Books For Africa, Literacy in Africa, and the Role of a Social Enterprise

An Event Filled Trip to Minnesota

On October 2^nd and 3^rd I had the opportunity to represent Better World Books (BWB) in Minneapolis/St. Paul at several events put on by our partner Books For Africa (BFA). Those two days were jammed packed with events that made me find my way around the twin cities, but were well worth the trip. One big take away is that BFA is a great partner for BWB. Everything about the trip reaffirmed how reputable an organization it is and made abundantly clear the important role it plays in the great task of confronting the obstacles to literacy and education in Africa.

The events ranged from breakfast with Dr. Augustine P. Mahiga, the Tanzanian Permanent Representative to the United Nations; lunch with Johnnie Carson, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; a conference on Literacy and Education in 21^st Century Africa co-hosted by the University of Minnesota and BFA; a recognition ceremony attended by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia; to a South African Braai at the BFA warehouse attended by South African Vice Consul General Gillian Motlhamme. Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Congressman Keith Ellison also participated in the events. At all of these events BFA was recognized for its work as the largest shipper of books to Africa. The presence of such distinguished guests attests to the importance of this endeavor.

Literacy in Africa: A Large and Complex Puzzle

But in addition to respect for BFA and the incredible outward facing mentality of the Minneapolis/St. Paul community, I think what brought all of these people together these two days is a deep passion about the issues facing the African continent particularly with respect to literacy and education. In his remarks at the conference, Secretary Carson stressed the important link between education and development stating that Africa’s greatest resource was its people as opposed to the common belief that it’s its natural resources. This theme was echoed throughout the weekend. There are many problems the 53 countries in Africa are facing but also enormous potential. The potential resides in its people and only through literacy and education can this potential be unleashed.

There was a lot of mention of the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education and that while a good start, it only creates more problems if more is not done. Now that kids are in school, we need to find solutions to keep them in school and to ensure they leave school “well’’ educated. We need to ensure they have access to good secondary and tertiary schools, good materials for study and research, and good jobs when they graduate. Secretary Carson noted the digital divide, the brain drain, under representation of girls in education, unqualified teachers, and lack of research and good higher education as issues that must be addressed.

Christopher Thomas, the World Bank sector manager for education in Africa, also noted that the drive for education exists in Africa. He stressed the importance of similar things: make sure kids are healthy and ready to learn, transform schools into quality schools, prepare kids for the labor market and world, create universities that are leaders of social and economic change, and create systems that work. He expressed optimism that illiteracy is a very large but solvable problem. We now need to focus on universal “quality” education, focus on improving adult literacy, and develop a rich and literate environment.

Dr. Mahiga reiterated the theme of creating a literate environment by expressing the need to foster a “culture of reading”. Good quality education at all levels is essential to this as are materials such as books.

All expressed that there are a lot of obstacles and a lot of pieces to the puzzle of solving the issues confronting literacy and education in Africa. There are many institutions, organizations, groups, and individuals who must fill their role to solve this puzzle. Books are one important piece and Books For Africa is filling that role. Institutions like the World Bank have their role as does the US government and African governments to create wide reaching systems and institute sound policies. NGOs and non-profits fill in other pieces of the puzzle such as implementing change at the grass roots level. Individual donors contribute by supporting the work of these non-profits.

The Role of a Social Enterprise

One lingering question I had throughout the two days was about the role of business and the for profit sector. Where do we fit in? I didn’t get a chance to ask the question, but I think I can start to piece together an answer.

At the recognition event on Saturday I had the honor of receiving an award from Books For Africa on behalf of Better World Books in recognition of our partnership with them. Books For Africa’s executive director, Pat Plonski, told the story of how he received a phone call 6 years ago from this kid (BWB co-founder, Xavier Helgesen) who said he wanted to run a book drive and support Books For Africa. Pat said sure and a few months later received a check for $1000. The kid called him back and said he wanted to continue to support them and the next check Pat got was for $20,000. And now Pat receives a $20,000 check every month from the organization that this kid started 6 years ago.

We at BWB harness the power of capitalism to provide crucial funding that allows organizations like BFA to do what they do. We have been essential to their growth. But BFA has also been essential to the growth of BWB. They add legitimacy to what we do. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership, a win-win. So the easy answer is to keep doing what we’re doing in supporting organizations like BFA who are directly addressing literacy and education in the world.

But I still wonder if this is the only answer. It is clear that we’re putting a new spin on the donor-benefactor relationship with the non-profits we support. We’ve made them partners and even shareholders. But might there be more value in the relationship beyond the legitimacy they provide us and the funding we provide them? What else can we as a business, a for-profit business, but one with a social mission do?

Our decision to invest in causes such as that of literacy and education in Africa is a conscious one that goes beyond marketing plugs and tax right offs. It is baked into the very core of our business model. It is essential to our survival and long term growth not just as a sustainable social enterprise but as an enterprise in general. The cause itself must have meaning to us. We as an organization need to share our partners’ passion about literacy, and we need to care about solving the problems that are keeping so much of the world illiterate. Coming off of a series of events surrounded by people who have this passion and put it to action in their every day work is invigorating. And coming back to the daily grind of a for-profit enterprise trying to be sustainable can be a downer, even if it is a social enterprise.

So how do we create this same passion for the mission at our own organization so that it is something real and meaningful and not just something we talk about and tout?

What more can we do to overcome the obstacles to literacy and education in the world?

I welcome and encourage your thoughts. I think the answers to these questions will help propel us to become a great company who is a true leader in the social enterprise space.

Paul “Paco” Miller