The Shared Value business model enables business to contribute towards the achievement of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the betterment of society to the long-term benefit of their bottom line. In 2018, the Africa Shared Value Summit (www.AfricaSharedValueSummit.com) – taking place on 24 and 25 May at The Maslow in Sandton, Johannesburg – will be showcasing how businesses from across Africa and around the world are “Meeting the Challenge” through creating Shared Value. The Summit will focus on the implementation and impact of Shared Value, as well as how the private sector, government and civil society across the continent can work together using Shared Value to tackle the Goals. Its aim is to highlight the importance of not only embracing Shared Value as a concept but also taking action to implement it as a business strategy.

Headlining the Summit in 2018 is Mark Kramer, co-author (with Prof. Michael Porter) of the seminal Harvard Business Review articles that catapulted the concept of Creating Shared Value to global renown. As co-founder and MD of FSG Social Impact Advisors, he has continued to educate businesses about the vital strategic shift that must be made to ensure a better future not only for business, but for society as well. He is also a Senior Fellow in the CSR Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “What people don’t often realise is, Shared Value is really about competitive strategy,” he has noted. “It’s about how you find new ways to position your company and to differentiate it from other companies because of the social impact that your company is having.”

The 2018 Summit programme will feature a can’t-miss roster of speakers, sharing insights and case studies of the successful implementation of Shared Value in Africa and abroad. Speakers include young up-and-coming social entrepreneurs like Lucia Bakulumpagi-Wamala, founder and CEO of Bakulu Power, a renewable energy company based in her native Uganda. In 2017, Forbes Magazine named her as one of the 30 most promising young entrepreneurs in Africa.  Bakulu Power is devoted to providing rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa with renewable energy solutions that fit their needs. The importance of social entrepreneurship and the adoption of a Shared Value mindset in business will be examined by Awethu Project co-founder and CEO Yusuf Randera-Rees. Inspired by the idea that South Africa profoundly under-utilises our talent, the Awethu Project has been hailed as the most innovative SMME investment company in South Africa, and has been recognised as a flagship project of the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund.

Through Shared Value, business can make a positive impact on the societies in which it operates and set a path toward sustainable growth. Join forward-thinking business leaders from around the world at the second annual Africa Shared Value Summit, 24-25 May 2018. It’s time to set a course for profit with purpose – embracing a strategy that enables you to do good while doing good business. To enquire about sponsorship, book your tickets and find out more about the Summit, visit www.AfricaSharedValueSummit.com.

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