Benefit corporations for Africa? A South African perspective on alternative corporate forms

The question of the potential for alternative corporate forms in Africa is a significant one. Alongside the dominant current which argues that the traditional corporation is the way forward for economic growth in South Africa, several other streams of thought have contested and been critical of the traditional corporate model. Within the range of structures alternative to the traditional corporation, this article focuses on the particular legal form of benefit corporations. The benefit corporation has made its entry into what one might term the global statute book through the jurisdictions of over twenty American states. While the South African Companies legislation was overhauled and replaced in 2008 with a completely revamped statute, no specific provision was made for a benefit corporation. Since 2008, two practices alternative to further revising the statute book have developed in South Africa: third-party certification and hybrid structuring. While the legal potential to craft a benefit corporation in South Africa exists, there is little evidence of this legal potential and form being developed to date, despite a growing appreciation and interest in the social enterprise sector.