Entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Global South, including South Africa, need to be radically redesigned for inclusion and shared prosperity, according to the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (AGOF).
Charleen Duncan, Head of Public Affairs and Communications at AGOF, recently addressed global delegates on the ecosystem flaws that present barriers to entrepreneurial success. She said prevailing global systems perpetuated exclusionary privilege and placed unfair expectations on startup entrepreneurs from marginalised backgrounds “to play by rules of systems that were never designed to include them”.
“This is exactly why we advocate for transforming entrepreneurial ecosystems in South Africa and across the Global South, to normalise equitable access to opportunity,” Duncan said, during her Spark Talk at the recent Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Conference in Mexico.
What redesigned entrepreneurial ecosystems could look like
“Current systems perpetuate exclusion of marginalised entrepreneurs by default. These systems are designed around access for the already connected networks, capital and inherited norms,” says Duncan. “In our current systems, success is conformity. Entrepreneurs are asked to adapt to dominant models to be seen as viable. Power – in the form of resources, knowledge and decision making – sit with a small group and it is rarely redistributed or co-owned.”
Change would require fundamental systemic design changes, she said. “We need inclusion by design, to “bake” diversity into how systems are built, not retrofitted. This means designing with, not just for, historically excluded groups.”
“We also need to redefine value, by honouring the alternative forms of entrepreneurship that exist in the world, like community-based entrepreneurship, informal entrepreneurship and co-operatives. These systems are not less than, they are differently powerful.”
Duncan also called for the distribution of power “to shift from gatekeeping to partnership”. “We must invest in platforms that allow co-creation and community ownership.”
“We need to start seeing entrepreneurship as more than purely economic output. It is about agency. Thriving entrepreneurship drives job creation and community reinvestment changes lives meaningfully and tackles unemployment. We have to move our societies from being job seekers to becoming job creators.”
How to build inclusive entrepreneurship in South Africa
“The Foundation’s pipeline model begins at creating awareness in high school, because we believe South Africa must embed entrepreneurship into the basic education curriculum, not just in theory. This is also why we have launched the Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge in schools where we invest in potential, not the polished finished product.”
Duncan said the key was to “build belonging, communities, identity and support”. “Entrepreneurs not only need seedcapital – they also need emotional and psychological safety to take risks. They need peer networks, mentors and long-term support.”
At AGOF the focus is not limited to creating access, but also on intentionally developing “entrepreneurial competencies, personal development and managerial attributes”. “This matters because we need layered support that builds a founder’s capacity – not just their pitch deck - and this is a long-term investment approach. Investment-readiness should not be an exclusive concept – it should be an integrated outcome of education and youth development.”
Duncan said it was important to create safe spaces where entrepreneurs could “grow, fail, try again, find co-founders and peer support, foster a sense of identity, learn long-term accountability and be seen”.
Concluding on an uncomfortable truth
“The uncomfortable truth is this: our entrepreneurial landscape was built by a few, for a few. The norms, the networks, the language of success – these weren’t created with the vast majority of South Africans in mind. They were shaped to preserve power, not distribute it.”
“Inclusion has become a buzzword,” said Duncan. “We invite a few new voices into old rooms and expect transformation. But change doesn’t come from adding colour to the walls, it comes from rebuilding the foundation. Once we recognise that potential exists everywhere and that community matters as much as capital and that investment-readiness is taught not inherited, we need to recognise that if we do not redesign the foundation, we will just keep fixing the cracks.”
