Need for a focussed community launching platform
The problem in society with unemployment and lack of sustainable income is much bigger than what a single community centre or church can deal with. It is also a fact that institutional churches are losing credibility in offering sustainable solutions when operating in isolation of the bulk of the community.
We believe that the co-operation within a united body of Christ offers credible and sustainable solutions. Trusting God unconditionally, the Community Business Initiative (CBI) facilitates such a focussed platform where Christians can work together to establish a capacity within communities to support sustainable small business (start-up) development as alternative income generating opportunities.
The benefits of initiatives like CBI and many others go far beyond sharpening a potential business idea. It speaks to the heart of social capital, which is the development of trust between talented entrepreneurs who may be lacking in opportunities and established funders, mentors and collaborators who can help them to get to where they want to go.
Trust is vital for entrepreneurs at all stages, but particularly early on. As most of them are seeking not just money, but direction — the kind of business shaping advice they can only get from those who’ve done it themselves, and are therefore in a social strata they would not otherwise interact with.
Think about a community and a person who only knows the people in their immediate surroundings. If they are unable to incubate the trust piece — how to build trust and how to create environments where trust can be developed — they’re probably never going to get to the part where that priceless asset becomes part of their social capital. From this perspective, we believe that Christian businesses are equipped par excellence to create such trust sharing environments based on unconditional trust in God.
