Addressing the growing social development challenges in South Africa demands committed cross-sector collaboration in which corporate social investment (CSI) adopts a strategic rather than charitable intervention approach.
Ray-Ann Sedres, head of the Sanlam Foundation, spotlighted the urgent need for collaborative action across corporate, government and civil society to address systemic challenges such as inequality, unemployment and financial exclusion.
Sedres was speaking during a panel discussion entitled ‘Breaking Silos: Cross-sector collaboration for social impact’, on the first day of the 2025 Trialogue Business in Society Conference. The session was presented in partnership with the Sanlam Foundation.
The development-focused conference was held under the theme ‘Driving impact, inspiring change’. Sanlam was one of six corporate sponsors that partnered with Trialogue to discuss topical issues in corporate social investment (CSI), philanthropy and development in South Africa.
Sedres was joined on the panel by Samatha Steyn, chief operating officer at the Youth Employment Service (YES) and Peter Varndell, CEO at the NEPAD Business Foundation.
Sedres opened the session with a powerful message: “We stand at a moment where crisis and opportunity collide. The challenges we face – inequality, unemployment, financial exclusion – are too vast, too interconnected, to solve on our own. But together we are able to rewrite the future.”
She called for disruption to the status quo of sectors working in isolation to solve South Africa’s many challenges. Sedres also called on corporates to work together with civil society and government to address the lack of opportunity that poses a systemic risk to the country’s economy, social fabric and shared prosperity.
“Financial inclusion, opportunity and risk resilience demand cross-sector partnerships.”
Collaborative effort multiplies impact
Varndell, who is also the executive secretary of the Strategic Water Partner Network (SWPN), commented that embracing different stakeholders across the ecosystem and considering their respective needs had created opportunities for effective intervention.
SWPN’s collaborative approach is addressing the country’s water crisis systemically, making it possible to roll out the short-, medium- and long-term strategies that respond to multiple stakeholder needs.
Steyn noted that cross-sector collaboration had enabled the Youth Employment Service’s (YES) model, allowing it to have greater impact. She said the commitment of a wide range of companies has made it possible to deploy youth to work experience opportunities across multiple sectors.
The Sanlam Foundation has long championed collaboration as a cornerstone of its CSI strategy. This includes Sanlam being the lead corporate partner with YES in the roll-out of the Youth for Tourism (Y4T) programme.
Focusing particularly on what Steyn described as the ticking time bomb that is youth unemployment, Sanlam’s collaborative strategy was supporting youth development towards skills growth and small business creation. Sedres explained that it was these small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that were the likely antidote to South Africa’s burgeoning unemployment crisis.
Attracting anchor partners to collaborative efforts
The panel considered some of the factors needed to drive a successful collaborative CSI strategy for social impact. Among these was the need for a deeply invested anchor partner to lead the charge on any given area of social development.
Anchor partners need to do more than contribute funds to a cause. Their investment should be strategic rather than transactional, driven by more than mere compliance. It is this commitment that should drive action, delivering the necessary and often significant allocation of time, planning and investment to ensure success and attract partners.
Change cannot be achieved in isolation. To attract the investment and delivery partners that will have positive impact, lead partners must be willing to sacrifice the spotlight in favour of shared success.
Success factors for collaborative social impact
Reflecting on how collaborative projects might transcend the need for ‘return on ego’, the panellists identified the importance of having a neutral party at the centre of collaborative efforts.
An independent entity has the ability to engage objectively with all stakeholders, understand their respective needs, navigate potential conflicts of interest and advocate for the work being in the interests of the stakeholders and beneficiaries. Sedres noted that a trusted central facilitator also goes a long way towards building trust between collaborating parties.
Varndell emphasised the importance of understanding the varying needs of different stakeholders across an ecosystem. He explained how this understanding revealed the challenges that needed to be addressed, opportunities for intervention and the rich opportunity that comes from working with non-traditional partners.
The panellists also commented on the value of unrestricted funding to support programmes. Where needs were vast and funding was limited, “unrestricted funding is an opportunity for magic,” commented Steyn. She explained that unrestricted funding permitted conversations about quality and provided opportunities to elevate intervention programmes.
The panel also discussed the importance of having service providers with the targeted skills to support development programmes. Sedres mentioned the opportunity for nonprofits to strengthen their offerings by establishing cooperatives to leverage off each other. “Together they can be so much more impactful,” she commented.
What companies can do to drive collaborative social impact
Looking to the short-term future, the panel considered some of the factors companies needed to consider to support cross-sector collaboration in their sectors.
Varndell spoke to the importance of identifying common vision in the collaborative social impact space. A shared vision of what is needed can support the understanding of the root causes of our current challenges. This, in turn, guides the multiple interventions that, working together, contribute towards achieving the final goal.
Commenting on youth unemployment specifically, Steyn called for more companies to join the YES programme.
She highlighted the difference that 12 months of quality work experience had on a young person’s employability and the knock-on effect this had on South Africa’s unemployment crisis and economy. “We need business around the table to help us find the levers to further unlock funding for businesses to participate in the initiative.”
Social development demands a systemic approach that provides the right building blocks to remediate social challenges. Sedres noted the importance of early childhood development and good basic education, among other factors, in shaping a generation that was receptive to skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and innovation.