Forget the sterile spreadsheets and corporate jargon. For José Tiago Sousa, ESG isn't about ticking boxes for distant investors—it's about rolling up your sleeves and showing up for real people. This Portuguese economist and PhD candidate, who has volunteered everywhere from Italian earthquake zones to Turkey, is bringing a deeply humanized vision of sustainability to Africa.
In his recent feature on BusinessWorld.Africa, Tiago distills his globe-trotting experience into seven down-to-earth principles. Start local—clean up a river, back a village school—but always think beyond borders. Build resilience, because disaster can strike anywhere (just ask the communities he helped in Norcia). Open up governance; don't just talk about inclusion—actually let women and young people sit at the table.
Above all, Tiago argues that sustainability is a two-way street. You learn from the community, and you give back to it. Africa, he says, is at a crossroads. It has the chance to build a development model that learns from past mistakes. The blueprint? It's already written in the stories of everyday people. We just need the courage to follow it.
Read the full article here:
https://businessworld.africa/esg-with-purpose-lessons-from-jose-tiago-sousa-for-a-sustainable-africa/