Building an Inclusive Economy: South Africa's Social & Solidarity Economy Symposium (Hybrid, 2026)

On 27 August 2026, Catalyst Now South Africa held the hybrid South Africa Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) Policy Symposium that brought together over 400 registered participants, including more than 140 in person at the Holiday Inn Sunnyside Park, Parktown, Johannesburg, and hundreds more online. Watch the full recording of a landmark day that shared the Johannesburg Declaration and launched South Africa's National Multistakeholder SSE Task Team, a coordinated national push to move the country's cooperatives, social enterprises, mutuals, and community-based economic institutions from the margins of the economy into a coherent, supported ecosystem. The Symposium brought together voices from government, the private sector, civil society, philanthropy, DFI agencies, and global institutions including the ILO, UNTFSSE, and the WEF, including: • Minister of Small Business Development, Hon. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams • Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Hon. Steve Letsike • Acting Director-General, Department of Employment and Labour, Ms Jacky Molisane • Acting Director-General: Competition and Transformation at Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Dr Susan Mangole • Vuyisa Dayile, Deputy Director-General for Sector Policy and Research, DSBD • Representative from the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, Waltteri Katajamaki; the World Economic Forum and Schwab Foundation, Danson Gichini; and German Development Cooperation (GIZ) South Africa, Lisema Matsietsi. At the heart of the day was the Ecosystem Co-Design Workshop, where participants worked across four thematic groups, Policy & Enabling Environment, Inclusive Markets, Knowledge & Innovation, and Local & Community Ecosystems, to identify emerging issues, map who's already doing the work, and agree collective priorities for the next 6–12 months. Following the Symposium, we opened a national survey to capture input from SSE practitioners who couldn't be in the room, and to help identify who should sit on the National Multistakeholder SSE Task Team. Share it with your networks: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/A3mGFmRtrf This Symposium was convened by Catalyst Now South Africa, in collaboration with Youth Capital, Vanhu Tech, Kasi Catalyst, African Youth Philanthropy Network, Africa Forward as part of the Future of Inclusive Social Economies Initiative (FISEI), 2026–2031, an initiative founded by Katlego Chibamba. Questions? Reach us at southafricachapter@catalystnow.net