IQbusiness recognised for using business as a force for good

Management consulting company IQbusiness has proudly announced that it has been named a Certified B Corporation®. The purpose of this certification is to recognise businesses across industries and continents for their commitment to driving and inspiring more ethical business practices.

“We are excited to have IQbusiness join this growing movement in becoming one of the founding African B Corps,” said Olivia Muiru, Executive Director of B Lab East Africa.

What is a B Corporation®?
B Corporation certification is to business what Fair Trade and Organic certification is to products like coffee and milk respectively. Essentially, it measures how a company operates holistically, and what its impact is to all stakeholders.

How is it measured?
Organisations that meet verified higher levels of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability are eligible. Globally, there are over 2,300 Certified B Corporations in over 50 countries across 130 industries. Currently, there are 17 African companies that have met the standard. In South Africa, IQbusiness is the largest of the 5 companies that have been certified.

Why did IQbusiness apply to become a certified B Corporation®?
“B Corp Certification is all about redefining the concept of business success,” says CEO Adam Craker at IQbusiness, “And that’s always been a big part of what we do and our core purpose, which is to grow people, businesses, and Africa. We are realising our purpose by helping to solve the economic, environmental, and social issues the continent faces.” Craker goes on to say that the decision to apply to become B Corporation® certified was to create conscious motivation to spur on the company’s continued improvement.

What sets IQbusiness apart?

The organisation’s core business alone has far-reaching social and environmental impacts, often linking businesses to organisations dedicated to making a difference in this industry. However, the IQbusiness CEO points out that it wasn’t until around three years ago that the company started putting in the real work to earn its wings.

“IQbusiness had just turned 16, and much like an adolescent teenager, our focus began to shift from what we do, to why we do it,” explains Craker. “We wanted to determine the reason for our existence as a company – what was our purpose?” That was when the company launched www.growth.co.za and the most recent Inclusive GROWTH.co.za Conference and report, geared towards shedding light on how businesses can drive shared prosperity.

IQbusiness isn’t just talking the talk though, it’s walking the walk too, joining forces with Partners for Possibility to wage war against the education crisis in the country. One of the ways they do this is by connecting school principals with business leaders. “Principals are teachers, yet schools are essentially enterprises that they are now expected to run successfully, with little to no experience in this area,” says Craker. “This is just one instance illustrating the potential of shared prosperity.”

Knowledge transfer between these principals and business leaders means the former is better enabled to run the school more efficiently, while the latter benefit from insight into how their future consumers think and behave. And collaboration with B Corporation can only lead to further impactful projects from IQbusiness, who are constantly striving to go above and beyond in redefining business success.

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