Profit-making idea is a series of short posts, each with a piece of information that we think you might find useful: for investment, for growing your company or to start a new business. Read our previous posts here.

Glenn Gillis, the managing director of South Africa-based Sea Monster, an animation and gaming studio, revealed to How we made it in Africa one unexploited profit-making idea.

“Where business fails, governments intervene; and where governments fail, businesses see opportunity. For me, education in Africa, in particular, is a good example. The lens we put on it is how the narrow self-interests of big corporations can be served by investing more strategically in educational outcomes that drive their own business.

“If large insurers/banks focus on financial inclusion and education, and do it properly and over an extended period – not as a short-term marketing campaign – it’s an opportunity to drive both social goals and business goals. Africa is awash with opportunities in this space.

“Governments alone will not solve our education crisis. They’ve proven they can’t. There’s also an opportunity here to connect entrepreneurs in the space to experienced businesses – again, not as a short-term pitching contest or hackathon, but a long term ‘we’ll give you US$100,000 per year for three years if you can deliver, and we’ll help you do it’.

“Creating predictable demand for these services will benefit everybody.”