Impact Boom Podcast - Social Enterprise & Design · Impact Boom Podcast - Social Enterprise & Design

Episode 605 (2025) Sam Lucas On Building Sustainable Social Enterprises Creating Global Careers

·25 min·2 clips

Sam Lucas reveals how Unza's graduates pay for their own education through remote software jobs.

This episode features host Indio Myles interviewing Sam Lucas, founder of the Madagascar-based social enterprise Unza. Lucas moved from New Zealand to Madagascar to build an organization that creates global software careers for underprivileged youth. Unza recruits high-achieving students who cannot afford further education and provides them with a fully-funded, two-and-a-half-year residential program in English and software development. The enterprise selected its first cohort of 30 students from an initial pool of 250,000 applicants. Graduates work remotely for international partner companies in Europe and the United States, earning transformative salaries. Unza sustains itself financially by charging partner companies a fee for each graduate's placement, using the revenue to cover salaries, overheads, and fund the training of future students. Lucas explains that this social enterprise model is self-funding and scalable because it creates an economically valuable service—skilled software developers. He identifies team-building and navigating cultural differences between Western and Malagasy communication styles as significant operational challenges. A key insight is Lucas's view that remote work, not specifically software, is the core enabler for his model to create high-value careers in developing regions. He also expresses concern about the under-hyped risks of artificial intelligence and believes socially-minded entrepreneurs should engage with that field. Lucas recommends the organization Teach For Madagascar and cites resources like commentator Magatte Wade, the book "Dead Aid" by Dembisa Moyo, and Ben Horowitz's business book "The Hard Thing About Hard Things." The conversation is educational and inspirational, focusing on practical social enterprise models and personal journey. Listeners interested in international development, sustainable business models, and education technology will find this episode valuable. Those seeking highly theoretical discussions or critiques of the social enterprise sector might find it less applicable.

As heard by us

A grounded look at scaling impact without losing local values.

Episode 605 makes a clear case for social enterprise as a balancing act, not a slogan. Sam Lucas argues that a venture has to work financially if it is going to grow beyond symbolism.

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Why you'd press play

Build a social enterprise that can scale impact without losing its local fit in Madagascar.

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