Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Just for a Change

Just for a Change

The Just for a Change podcast is back with a brand new season to provoke and inspire!

Presenting Season 4 of the Just for a Change podcast powered by the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship which explores the theme “The Power of Connections”.

The pursuit of social justice requires the effort of many, and in the work that the Bertha Centre does we have seen powerful intersections driving society towards positive change.

In this new season, discussions with social entrepreneurs, innovators, thought leaders and activists spotlight the unexpected connections, surprising overlaps, and unusual alignments in the work being done locally and globally to uplift and empower our society. Topics range from getting a second chance at finishing high school, to research into recycling waste for agriculture, and the role representation plays in empowering communities.

Among our guests are social entrepreneurs, researchers, academics, grassroots organisations, NPOs, impact investors, start-up founders with real stories of personal triumph and innovative problem-solving.

Our podcast host Ntombini Marrengane, Bertha Centre’s Senior Manager, is an urban researcher and international development specialist.

The Bertha Centre is the first specialised centre in Africa dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship and focuses on researching, educating, convening, catalysing and advocating for social, environmental and economic justice. Find out more at https://gsbberthacentre.uct.ac.za/. This podcast is produced by 2stories in collaboration with the Bertha Centre, UCT Graduate School of Business, and the Bertha Foundation.

Be inspired by stories of people driving our world forward towards social justice. If you’re curious about a better world for all and the solutions being put forward to combat today’s biggest challenges, then this podcast is for you!
Weekly English South Africa Business · Non-Profit
76 Episodes
20 – 40

S3, Ep. 7: How do we build more just cities?

How do we begin to rectify our failing public infrastructure? Loadshedding, potholes, public safety and public transport issues are just the tip of the iceberg. This conversation between our host, Ntombini Marrengane and Jodi Allemeier, urban development specialist and activist, couldn’t come at a better time. With a predicted 70%…
15 Mar 2023 39 min
 trailer  

S3, Ep.7: Teaser: How do we build more just cities?

Did you know that the number of people living in urban areas in South Africa has grown by 21% between 1960 and 2021 according to the World Bank Urban Population statistics? With that percentage steadily rising despite the public infrastructure failing to support it, city planning is a matter of…
10 Mar 2023 2 min

S3. Ep. 6: Innovating towards gender equality and land rights

How do you implement and educate on land ownership and equality for women in a disempowering patriarchal society? This is the big problem that innovator, activist and advocate, Dr Monica Magoke-Mhoja faces in Tanzania. Land ownership laws changed in 2014 but disempowering and unjust practices to do with land ownership…
25 Jan 2023 39 min
 trailer  

S3 Ep. 6: Teaser_ Innovating towards gender equality and land rights

Did you know that 70% of the food in Tanzania is produced by women in the agricultural sector? 90% of active women work in agriculture in Tanzania and yet very few of these women own the land they work on. Equal rights to land ownership only came into law in…
19 Jan 2023 1 min

S3. Ep 5: Climate justice: there’s no plan(et) B

How has climate change impacted different groups of people and why is this a justice issue? “Humanity is on a highway to climate hell,” according to UN secretary-general, António Guterres. This means that climate justice is one of the most important conversations to have and that’s why in this episode…
13 Dec 2022 40 min
 trailer  

S3, Ep. 5: Teaser: Climate justice: there’s no plan(et) B

How climate change is a justice issue at its core and why should we care? We explore the side of the green economy that isn’t spoken about enough in this episode of the Just For A Change podcast powered by The Bertha Centre for Innovation and Change. Our host, Ntombini…
8 Dec 2022 1 min

S3. Ep. 4: Water justice for all - but how?

Can you imagine life without water? What lengths would you go to get it? The people of Somalia are faced with these real questions as they experience droughts, famine and water scarcity right now. In this episode of the Just for a Change podcast, Abdikhayr Mohamed Hussein joins our host,…
23 Nov 2022 36 min
 trailer  

S3. Ep. 4 Teaser: Water justice for all - but how?

Why are so many regions in the world experiencing water scarcity despite access to water and sanitation being a human right? What impact has the scarcity had on the communities in these regions? And most importantly, why is access is water access increasingly becoming a source of conflict? In this…
15 Nov 2022 1 min

S3. Ep 3: Substance abuse and mental health - it’s okay not to be okay

Did you know that three thousand people, globally, take their own lives each day? This number is according to a statement released by the South African Government on Suicide Prevention Day this year. South Africa is still reeling from the suicides of great names in the entertainment industry who lost…
27 Oct 2022 36 min

S3, Ep. 2: Inside the mind of a social innovator 

How would you describe a ‘change-maker’? Award-winning social innovator, Tracey Gilmore, is the epitome of one and we got to chat with her about the exciting work she’s doing and why she does it. She’s the co-founder of The Clothing Bank, now known as Taking Care of Business, director of…
28 Sep 2022 35 min

S3, Ep. 2: Teaser_ Inside the mind of a social innovator 

Have you ever wanted to get into the mind of a social innovator making a real difference? That’s exactly what we get the privilege of doing in episode 2 of the Just For a Change podcast. Host, Ntombini Marrengane, unravels what makes Tracey Gilmore the changemaker she is. She’s the…
22 Sep 2022 1 min

S3, Ep. 1: What do gender equity and public loitering have in common?

Do you know what the difference between gender equity and equality is and why it matters? Throughout history women have been protesting various issues such as sexism, gender-based violence, gender inequality and corrupt political systems. From the right to vote to the right to loiter, women - and some men…
25 Aug 2022 40 min
 trailer  

S3, Ep. 1: Teaser

Did you know that according to the latest Global Gender Gap Report 2022 it will take another 132 years to reach gender parity? Season 3 of the Just for a Change podcast powered by the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship captures conversations with changemakers - both local and…
18 Aug 2022 2 min

S2, Ep. 12: Season Wrap up episode

What are the building blocks that enable social innovation and entrepreneurship in the global South? We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up JFAC season 2 than reflecting on a few of these building blocks and highlights from the previous episodes. Hosts, Fergus Turner and Simni Xanga reminisce…
29 Jun 2022 28 min
 trailer  

S2, Ep. 12: Teaser

Another season of Just for a Change has come and gone! We’ve featured a number of inspiring change-makers who have shaped these episodes and given us a better understanding of what leads to systems innovation and entrepreneurship in the global south. What are some of the building blocks that lead…
23 Jun 2022 1 min

S2, Ep. 11: Pathways in entrepreneurship in the Global South

Africa hasn’t been idle on the entrepreneurship front but what makes starting a business in this continent so complex? What milestones and challenges do entrepreneurs have to overcome specific to the Global South? Host, Luvuyo Maseko sits down with Dr Phumlani Nkontwana, a senior lecturer at the UCT Graduate School…
25 May 2022 44 min
 trailer  

S2, Ep. 11 Teaser: Pathways in entrepreneurship in the Global South

Entrepreneurship has been painted as the ‘solution’ to unemployment and poverty in the global south but what challenges come with choosing this path? In this episode of the Just for a Change podcast we talk about the pathways to entrepreneurship in the global south and we get some valuable insights…
19 May 2022 2 min

S2, Ep. 10: The role of women in the health investment space

What is innovative finance? Who are the women in this space doing incredible research and finding fantastic health development solutions? What can women working in this space do to drive investment in priority areas? In this episode of the Just for a change podcast, we hear from Dr Nevilene Slingers,…
20 Apr 2022 44 min
 trailer  

S2, Ep.10 Teaser: The role of women in the health investment space

What is the experience of women working in innovative finance for health and why is it so important for women to operate in this space? To commemorate World Health Day on 7 April 2022, episode 10 of season 2 of the Just for a change podcast, focusses on innovative finance…
14 Apr 2022 2 min
20 – 40