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| Empowerment
Gateway’s role is to identify a need, design a model to address
the need, create the necessary support systems, test the model and
finally transfer its custodianship role and know-how under a
social-economic franchise license to others. Thereafter, the role
is one of support on as needed basis, and ensuring that the vision
and values are maintained in perpetuity. |
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The
Empowerment Gateway Integrated Socio-Economic Model |
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Designed as a model to inspire others, the strategic holding body, structured as a trust, has a mission of contributing to a sustainable world, which it does by using business and social models that help break the cycle of poverty and unemployment and promotes sustainability.
The Empowerment Gateway custodians are charged in perpetuity with protecting the vision and values of the organisation.
All operations meet ISO 9001 quality standards, ISO 14001 environmental standard and
ISO 26000 Social Responsibility standards.
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Ownership: |
Trust on behalf of current and future beneficiaries. |
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Control: |
Trust deed. |
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Mission: |
Contribute to a sustainable world by promoting custodianship, leadership, social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurism. |
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Intended beneficiaries: |
Multiple stakeholders. |
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Trading Currency: |
Value exchange methodologies that
include in-kind, physical as well as monetary values. |
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Promotion of Custodianship rather than Ownership
In the same way that no one owns the oxygen that we all breathe, and there is always enough to sustain life on a day-to-day basis, the same principle must apply everywhere else … but it needs a paradigm shift.
Empowerment Gateway founders believe that every single person on the planet has a custodianship role and responsibility on behalf of current and of future generations.
They believe that too much emphasis has been placed on “ownership” which is detrimental to society, as instead of reducing poverty and unemployment, addressing such things as climate change, deforestation, etc, the ownership myth continues to widen the economic gap and negatively impacts on the sustainability of the planet for future generations.
We have found that the ownership myth, places more emphasis on the intangible value and limited-life-use of “property and physical assets” than on people or planet, while, custodianship emphasizes the value of safeguarding the “property, tangible and intangible assets” for all future generations and planet.
Ownership fosters competition and conflict while custodianship fosters cooperation and empathy.
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Application of the Model in the Adopt-a-Pothole Programme |
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The Adopt-a-Pothole is a highly effective road-patching programme that teaches unemployed men, women and youth how to take on a custodianship role while managing a road patching programme in their communities.
The Adopt-a-Pothole is a master social franchise operating under an Empowerment Gateway
license that will be registered as a trust that in turn will create sub-trusts.
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This is a social enterprise development model that has the twin aims of generating profit and social return. Those aims are clearly defined in the trusts deeds and in supportive policies and procedure documentation.
The Participating Stakeholders:
- Shall take a custodianship role and be responsible operators, leaders, managers, trustees, patrons, sponsors or adopters.
- Participating businesses in this programme, including large corporations, shall accrue fair returns and value for their shareholders, but not at the expense of the legitimate interests of the other stakeholders of this programme.
- Shall operate sustainably, meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
- Shall govern in a manner that is participatory, transparent, ethical, and accountable.
- Shall not infringe on universal human rights.
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The profits and/or residual generated from the programme will be
distributed as follows:
- Twenty percent will be used in the replication of model in other areas.
- Thirty percent will be used for support infrastructure costs.
- Twenty percent will be used to support approved social programmes.
- The balance will be distributed equally to beneficiaries as programme bonus and profit sharing.
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The Strategic Operational Structuring
The Govan Mbeki municipal area has been identified as the
appropriate pilot site. Once the model is proven and is profitable, it
will be replicated across other areas in South Africa.
The programme has been structured to incorporate 5 operational
sites in each area as a cluster. The reasons behind this strategic
decision are as follows:
- Logistics management
- Supply management
- Inter-collaboration between social enterprises
- Efficiency of delivery
- Support
- Programme operational efficiency
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Responsibilities
Each area office will be run initially from Empowerment Gateway’s Secunda offices under an incubation model, with a management team appointed and responsible for the following:
- Promotion of project in local community
- Obtain sponsorships and adoptions of potholes
- Liaison with local communities
- Liaison with suppliers and council
- Provide infrastructure and management support
- Coordinate training sessions and weekly and monthly meetings
- Manage statistics and reporting function to council
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Employment Opportunities with Key Role
Definitions
Each business unit will create earning opportunities for typically 15 unemployed
individuals that will fulfill the following tasks:
- Business unit management
- Admin
- Quality and Safety Control
- Logistics
- Pothole repairs
- Marketing
- Statistics
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Regional Support Infrastructure
Logistics Support
In addition to the Pothole Repair business units, there will be a
localized depot for ease of material logistics. It is envisaged that local municipalities will, at no-charge or at a nominal fee, make ground
available to set-up depots. Ground requirements are approximately 500 square
meters per depot.
The depots create a minimum of another 7 earning opportunities in the local community. And will consist of a depot supervisor,
an admin clerk, a driver and 4 cold asphalt baggers.
Independent Quality Control and Support
Local councils will be responsible for ensuring that road quality and safety standards are maintained. It is envisaged that current council personnel responsible for repairing potholes could be trained to
fulfill this new role. Empowerment Gateway is willing to include this training into the project start-up costs.
Focus and investment will be placed on ways to maintain stakeholder loyalty, increase motivation of participants and on shared experiences. Infrastructure costs will be kept to the minimum required to have a successful operation.
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Funding for the programme will be raised from:
- Pothole adoptions starting from as low as R 1000.
- Sponsorships, as a percentage of the social-economic development and enterprise development targets as an enabler for businesses to gain the maximum points allowed on BBBEE scorecards under those BEE elements.
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