By Viljam Engström and Maija Mustaniemi-Laakso
The text is based on the recent book, Social Justice Innovation in Africa, Edited By Viljam Engström, Maija Mustaniemi-Laakso, Laura Stark (Routledge 2024). A book launch event will be arranged on the 3 December 2024. Information on the event can be found on ÅAU Institute for Human Rights social media channels.
What is social justice innovation and what roles and meanings does social innovation take in contributing to social justice in Africa? These are some of the central questions addressed in the recently published open access book Social Justice Innovation in Africa (Routledge 2024). This edited monograph brings together research by a strong line-up of African scholars across disciplinary fields, including human rights law, business and economics, development studies, and ethnography. The book is the key output of the collaboration between African and Finnish scholars facilitated by Åbo Akademi University (Institute for Human Rights and Business School) and the University of Jyväskylä (History and Ethnology, Development Studies) within the Finland-Africa Platform for Innovation (FAPI). FAPI is a network composed of 26 Finnish higher education institutions supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, which aims to build and strengthen partnerships between African and Finnish higher education institutions to promote innovation.
On the variety of social innovation
The book engages in in-depth discussions on different types of social innovation, discussing the impact of social innovation on livelihoods and welfare in localised and national contexts in Africa. Through empirical and doctrinal studies on initiatives and practices of enhancing social justice, authors spotlight the broad variety of what can be included within the umbrella of social innovation. In debating social innovation as a tool for operationalising social justice, the chapters showcase the potential of social innovation in Africa, but also the importance of adopting a critical stance towards the promotion of social justice. By this, the book answers to an identified research need of addressing “proactive types of equality” in the Global South and critically challenging “taken for granted assumptions.” To further understand the interconnections between social innovation and social justice, the chapters also survey the role of the state for social innovation.
The book is composed of three parts, exploring social innovation from the perspectives of social entrepreneurship; social technologies; and societal practices. As to the first of these, the chapters present different types of social entrepreneurship initiatives and analyse their innovative features in meeting social needs. In problematising some of the equalising and unequalising factors related to their operation in the juncture between the formal and the informal, the authors also look into the role of states and municipalities as enablers of social innovation. In his chapter, Elias Yitbarek Alemayehudoes so from the perspective of the Ethiopian ‘iddir’ culture, studying the ways in which iddirs operate as social entreprises and the broader social function that iddirs have, reaching far beyond their traditional funerary task. Relatedly, Sidy Lamine Bagayokointroduces the reader to the self-organization of waste-pickers in Mali, delving into how this promotes their social conditions and asking what remains to be done to further address their marginalised position. Sharon Hofisi illustrates how traditional food-get-together celebrations in Zimbabwe act as catalysts for entrepreneurial innovation, with both a socializing and financial impact in rural communities. Finally, focused on social policies as possible sources of both equality and inequality, Dennis Ndambo reviews vending practices in the aftermaths of the COVID-19 crisis as enablers for generation of income and discusses preconditions of innovative entrepreneurial practices in Kenya.
The second part of the book, focused on social technologies, illustrates ways in which technological innovations are harnessed and operationalised to address social needs and to contest entrenched power imbalances. In a study on smallholder farming in Uganda, Nicholas Mugabiinvestigates the use of mobile agricultural extensions as channels to disseminate information, pointing to an empowering impact, but also raising concerns of inequality. Relatedly, Dorothy Kyagaba Sebbowa and Tiina Kontinen reflect on wikis as educational tools in higher education in Uganda, taking stock of their potential for enhancing social justice by challenging existing authoritarian teaching models.
The third part of the book assesses what it takes to overcome the barriers to social justice innovation and to anchor social justice innovation in societal structures and practices that facilitate transformative change. The chapters exemplify that enablers need to be in place for innovation to materialize. Innovation, after all, is dependent on a complex set of processes that need to interlink. Ntando Ndlovu and Arthur van Coller, in discussing the Constitutional Court of South Africa,underline the role of constitutional empowerment whereby people in disadvantaged positions can find new opportunities and avenues for pursing social justice. Focusing also on legal structures, Anne Kotonya emphasises the potential role of the law and legal actors as structural obstacles for achieving social justice. In particular, she examines the role of law schools and clinics as models of social innovation. Kellen Aganyira, Douglas Sheil and John R S Tabuti on their behalf analyse distributional and procedural questions related to forestry carbon projects in Uganda. Scrutinising community perceptions of fairness, they flag the role of participation in mitigating, but also in sustaining, inequality in the context of social innovation. Finally, Kennedy Karisebstudies Namibia’s pension system from the perspective of policy innovation, shedding light on how pension systems can be leveraged to bolster domestic development and address economic inequality.
What makes innovation “just”?
The studies showcase three overarching features of social innovation. First, the empirical studies indicate that social innovation can be successfully enacted for multiple purposes and in response to various social needs. Social innovation also engages a variety of actors, ranging from governmental institutions to civil society and entrepreneurs. Importantly, while social innovation often arises from lived-in experiences of individuals in a bottom-up manner, the authors bring into focus the importance of structural innovation by public actors. This can take the form of, for example, the judiciary or educational institutions adopting innovative approaches to leveraging injustices experienced by groups and individuals in marginalised positions. Another example is the adoption of legislation that guides societal activity, such as investment, towards more responsible ways of acting.
Second, the chapters underscore that any social innovation is always part of a broader (social and institutional) environment. For that, it needs to be recognised that there are both internal and external factors affecting the possibility of social innovation as well as its sustaining and transformative impact. Acknowledging that social innovation and entrepreneurship take a multitude of forms which may all require different approaches is key in this regard, as is challenging the adaptability and inclusiveness of the existing structures meant to support that innovation. To this effect, the chapters identify several potential challenges and highlight different roles that the state and the municipalities can take as ‘enablers’ of social innovation. Lack of recognition, unclarities or gaps in regulatory frameworks, and insufficient access to assets are some of the impediments for grassroots social innovation to be operational and effective. The authors also direct attention to the fact that as long as social entrepreneurship, such as self-organised waste management or small-scale vending, remains within the realm of informal employment, the workers’ social protection may remain flawed. This calls for stronger recognition of the role of bottom-up social innovations not only for marginalised individuals and groups, but also to society at large.
Third, while social innovation and entrepreneurship undoubtedly constitute important contributions to social justice, the contributions indicate that social innovation may also come with inherent preconditions and biases. These may sometimes even sustain existing inequalities rather than mitigate them. The book points out that in assessing the transformative potential of social innovations, access to assets is one factor that differentiates individuals in how they benefit from social innovation. Lack of or insufficient digital access is another circumstance that may affect the possibility to benefit from social innovations. While the emergence and growth of new technologies can have substantial impact on meeting the needs of the poor and promoting more equitable growth, the diffusion of these technologies is neither equal nor fair by an automation. Any social innovation should therefore duly consider existing structural inequalities that may affect the accessibility and distribution of the social benefits. One aspect of this is to ensure that the design and operationalisation of social innovation is inclusive and participatory.
Viljam Engström, Docent, Åbo Akademi
Maija Mustaniemi-Laakso, Post-doctoral researcher, Åbo Akademi
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14266807
