10 January 2018, Cape Town – Mazars recently announced that it will be the official sustainability partner of change and empowerment platform, ChangeMakersHub (CMH).
CMH founder, Michelle Korevaar says that the initiative aims to bring substantial positive change to the world. “It uses digital storytelling to shed light on the work of change makers around the globe. The online portal will give a home to all the role players that bring positive change through their actions and work supporting social entrepreneurship and charitable initiatives that positively impact all areas of society. The vision of CMH is to drive solution-driven community participation by empowering the change makers in our communities, cities, countries and our world.”
Mazars will provide advisory services and support to the CMH Leadership and Advisory board. William Hughes, Business Sustainability Consultant at Mazars explains that this will be instrumental in building a best practice model, and ensuring that the initiative is successful and sustainable. “We will also make our best practice model available to change makers everywhere, so that they can also equip their ventures for change.”
Hughes adds that there is a strong business case to be made for partnering with a reputable sustainability consultant. “As the marketplace changes and sustainability becomes increasingly important in the daily operations of every business and organisation, the gap between best practice companies and their competition is very likely to become bigger and bigger. Building a business on the principles of sustainability is imperative for SMEs that want to grow to become industry leaders.”
Bongiwe Mbunge, Senior Manager at Mazars’ Business Sustainability Division explains that one of the core objectives of the CMH speaks to South Africa’s high youth unemployment rate, which currently averages on 50.9%, according to StatsSA. “It captures the youth’s agility and innovation potential, unlocking it for the great good of our country through positive digital story telling. This is an exciting platform where there is a co-creation and co-existence of varied generations towards a fantastic common goal. Furthermore, the platform creates a flexible educational aspect into the world of technology for the youth, in achieving its strategic objectives. Mazars is perfectly aligned to this proactive and innovative solution. It speaks to our country’s sustainability through job creation and collaboration.”
At its core, CMH will be driven by the Millennial Leadership Network, a peer-to-peer sharing network comprised of influencers, leaders and agents of change working with millennials, especially in previously disadvantaged areas.
“The scalable model of the Hub, and the peripheral calls to action amongst the network, holds exponential value in the positive impact it can make. CMH will give much needed visibility to the causes of the individuals who dedicate their skills and expertise to solving serious challenges in our world.” Korevaar says.
The development of the CMH online portal is in its final stages, and Korevaar confirms that the pilot project is expected to launch in Cape Town in the first quarter of 2018. “Collaboration between private, public and community partnerships is an essential part of the success of this initiative and we are thrilled to have Mazars on board as our sustainability partner,” Korevaar concludes.
