The Clothing Bank wins international award

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The NPO uses excess stock from large enterprises to transform the lives of unemployed mothers trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Every year, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship – the “sister organisation” of the World Economic Forum - considers thousands of nominations from around the world. This year only 11 organisations, including The Clothing Bank (TCB), were deemed to have met the criteria for the prestigious award.

Said Katherine Milligan, director and head of the Schwab Foundation: “Social entrepreneurs are crucial to the global conversation about inclusive growth; they are innovators who use market forces and business discipline to provide solutions for local problems and improve the lives of low-income and marginalised people.”

Successful social entrepreneurship

Speaking at a function in Cape Town to celebrate the award, Dr Francois Bonnici, director, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship UCT’s Graduate School of Business, said The Clothing Bank was a very powerful example of successful social entrepreneurship.

“The Clothing Bank has clearly demonstrated that we can use business models effectively in working on key social challenges, and has shown leadership in the sector by focusing on measuring how their work improves the lives of the people they serve. The initiative is an outstanding benchmark and role model for many social entrepreneurs in South Africa,” he added.

In the six years since its establishment by Tracey Chambers and Tracey Gilmore, and using excess stock donated by local retailers, TCB has trained over 1135 women to establish micro-enterprises. Collectively, these women have generated profits of over R38m at an average of R4100 per month each.

Major sponsors

“We are extremely grateful for the support and encouragement of our major sponsors: our retail partners Woolworths, Edcon, Pick n Pay Clothing, Mr Price and Clicks as well as the Jobs Fund, the IDC, Old Mutual Foundation and the European Union. The success of our projects, and the difference we are able to make to the lives of so many families would not be possible without their ongoing, generous support. The award from the Schwab Foundation is an acknowledgement of this,” Chambers, CEO of The Clothing Bank, said.

“They have recognised that poverty is far more than a lack of money and that our programmes are designed to eradicate poverty in a sustainable way,” said Chambers.

The money the women earn through their micro-enterprises is used to feed, clothe and educate their families, as well as to stimulate other township businesses.

Sustainable business owners

But according to Chambers, it’s the so-called soft skills training and support provided to the women over the two years they spend on TCB’s programme that transforms the women from necessity entrepreneurs into sustainable business owners.

“Using the Poverty Spotlight Tool’s 50 indicators as a measure of poverty, we have seen our women who start on our programme with hardly any poverty indicators in the green, end the programme with around 45 green indicators and only one – living in a high-crime environment – still red,” she said.

“In addition, within one year of joining the programme, their debt levels reduce by 63%, savings increase from very little to an average of R1951 each with 93% of women saving. 73% report a significant influence on their children who are doing better at school. 83% have hope for their children’s future and 51% say relationships have improved with many having had the courage to overcome abusive relationships.”