Sisters, Samantha and Lisa Hogg want to bring Africa and business-with-purpose closer together. Samantha runs GinjaNinja, a storytelling communications agency and Lisa runs Brave, an Amsterdam-based consultancy focused on embedding sustainability into business. With a vision to help define purpose strategies as a business, through informed investments and behaviours, the Hoggs believe that brands are not fully addressing sustainability and that Africa is in desperate need for real solutions that have lasting impact outside of just the story or the moment.  

Lisa Hogg says that as for-profit businesses continue to initiate purpose strategies in an effort to stay relevant in a world where consumers demand that brands stand for something: “It is so important that they themselves and their consumers realise that collective impact is the only way we will solve the challenges that face us with regards to people and the planet.” 

On this special day that honours a man who worked tirelessly to unify people in the name of progress, it is a good time to reflect on your role in the world and how each of us can contribute to significant change, both personally and professionally. 

Passion drives sustained impact, so when searching for your purpose, think about what sets you on fire: what are the issues you feel most connected to, and if you are a business, what issues can your expertise or sector most impactfully support. Seek out organisations who have already been on the ground for years creating the kind of change you want to contribute to and partner with them. Often what we as ‘lay people’ think will be helpful, isn’t actually helpful at all so educate yourselves on what will make a difference and plan from there. 

Right now the world feels as if it is going to hell in a handbasket and that we as individuals have little influence on reversing that, it has a paralysing effect and oftentimes nothing is done. We become bystanders. If however we choose to wholeheartedly participate, aligning with others who are invested on the same topic, i.e. commitments to the same UN Sustainable Development Goals:  we will drive many consistent, connected and thoughtful incremental shifts that will result in long term and meaningful change.   If we all do our fair share, just like the 67 minutes that today calls for, we can change just about anything.