Building the next generation of impact leaders

Catalysing the global social entrepreneurship ecosystem

About the Fellowship

Talented young people are no longer just looking for work, they want to be working on the things that matter to them, with people that inspire them, while creating meaningful change in the world. How do we know this? We work with them, we have trained them, and we are them.

The world of wicked problems we live in today needs sense makers, not just skills. It needs young talent with energy, insight, and focus.

We call them ‘Sparks’.

There is a systemic need from Impact Organisations (IOs) to build their capacity for executing on their work, but they lack the resources for recruiting, training, and managing young talent. The Sparks programme solves this problem by teaching and equipping a new generation of impact leaders to carry on the critical impact work now and into the future.

We do this by recruiting high potential young graduates and placing them at IOs for a year, while equipping them with core impact skills and supporting their professional development

Learning modules

Sparks complete quarterly learning modules over the course of the programme to develop foundational skills for engaging at a professional level in their Impact Organisations and more broadly.

  • The Systems Thinking module focuses on providing you with a holistic approach to problem-solving and decision making. It emphasises the understanding and application of the interconnectedness of various components within a system and how they influence each other.

  • The Impact Measurement and Management module focuses on understanding and assessing the social, environmental and economic outcomes of initiatives or projects. This will teach methodologies, tools and best practices to measure and communicate the impact of activities.

  • Storytelling training focuses on the art of crafting compelling narratives to convey information and inspire action. You will learn how to structure stories, incorporating data effectively, and use this as a tool for communicating impact in a way that is compelling yet useful for all relevant audiences and stakeholders.

  • The Finance for Social Enterprise module explores the intersection of finance and impact. You will gain insights into responsible and sustainable investment practices, impact investing and fundraising strategies that align with positive societal outcomes.

  • Throughout the year, training is provided to support the Sparks in transitioning from the student experience to taking up space in a professional environment. This training is supported by Taking Care of Business, Job Journey, and other expert partners in youth skills development.

Impact Organisations

Impact organisations (IOs) are dedicated to creating positive social, environmental, or economic change. These organisations operate at the intersection of purpose and innovation, striving to address critical challenges in society while fostering sustainable development.

IOs need Sparks in their organisations, but finding people with the necessary skills and experience is an immense recruitment challenge across the impact ecosystem. These mission-focused organisations need support in developing this talent, particularly when impact theory and market developments are rapidly expanding.

Critical to the efficacy of future impact professionals, in particular, is an understanding of the experience of IOs working against countless obstacles to generate impact and achieve financial sustainability. This needs to be experienced alongside comprehensive impact training.

The Sparks support the management of IOs in executing their work and achieving their impact, in areas including:

  • Strategic projects delivered after each learning module

  • Support management in their day-to-day tasks

  • Assistance on impact measurement

  • Help on communications and social media

  • Event planning and execution

  • Administrative & operational support

IMPACT ORGANISATIONS

About the Team

Rowan Spazzoli (He/Him) and Janine Rutsch (She/Her) co-founded The Sparks Programme under Accendio, their economic development consultancy focused on social enterprise support.

Rowan has been a consultant in the social enterprise support ecosystem since 2016, having founded several startups and lectured business strategy at the University of Cape Town for eight years. Notably, he holds an MCom in Economic Development, and co-founded Phaphama SEDI while a student in 2014, which is an NPO that links student advisors with township-based small businesses for a mutual learning experience. While lecturing and playing a leadership role in Phaphama SEDI, he became a mentor to numerous students each year seeking to enter the social impact space and lead careers that are fulfilling and changemaking. The Sparks Programme represents the professionalisation of Rowan’s role in the impact talent ecosystem as a network weaver.

Janine is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) with a background in innovative finance, having worked in venture debt and for Roots of Impact, pioneer of Impact-Linked Finance and catalytic capital provider, while completing her MCom in Development Finance. Her thesis explored how to scale implementation capacity for the investment strategy focused on rewarding social enterprises for the impact they create. Notably, Janine led the first African team to win the University of Oxford’s Map the System competition, with her team’s research on financial exclusion in South African housing finance. Despite her passion for systems thinking and innovative finance as drivers of inclusive development in Africa, she found it incredibly challenging to transition from traditional finance to the impact industry, and The Sparks Programme is her response to experiencing this problem.

Cofounders Janine Rutsch and Rowan Spazzoli

Hear from the Sparks

At the recent IFC Pop Up, hosted by Relativ Impact, the Sparks got to share a little bit about the programme. Check out the video below to hear from them: