IN CONVERSATION: “We Need to Become Social Entrepreneurs" – Chembo Litana
Chembo Litana is a Zambian social enterprise leader. She’s a firm believer in social enterprising as a powerful business tool for tackling stubborn African developmental problems that conventional non-governmental organisation (NGO) models have struggled to resolve. In the last few years, Chembo has founded two social enterprises. She’s also founder and director of Swalisano Advisory, a firm that works to build, scale up and duplicate (best practise) social enterprise business models.
CM: Tell me about the two social enterprises you’ve been involved in to date?
CL: Kuya Kwile was created back in 2014. It was born out of the desperate need to save an NGO that was on the brink of shutdown due to a lack of donor funding. I was brought in to salvage it and create a business model that would still serve the impact side of things but also generate its own income. Through Kuya Kwile, we used to train vulnerable women in knitting and crochet skills. We also used to sensitise them in matters concerning entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and health. Kuya Kwile gained very good traction and the organisation actually won two awards and recognition from the government. Despite all our hard work however, it didn’t survive in the end.
In 2018, Kwala Chihela was born. It’s still operational and its mandate is to provide a platform for rural household income generation through the sorghum value chain. Our work is based in Masaiti district on the Copperbelt. At the moment, we work on our own but we’ve been asked to partner with a few corporates who are in nutrition or beer making, while others have simply been on the lookout for a worthy cause to support. A very recent example for us is Barloworld. During the last World Aids Day, we were invited to speak about nutrition in light of HIV/AIDS, with a bias towards sorghum.
With Kwala Chihela, we also sensitise our farmers in entrepreneurship, health, and nutrition. Sorghum is easily grown in Masaiti district and it has a high market value. It’s also one of the most nutritious grains in the world so for us, it was actually paradoxical that these farmers, and other people in the area, had malnourished children when, in fact, they had this highly nutritious grain all around them. Our sensitisation work is anchored in having people understand and know the power and value of what they already have.
CM: How did the relationship with the sorghum farmers come about?
CL: When I started Kwala Chihela, I actually wanted to replicate some of the crafts work we’d been doing through Kuya Kwile. Many rural people are very creative and have a hand for high quality craft products so I thought it could work well. Unfortunately, my crafting project was rejected. It was disappointing at the time but, in hindsight, I’m happy that they felt able to say no to something that wouldn’t work for them. I’d been visiting relatives in Masaiti district and each time I would go, we would have this brown nshima. So I started asking questions about it because it was so delicious, so tasty! I was told what it was and then I learnt more about how it grows – the fact that it’s drought-resistant, doesn’t need fertiliser, only needs to be weeded 2-3 times, and takes 9 months to grow. I was hooked – I wanted to work with this product. Within 2 weeks of making that decision, the project kicked off with no major rejections.
CM: Through Swalisano Advisory, you link corporates to social impact causes. Why did you decide that this was important work to do?
CL: Africa’s potential wastes away year by year partly because of financial dependency. I don’t believe in perpetual dependency. I believe that when you become dependent, there’s a waste in resources and hence a slowdown in development. I feel that a social enterprise business model is one of the best ways to develop Africa because it guarantees sustainability and financial independence. Entrepreneurship is long lasting so why aren’t we using entrepreneurship to solve social and environmental problems? And bringing it home to Zambia, this has been our problem for many years. We've been depending on other people's money and budgets to resolve our own problems. So where there is an opportunity to implement a business model that allows you to resolve your issues and generate an income, to me that makes sense.
Swalisano Advisory was formed to support and help social entrepreneurs build successful social impact businesses. One important aspect of that is creating partnerships with traditional corporates. There is something called “shared value” and to me, this is basically where a mainstream, traditional business establishes what “shared value” it feels exists between it and a business that is working in the social or environmental sector. By going deeper into the “shared value” that exists between the two entities, there is a lot of learning and innovation that can happen. For example, traditional businesses are very vigorous in their marketing. From where I stand as a social entrepreneur, I always feel that we hold back in our marketing. That's one reason why I feel that you need to create meaningful partnerships that result in “win-win” situations. Corporates can also learn from social enterprises (especially the ones dealing in the environment) on how they can go about their business whilst protecting the environment. There are social enterprises that have shown that this is possible.
CM: When you engage corporates, what are some of the misconceptions they have about your work and social entrepreneurship in general?
CL: Social enterprising is still a very new business model around here. What most people know is the NGO model and so when an NGO or charity is going to face a corporate, there’s a preconception that all they’re approaching the corporate for is money. But that’s not always the case.
On the other hand, where there's a successful social enterprise that is being approached by a corporate or an investor, the preconception by social entrepreneurs is that the corporate simply wants to steal its ideas. And because the corporate will have a lot more money, they fear that it’ll take the idea, run with it, implement unfair competitive practices, thus putting the social enterprise out of business. So it's actually quite funny to hear some of these people speak about one another! We have to reshape our thinking processes, not just as social entrepreneurs or as corporates, but as humanity. We have to get better at aligning our “whys” with our potential partners, and then the combined “why” is what will achieve the results we’re looking for.
CM: In an ideal world, is your big ambition to see deeply ethical business practices embedded within the DNA of traditional corporates?
CL: My mandate is to see the rising of social enterprise leaders, people who are actually doing something for positive social and environmental impact. That's my dream.
CM: The NGO sector in Zambia is really big and as you said earlier, as a country we’re so dependent on donor money for different aspects of our national life. How can Zambians start to take greater control of the NGO sector?
CL: This will sound cliché but I think the answer is that we need to become social entrepreneurs. I say this again because with NGOs, of course their core work is to have an impact on society, the community, and the environment, but if you look around, yes they’ve had an impact, but how sustainable is their work? Have things actually changed? As I say, social enterprising is still quite new here and I can’t already claim that we’re having an impact but entrepreneurship is long lasting so if you combine entrepreneurship and the social/environmental factors, how then can your solutions not be long lasting? Social enterprising is also innovative so even if you have a business model that works today but not tomorrow, you have the freedom to change it according to the times and whatever is needed. So for us to be less dependent as Zambians, we need to make our own money. For us to make our own money, we need to take on entrepreneurial practices.
CM: For yourself as a social enterprise leader, how are you trying to do things differently in this sector?
CL: I'm trying to walk the talk. I’m also trying to be as innovative as possible by ensuring that this thing works so that I can show my fellow Africans and social enterprise aspirants that this is the way to go. But of course, I'm a big big dreamer. I certainly dream a lot so I have to keep calm, stay in my lane, and just have the focus to start, nurture, and grow all my social enterprise work.
CM: Who or what inspired you to get into this work?
CL: I had a childhood friend who became an AIDS orphan. I saw her and her siblings’ lives change ever so drastically and I couldn't understand why they should go hungry, amongst other issues. We’d have them over for a few meals, here and there, when my parents could manage it, but I didn't realise the extent to which it bothered me. As a result, I made the silent resolution to fight this thing called poverty and to fight against people sleeping hungry and to work in a sector that was going to raise people up. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know what, but I’ve always had it in my heart to work in this area.
CM: What really excites you about social entrepreneurship in Zambia today?
CL: My gosh, I’m smiling right now because there’s so much that excites me! It’s this mixed business model that allows you to do good work and make money. I won't lie to you – I want to make money. I want Kwala Chihela to make money. I want the beneficiaries of Swalisano Advisory, everyone I train, to make money as they do good for society. The social enterprise model in itself is quite an innovation that excites me, and the innovations that are born out of social entrepreneurs are beautiful to me. I love everything about social enterprising!
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