Corporate gifting is often treated as a branding exercise, but for Cape Town entrepreneur Vicki Scheffel, it can be a way to create real opportunities for local businesses and communities.
In 2010, a brief from Bakers Biscuits led Scheffel to create a gift that would eventually change the direction of her business. Working with a non-profit in Orange Farm, she helped create a giant Zoo-Biscuit cushion that reflected the brand while directing spend towards a community initiative.
That project became the foundation for GE:SKENK, her conscious gifting agency, which now works with South African artisans, SMEs, social enterprises and organisations with social impact initiatives.
Making corporate spend count
For Scheffel, conscious gifting means considering the entire journey of a product, from who makes it to where the money goes and what happens to the item afterwards.
“The money is already being spent,” she says.
She believes corporate budgets can instead be directed towards local businesses and community initiatives, creating opportunities beyond a single transaction.
“Repeat orders create opportunity and stability. They give makers confidence to buy materials, employ help, improve their systems and believe there is a real market for what they do.”
Her work has reinforced one lesson: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.”
Building with purpose
After more than 15 years in business, Scheffel says purpose has helped her navigate the less glamorous side of entrepreneurship, including cash-flow pressures and difficult decisions.
Her advice to women considering entrepreneurship is to start before they feel completely ready, test their ideas, and seek guidance from people who have already walked the road.
“A sustainable business is not built on passion alone. It needs support, honest feedback, proper pricing, resilience and people around you who can help you see clearly when you are too close to it.”
Looking ahead, Scheffel hopes to build The Joy Republic, a dedicated Business-to-Business space within the GE:SKENK framework that brings together creativity, gifting and social impact.
She says she is proud of the opportunities GE:SKENK has helped create for women-owned businesses, crafters, small businesses, and social impact initiatives, but believes there is still more to do.
“I still feel we are only scratching the surface of what is possible.”
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