in 2014 and 2015. What was it about SSP that attracted you to us and made you want to partner with us to achieve our mission and vision?

TSHABALALA: The Mentorship and Support programme offered to learners throughout is quite crucial for success in these best schools. SSP has shown great commitment to ensuring that chosen learners are afforded every possible opportunity to do well with the amount of support afforded to these learners.

SSP: Lastly, SSP’s vision is to develop “Leaders for South Africa.” How does Thebe define leadership and what words of encouragement would you give to our emerging leaders?

TSHABALALA: At Thebe, we don’t believe that leadership is environmentally defined or constrained i.e. you are a leader as a result of the environment that you find yourself in. There are general qualities that make people leaders, and such individuals would emerge as leaders in whatever they do because they’re able to hone those skills and talent. At Thebe, we believe in providing promising talent the space to shine as emergent leaders by providing a mentorship approach to leadership development. We also have a very clear picture of what constitutes a Thebe leader and, through the mentorship framework, candidates who demonstrate the potential are nurtured through this framework. In every sphere, there is a need for apprenticeship – for a younger person to learn from someone who’s been engaging with the processes for a long time. There’s always scope to learn from someone older and more experienced.

Our message to the emerging student leaders is to use these years wisely, and to lay a solid foundation upon which your own legend will be built. At the end of your journey, we shall be most pleased and humbled to have played a small part in your development.

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It is with sincere gratitude that SSP highlights and honours Thebe Investment Corporation for their priceless investment in our scholars, our communities, and South Africa.