Ashoka Africa hired globally with Employer of Record

Global social entrepreneurs meet local challenges

Ashoka, the world’s biggest global network of system-changing social entrepreneurs, operates in 23 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. When their worker in South Africa advised they were leaving the country, Ashoka wished to retain operations within South Africa without establishing a permanent entity there.

Ashoka then faced the challenge of compliantly hiring a new worker in South Africa, without its own in-country entity. Navigating employment and tax regulations without an entity can be challenging and requires expert local knowledge and guidance.

About Ashoka: changing the world since 1980

Founded in 1980, Ashoka this international network of system-changing social entrepreneurs is the largest and oldest in the world. It has been at the forefront of developing the field of social entrepreneurship – supporting over 3,700 social innovators in 92 countries through a life-time fellowship, financially and non-financially.

Ashoka is highly experienced in identifying, connecting and scaling-up solutions to socio-economic challenges. It has a presence in over 23 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and has supported over 460 African social entrepreneurs since 1990. Ashoka also aims to transform the lifestyles of young people and how they grow up, so that each individual has the power to think and act as changemakers.

Problems faced

Ashoka’s team member based in South Africa was leaving the country. However, Ashoka wished to continue its operations in South Africa. Ashoka is an NGO, and NGOs often operate within limited budgets and resource allocations. As a result, Ashoka wished to remain in South Africa without the time and financial resources associated with establishing its own entity.

When seeking to hire an employee in South Africa without establishing permanent operations there, Ashoka faced the challenge of navigating in-country compliance with regards to tax and employment laws which may vary greatly from their other regions of operation.

As an NGO, Ashoka has strict budgets, and all processes require approval from multiple stakeholders, which can make the process of expanding overseas in the most cost-effective way very time consuming.

“We came to Mauve because our staff member who was based in South Africa was leaving the country, and we wanted to ensure our operations there continued. Unfortunately, setting up your own legal entity comes with a lot of baggage. As a non-profit organisation, we required a solution that was seamless and easy.” - Josephine Nzerem – Regional Director at Ashoka Africa

Partnering for success: finding the right solution

Mauve Group and Ashoka assessed the project’s requirements, and agreed that Mauve Group’s Employer of Record solution would be the most efficient route.

Compliant onboarding:

Mauve carried out onboarding procedures for the new worker via Mauve’s in-country entity.

Mauve provided local contracts and ensured that the worker’s onboarding, payroll, and HR requirements were attended to compliantly.

The Mauve Insight platform simplified and streamlined the process of hiring and onboarding additional employees in South Africa.

“It did not make sense to manage the complexities and workload of setting up our own legal entity for the purpose of one staff member, so this opportunity with Mauve made it possible for Ashoka to increase its visibility in South Africa without going against the local laws.” - Josephine Nzerem – Regional Director at Ashoka Africa 

Key takeaways

Reduced the workload involved around the complexities of setting up a legal entity

Enabled Ashoka to maintain 100% compliance against local employment laws and legislation

Simplified and streamlined the process of hiring employees in South Africa

Saved time reviewing and accepting approvals via a simple and intuitive online platform

Client quote

“We love Mauve’s services because it has allowed us to hire a single paid staff member in South Africa without needing to have set up a legal entity. As you can imagine, it did not make sense to manage the complexities and workload of setting up our own legal entity for the purpose of one staff member, so this opportunity with Mauve made it possible for Ashoka to increase its visibility in South Africa without going against the local laws.
"Mauve’s online system, Mauve Insight, also makes it very easy for us to hire more employees. We are currently looking to hire more employees for South Africa and it is great that we can use this simple process instead of having to do it all manually. I highly recommend using the online platform, the sign-up process is straightforward and the whole system is very easy to use. Approvals are also reviewed and accepted at a faster rate – I just go online, submit my request and the Mauve team will accept. I love it!
"I would like to recommend Mauve Group particularly to those who are looking to manage a small number of staff members in a single location. Ashoka now operates in South Africa and we don’t have our own legal entity, but we are still continuing our programmes and everything is fully compliant. Once we do eventually start our own legal entity in South Africa, we don’t intend on ending our relationship with Mauve Group. As Ashoka Africa progresses, we would like our relationship with Mauve to continue.” - Josephine Nzerem – Regional Director at Ashoka Africa