“We should all have the freedom to be fully human” – Desmond Tutu, 1979 Almost forty years after this quote, and more than twenty years into our democracy, the majority of South Africans are still struggling for freedom. Whereas we are politically free, we have not managed to create social and economic equality required for all South Africans to be fully human. Our work at the Alternative Prosperity Foundation is to empower leaders in different walks of live to help guide us towards this freedom. We have a lot of work left, but in South Africa we have tenacious and good spirited people willing to take up this challenge. Leaders that can live and lead when it comes to unlocking the potential in diversity. Agents of transformation. Our dream is to lend them a hand, to equip them, connect them and support them.

In 2015 the Foundation was registered as a Non-Profit Company (NPC) under the South African Companies Act and a Public Benefit Organisation with SARS. Its objective is to contribute towards black socio-economic empowerment. Our Foundation is an independent legal entity and functions autonomously, involving independent directors and auditors. During 2016 after our board was formed, the programmes of the Foundation framed. In 2017, we started rolling out our programmes which included retirement fund fiduciary development and youth peer-leadership development.

In 2018, we piloted the Foundation’s flagship intervention, which is a diversity living and leadership workshop and the commencement of post workshop support for peer leaders. In 2021, we embarked on a women’s programme benefitting youth leaders. In 2022, we aim to pilot a programme for trustees of employment trusts.

Currently, our Foundation runs three programmes: Youth programme, Women programme, Fiduciary programme. In all our programmes we focus on supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) leadership. The AP Foundation is currently funded by Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust, Old Mutual and supported by African Rainbow Capital (ARC) and the Alternative Prosperity (AP) Group.

Our Foundation’s focus is on developing black leaders who drive nation building and transformation agendas. Our work with these leaders is to articulate the change they want to make and then capacitate them to become such change agents. This is premised on the importance of leadership and governance to steer our country through the current economic, social and political climate. Good leadership should unite, inspire and create prosperity and well-being for all South Africans. Our beneficiary scope is targeting previously disadvantage groups. These include Black People, Youth and Women. Specific focus is placed on agents of empowerment – youth peer leaders, fiduciaries and women leaders.