By Arthur Wade Anderson
Making it while making it meaningful
- Serial social entrepreneur
- Founder and CEO: Forge Academy
- Group CEO: Got Game
- Co-owner: Green Crete Manufacturing
- Co-owner: Conforto Building Solutions
- Co-owner: South Bay Coders
My journey as a social entrepreneur began when I started helping a close friend and ex-partner build a business around creating community gyms for people in Africa’s impoverished communities. The concept, which is now a fully-fledged international business known as Green Outdoor Gyms, has enjoyed local and international recognition. No corporate salary could match the joy I see in the eyes of those watching their communities being transformed through access to a free facility that spurs unparalleled social cohesion.
In 2012, together with some like-minded techies and artists, we founded a second start-up, Got-Game, which is focused on education and economic inclusion of people in underserved communities. The conduit, digital popups, are strategically placed in communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. These high-tech launchpads are funded through corporate Enterprise Development (ED) and Corporate Social Investment (CSI) funds. Delivering digital services to local start-ups and small enterprises, employment opportunities have been created for graduates and school leavers which changes the competitive socio-economic and current digital land-grab: Africans pave their own paths into this new age and develop solutions relevant to the needs of their communities.
Most recently, myself and co-entrepreneur, Craig Clutty formed the Forge Academy with the vision to become Africa’s number one fully inclusive 4IR lab and innovation hub. Through this venture we invest in individuals, aligning them to their purpose, providing an education of the highest quality and transferring skills that will make them exceptional in the world. Our passion is to train, upskill and educate throughout Southern Africa by delivering a quality and effective education. This is also the first phase of our journey to becoming an accredited world-class African tertiary institution that is focused on equipping African youths for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
As a founder entrepreneur, my vision remains steadfast and linked to providing access and enabling resources to youths that deserve a chance at creating their self-defined prosperous futures on this continent. We are grateful to have many partners, past and present, on board such as Nokia, The Finnish Embassy, Microsoft, Google, Marvel Tech, PEISA, Department of Communications & Digital Technologies, Department of Basic Education South Africa, British Council, Feed a Child and many others who contribute content, consultation and volunteer hours to ensure sustainability and success of our businesses on the ground.
Ventures: Forge Academy (CEO & co-founder)
Africa’s #1 fully inclusive 4IR lab and innovation hub
We invest in individuals, aligning them to their purpose, providing an education of the highest quality and transfer skills that will make them exceptional in the world. Our passion is to train, upskill and educate throughout Southern Africa by delivering a quality and effective education.
Got-Game (Group CEO)
Infastructure – Job Creation – Programmes
Designing, developing and deploying technology tools to enable under-served communities to improve their living conditions through the use of sustainable and creative alternative solutions.
Green Crete Manufacturing (Co-owner)
We provide a quicker, stronger and greener product than conventional building methods.
We fabricate our locally patented Green Crete walling systems to assist our clients in achieving maximum comfort and accreditation when investing on building projects with environmental impact consideration.
Conforto Building Solutions (Co-owner)
A South African Construction Company founded on sustainability and simplicity at its core. We believe going green doesn’t have to be complicated – our obsessive approach to solving this problem for our customers has benefitted thousands of beneficiaries.
South Bay Coders (Co-owner)
South Bay Coders was founded February 16th, 2016 in Santa Monica, CA. Our goal, mission and values are to provide the highest quality software and services that is customer-centric. Mobile Apps are increasingly becoming the go-to resource for communications, entertainment, shopping and productivity.