ANDE South Africa is based in Johannesburg and has recently expanded its services to members across Southern Africa. As one of ANDE’s largest and most active chapters, it boasts over 102 members working in South Africa and 220 members across the broader region. While the South African ecosystem is relatively well developed, the Chapter’s work in the country has shifted towards addressing issues of equitable access for underserved communities. This has led to a growing interest in expanding ANDE’s operational footprint across the Southern African region. ANDE members have always been interested in Southern Africa, particularly where there is significant member activity, and this has further motivated the Chapter’s enthusiasm to explore opportunities for regional expansion.
We are pleased to announce that the ANDE Executive Committee has endorsed the Chapter’s proposal for regional expansion into Southern Africa. The Chapter will follow a tiered-country approach to enhance its activity and diversify its programmatic focus areas and member value-added services in countries including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Regional Head of the Southern African Chapter, Sekai Chiwandamira, expressed pride in this development, stating that “through increased regional chapter capacity, this regional expansion will strengthen the local environments where small and growing businesses can prosper across Southern Africa.”
The Chapter’s effort towards regional expansion will be centered around three objectives:
- Successfully convening the ecosystem to build an inclusive network of local actors, understand their needs, and support collective action.
- Conducting diagnostics of nascent ecosystems, the current state of entrepreneurship support, and potential gaps that could be addressed through ANDE programs and services in priority countries.
- Engaging in substantial learning activities in the region that build the capacity of local organizations to better serve entrepreneurs.
By strengthening the ecosystems that foster small and growing businesses in Southern Africa, ANDE Southern Africa aims to improve the lives of people in the region.