“Procurement with Purpose” is an initiative by SAP Africa team members that aims to make it easier for organizations to purchase goods and services from social enterprises.
- The initiative brings purpose-driven social enterprises into the world’s largest procurement network, Ariba, to increase their visibility and encourage organizations to support them.
- One of the social enterprises involved is Reel Gardening, founded by Claire Reid, which provides innovative solutions for growing food at home.
- Reel Gardening offers patented seed tape that simplifies the process of growing vegetables and herbs. They also establish local schools as community training and distribution centers for the food grown by households.
- SAP Southern Africa’s Managing Director, Kholiwe Makhohliso, praises the social enterprises involved in Procurement with Purpose for their work in creating positive social impact.
- Claire Reid started Reel Gardening when she was 16 to grow vegetables and sell them for extra pocket money. Her simplified seed strips won awards for their water-saving abilities and have since been distributed to around 50 million households.
- Reel Gardening provides advice on gardening through a mobile app and uses WhatsApp to communicate with the households using their seed tape kits.
- The ultimate goal of Reel Gardening is to aggregate surplus produce from thousands of households into agricultural hubs for processing and sale, both locally and internationally.