The document outlines the importance of establishing sustainable educational enterprises for girls, emphasizing the need for ecological sustainability, gender equality, and community empowerment. It proposes a business model for the GS4G foundation, focusing on local investment, impact investment strategies, and creating viable educational campuses powered by renewable energy. By investing in girls' education, the initiative aims to break the cycle of gender inequality and foster sustainable development in communities.

1. by Dr Jeremy B Williams
Investing in Girls: School as Sustainable Enterprise
@TheGreenMBA
@jeremybwilliams
jembwilliams profjeremybwilliams
gs4g.org
WINDaba, Cape Town, South Africa, 5 November 2015

2. Why the need for
sustainable
enterprise?

3. The Earth
… is full

4. Full of us …

5. Full of our
stuff…

6. … and full of
our garbage

7. We’ve also changed the surface of the earth

8. We dig it up …

9. We chop it down …

10. … and we take as if
there is no tomorrow

11. We need 1.5 planets to sustain
current consumption patterns …
Overstepping Ourselves
As our Ecological Footprint continues to exceed Earth’s
biocapacity, we overdraw from our future.
74% 114% 156%OF BIOCAPACITY OF BIOCAPACITY OF BIOCAPACITY

12. with potentially
devastating
effects in the
form of climate
change

13. Why GS4G as
sustainable
enterprise?

15. http://youtu.be/1e8xgF0JtVg

16. The ROI on girls’
education is well
documented

20. A community provides landAnd labour
Materials to build the school are
sourced locally
Energy is entirely renewable:
solar, wind; or biomass
High quality
curriculum via InternetRainwater harvesting for water supplyAll wastewater disposed of on site
Used for fruit and veg cultivation and
livestockAnd tree planting
GS4G is a focal point for the whole
community

21. VISION
Empowering all girls to realise equal
opportunity through education that
is ecologically, socially, and
economically self-sustaining.

22. MISSION
Provide community prosperity through
local investment of labour and
materials to establish a sustainable
educational campus for girls.
In return, the education delivered will
enable the inter-generational cycle of
gender inequality to be broken, and
provide knowledge that will provide
the foundation for sustainable
development of communities.

23. VALUES
The enterprise will revolve around
the three values of:
1. ecological sustainability
2. gender and inter-generational
equality
3. the belief that giving a girl the
education and the ability to
make informed decisions about
her life will ultimately benefit her
community and society more
broadly.

24. What does the
business model
look like?

25. The business model is based around
IMPACT
INVESTMENT

26. Set up GS4G
Foundation
Make debt/ equity
investments in GS4G
campuses including
student loans
Recycle returns to
make new investments
Scale up creating
economic, social and
environmental impact

27. Set up GS4G
Foundation
• Corporate investors
• Social Stock Exchanges and patient capital funds;
e.g. Acumen
• Crowdfunding
• Fundraising chapters
• Carbon offset programs
• Donor agencies; e.g. UN agencies

28. The World’s Most Sustainable Companies, 2014 (Forbes Magazine)
Corporate investors

29. Toronto New York
SingaporeLondon

30. www.acumen.org

32. GS4G Fundraising Chapters in major
cities hosting regular events

35. Funding via
companies
participating in
CDM programs

37. Make debt/ equity
investments in GS4G
campuses including
student loans
• The GS4G Foundation would retain majority ownership to
ensure mission integrity for a period of 10 years
• Return on equity may be set at capital preservation (or close
to 0%) for a period of time
• Debt in the form of social impact bonds
• To be sustainable enterprise every campus of GS4G must
become economically viable
• Operational costs to be covered from proceeds of on-campus
entrepreneurial activities
• Student loans from the GS4G Foundation repaid upon
employment following graduation

38. Scale up creating
economic, social and
environmental impact
• Location selection is critical and local knowledge essential
• Extensive community consultation an important first step and the
rationale for an all girls’ school accepted
• Local community must supply the land and the labour in return for
equity
• Best practice sustainable building design, sourcing construction
materials locally
• The campus would be a focal point for the community in providing a
catalyst for sustainable development; i.e. food and water security,
employment and business development
• Volunteer networks would be tapped to import skills and knowledge
unavailable locally

39. Recycle returns to
make new investments
• GS4G is not a charitable organisation, but a business with a
different mission; i.e. it seeks to maximise economic, social and
environmental welfare not profit.
• Development is freedom from hand-outs. A person’s dignity is
not served by charity, and GS4G is about contributing to the
creation of strong, self-sufficient and resilient communities.
• Successful GS4G campuses can provide financial returns to the
GS4G Foundation and also provide mentorship for new
campuses.

41. “Goal 5: Achieve gender
equality and empower all
women and girls” …
following energetic
campaigning from groups
like Girl Effect
The UN’s Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs)
have been succeeded by the
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs)

42. Potential partner
organisations
focused on
investment in girls’
education and
gender issues

43. India would be an
ideal place to start

44. Companies with at least Rs 5 crore net profit or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs
500 crore net worth will have to spend 2 per cent of their three-year average
annual net profit on CSR activities in each financial year, starting from FY15.
Mandatory expenditure on “CSR”

45. "Girls' education is the single best investment
that any society can make."
Carol Bellamy, Former UNICEF Director

47. @TheGreenMBA
@jeremybwilliams
jembwilliams profjeremybwilliams
gs4g.org
Thank you for listening