Dan Olofsson: IT Magnate at a Turning Point
Author :
Claire Beswick; Sibongile Maduma; Viveka Christierson
Pages :
6
Product Type :
Case
Reference # :
WBS-2008-11
Teaching Note :
Institute:
Wits Business School
Setting:
Year:
2008
Keywords:
Corporate social responsibility, HIV/Aids
Summary/Abstract:
“We cannot just sit by and do nothing!” said Sebastian Olofsson to his uncle, Dan Olofsson, a Swedish IT billionaire and owner of a private game reserve in Hluhluwe (northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). It was February 2003, they were both at the reserve and Sebastian had just returned from a guided tour of the vicinity that had exposed him to the dire poverty in the area and the human suffering there caused by HIV/AIDS. Olofsson concurred. He had been thinking the same thing for some time. He had bought the land for the lodge in 2002, initially as a private retreat for his family and friends. He was now thinking of developing it as a commercial venture. He had been deeply affected by the need in the area, but what was it that he could do to make a difference?