Our study explores how, in the aftermath of Covid-19, frontline workers in the third sector—large NGOs operating in rural and impoverished areas—are actively crafting their roles to make their work more meaningful. By using local knowledge, agency, and meaning-making, these workers are creating a bottom-up impact on their local communities. This research sheds light on how grassroots efforts within NGOs can drive meaningful change in response to crises.

This research explores how multinational corporations based in South Africa engage in innovative strategies fostering economic, social, and environmental goals, and ultimately, the human flourishing of their key stakeholders, transcending traditional models of maximising shareholder value. 

The dominant approach to support entrepreneurs in informal settlements in emerging economies, such as in Africa, is training and funding (e.g., micro-finance) through external institutions such as social enterprises, NGOs, government organisations, and other national and international entities. In this case study, we identify and develop a new agentic, holistic model of how entrepreneurs in urban informal settlements in Kenya self-organise to enable human flourishing: including entrepreneurial innovation, growth and success; personal empowerment, and supporting other (novice) entrepreneurs.