---
title: "SA’s hidden economic infrastructure: How business paired with purpose can deliver exponential impact"
description: "NPOs are a vital force in the Western Cape’s economy – now a new study by Henley Business School Africa and the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry is showing just how significant this impact is – and how it can be amplified."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Sponsored Content"
author: "Henley Business School"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/henley-business-school/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-17-sas-hidden-economic-infrastructure-how-business-paired-with-purpose-can-deliver-exponential-impact/"
published: "2026-07-17T12:20:31"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 1090
---

# SA’s hidden economic infrastructure: How business paired with purpose can deliver exponential impact

> NPOs are a vital force in the Western Cape’s economy – now a new study by Henley Business School Africa and the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry is showing just how significant this impact is – and how it can be amplified.

By Henley Business School · Published 17 July 2026, 14:20 SAST

## Content

For almost 70 years, the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) has fed thousands of school children in the Western Cape. Two nutritious cooked meals. Every day during term time. A labour of love that responds to a simple but urgent truth: a hungry child cannot learn. But, in 2012, it lost a government contract, kick-starting a long process of reinvention. Today, the PSFA is thriving, with a turnover in excess of R30 million a year and an expanding mission to solve hunger.

According to Prof Danie Petzer, Pro Dean for Research and Doctoral Programmes at Henley Business School Africa, this remarkable journey is not an anomaly but part of a broader pattern of NPO impact on South Africa’s social and economic landscape.

### **From doing good to making good**

‘Too often, NPOs are viewed through a narrow lens – as charitable entities that do good work for society, but don’t contribute significantly to the economy. Anecdotally, we know that this is not the case. Now, [a new study,](https://capechamber.co.za/latest-news/chamber-report-highlights-npos-economic-force-western-cape) commissioned by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s NPO Portfolio in consultation with Henley Business School Africa, is helping to quantify just how significant this impact is,’ Prof Petzer says.

The study, which surveyed 361 NPOs across the Western Cape, shows that, in addition to providing invaluable social services such as skills training to almost 700,000 people and education to over a million children, NPOs in the sample also generated revenues of around R1.5 billion a year and employ over 21,000 people. And that’s just the organisations that were surveyed. According to the Department of Social Development, there are over 280,000 such NPOs across South Africa.

‘The research demonstrates convincingly that NPOs don’t just play a vital role in effective service delivery – but they are also a hidden engine for economic growth and development,’ says Prof Petzer.

### **Building the bridge between business and purpose**

The new research is the latest in an almost two-decade-long engagement between Henley Business School and the NPO community in Cape Town. For nearly 20 years, Professor Kevin Money, who heads up the John Madjeski Centre for Reputation (JMCR), has led an [annual study immersion for students on Henley’s Global Executive MBA programme](https://henleynordic.com/blog/finding-common-ground-leads-to-successful-teamwork-south-africa), which sees MBAs fly to Cape Town to work for a week on an intensive consulting project with local NPOs solving a real challenge that the organisation is grappling with.

The study visit is part of the Reputation and Responsibility module on the MBA and is built to give a 360° bird’s eye view of how NGOs are perceived by stakeholders. Students survey stakeholders, collect the feedback and do the strategic thinking needed to determine how the NGOs can build stronger relationships with their stakeholders, including communities, employees and corporate partners.

‘Value flows in both directions,’ says Professor Money. ‘The NPOs gain business insights that help them build more sustainable operations, while the students get to experience the profound energy and purpose of these organisations, which often manage to achieve staggering results with very few resources.

‘South Africa has one of the most vibrant not-for-profit sectors in the world, and these purpose-driven organisations have a tremendous amount to teach leaders globally about responsible leadership and sustainable business. I don’t think any other MBA programme globally is able to match the experience we provide our students, nor the impact we’re helping to create on the ground.’

### **Award-winning impact**

Since it started, more than 120 NGOs have benefited from the programme. The PFSA was one of the beneficiaries of the initiative in 2022, which helped the organisation cement key gains. The Henley team drew up a five-year plan for the PFSA that would see it diversify its income streams, offload resource-intensive storage, and boost internal governance and performance – all while improving its service delivery. Acting on these insights, the PFSA leveraged its recently launched subsidiary, Wholesome Supply Trading Pty Ltd, to take over some of the logistics of its operations, which has helped boost its investment income and expand its offering.

In 2025, these efforts were recognised with an [Innovation Award for excellence](https://psfa.org.za/psfa-honoured-with-industry-innovation-award-for-excellence-in-feeding-innovation/) from the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry. And the awards didn’t stop there. The PFSA also won a digital marketing award after following the MBA team’s guidance on how to improve its messaging and create online campaigns, helping it to strengthen its relationships with its donors and the wider community.

‘The timing of the Henley intervention couldn’t have been better,’ says Petrina Pakoe, Director of the PFSA. ‘They found an organisation with a strong reputation but some key vulnerabilities, and they were able to help us focus on what needed attention most urgently. Our five-year plan, which we managed to implement in just three years, identified three key themes around which we could rally: growth, employee engagement and operational excellence.’

### **Collaboration and strategic alignment can unlock greater impact**

Vickey de Villiers, a research associate at Henley Business School Africa and the author of the Henley, Cape Chamber NPO Summary Report, believes that the kind of impact achieved by the PFSA can be replicated across other organisations if there is a more deliberate and sincere strategic alignment between NPOs and businesses. And it starts with a change in perception.

‘To drive deep, systemic impact, businesses must move from viewing NPOs as mere charity recipients to recognising them as the ‘hidden infrastructure’ of South Africa’s economy and as worthy of strategic collaboration,’ says de Villiers.

‘Together, business and NPOs can achieve shared objectives, such as building robust talent pipelines and sustainable supply chains. For instance, it is in businesses’ direct interests to see school children properly nourished and educated as they are the consumers, employees, and leaders of tomorrow! By moving beyond one-off donations toward sincere strategic alignment and collaboration, specifically in food security, youth empowerment, and skills development, businesses and NGOs can achieve something bigger than either can on their own.’

Professor Money agrees: ‘NPOs are already playing a massive part in South Africa’s development. And intentional engagement between the not-for-profit and private sectors can make that impact even bigger.

‘We’re excited to see that our work over the past two years is crystallising into a stronger partnership with the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and we are going to continue augmenting the impact of NPOs with support from our MBA teams. We have always believed that we are building something significant through this work, and by confirming this impact through the research, we are freshly inspired to keep building this initiative. Together we can build something truly exceptional.’ **DM**