The document discusses theories of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their application in Sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that existing CSR theories do not fully capture the dynamics of CSR in Africa for several reasons: they overlook the role of socioeconomic context in determining CSR priorities and motivations; they overlook the influence of cultural norms; and they suggest a linear progression of CSR that does not match evidence from Africa. The document also examines current CSR initiatives in Africa and how they vary between large multinational corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

1. Fostering Corporate
Social Responsibility
in Sub-Saharan
Africa
by
Eugene Nizeyimana
September 2011

2. ABOUT SUB-SAHARAN
CONSULTING GROUP
Sub-Saharan Consulting Group (SSCG) is a management consulting firm that
provides innovative business solutions to organisations and institutions in
emerging economies such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Our solutions are focused at
promoting private sectors & SMEs development, empowering entrepreneurs and
start-ups growth in the continent through entrepreneurship, innovation,
investment and intra-regional trade. SS.C.G offer cost effective solutions and
approaches to commercial gaps, while inspiring entrepreneurs and promoting
sustainable economic development in Africa.
Contact Us
7200 The Quorum, Oxford Business Park North
OXFORD, OX4 2JZ, United Kingdom
T: + (44) 01865 589022
F: + (44) 01865 481482
E: Research@s-scg.com
W: www.s-scg.com
1

3. CONTENTS:
1. Summary 3
2. Theories of corporate social responsibilities 4
3. Integrating Africa into t theories of CSR 7
4. Current CSR initiative in Africa 13
5. Policy implications 19
6. Conclusion 30
2

4. 1. SUMMARY
It is increasingly recognised that ‘developmental’ models of aid and the public
sector alone are insufficient in responding to the urgent economic and social
challenges that face sub-Saharan Africa today. In parallel to this recognition has
been a growing awareness of the need to engage and utilise the full potential of
the private-sector in contributing to development.
The idea of ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) and related concepts have
thus stepped into the foreground in the fields of political economy, governance,
legal studies, financial services, international trade, and development. The
plethora of connected and often overlapping terms is testament to Moon’s
description of CSR as an “essentially contested” concept; CSR covers a broad
range of labels including (but far from limited to) ‘business ethics’, ‘legal
compliance’, ‘philanthropy’, ‘sustainability’, ‘community investment’,
‘environmental management’, ‘respect for human rights’, and ‘stakeholder
1
management’. Some analysts of CSR dispute the inclusion of some of these
terms, but for the purposes of this discussion, a broad definition will be adopted
to avoid ‘defining out’ of the discussion some important challenges specific to
Africa and bring out some of the tensions in the literature with relation to
emerging markets. Sustainability defines CSR as:
“An approach to business that embodies transparency and ethical
behaviour, respect for stakeholder groups, and commitments to add
2
economic, social and environmental value.”
Despite the obvious relevance of such issues to a dynamic and fast-growing
region of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa, only recently has the literature
on CSR begun to be re-evaluated in this different context.
1
Moon, J., Corporate Social Responsibility: An Overview, In C.Hartley (Ed.), The
International Directory of Corporate Philanthropy, 2002, First ed.: 3-14. London and
New York: Europa Publications
2
Sustainability, Gearing Up: From Corporate Responsibility to Good Governance and
Scaleable Solutions, 2004, London: Sustainability
3

5. Figure 1: Green Life CSR
2. THEORIES OF
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
It is important to review the theory of CSR in order to accurately convey the
particular forms CSR takes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the challenges it
faces. The literature on CSR has been dominated by two approaches to
understanding CSR. By conceptualising CSR we can determine more precisely
the exact motivations firms have to adopt CSR, the individuals and organisations
that are impacted by CSR, and therefore suggest more pragmatic ways to foster
corporate responsibility in the region.
4

6. The first approach to understanding CSR is Carroll’s ‘Pyramid of Corporate
Social Responsibility’, which identifies four types of responsibility that collectively
constitute CSR and has dominated analysis of CSR:
Philanthropic • Be a good corporate citizen
Responsibilitie • Contribute resources to the community
s • Improve quality of life
• Be ethical
Ethical • Obligation to do what is right, just and fair
Responsibilities • Avoid harm
• Obey the law
Legal Responsibilities • Law in society's codification of right and wrong.
• Play by the rules of the game
• Be profitable
Economic Responsibilities • The foundation upon which all others
rest
3
Figure 2 - The Hierarchy of Corporate Social Responsibilities
By organizing a firm’s responsibilities hierarchically, Carroll suggests that:
i) responsibilities at the bottom of the pyramid count for more (or at
least are of more immediate concern to firms) than those at the top.
ii) there is a linear development of responsibilities that firms undertake
(i.e. firms will turn to legal responsibilities before ethical
responsibilities and finally philanthropic – elsewhere described as
‘discretionary’ responsibilities).
In practice these categories of responsibilities will overlap and be hard to
distinguish. For example, ‘strategic’ CSR may lead a firm to fully discharge its
ethical responsibilities as a marketing campaign to boost consumer demand and
therefore maximise profits, coincidentally discharging its economic
responsibilities towards its shareholders. What the model does usefully provide is
3
Adapted from Carroll, A., The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the
Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders in A. Crane, D. Matten and L. J.
Spence (eds.) Corporate Social Responsibility, 2008: London and New York: Routledge,
p.66
5

7. a way of categorising the motivations underlying firm’s CSR initiatives; in the
example above, the motivation is an economic one:
MANIFESTATIONS OF CSR WITHIN THE PYRAMID OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Public relations / Marketing
Economic Responsibility  Quality Management (e.g. maintenance of supply chain relations, responding to
consumer demand for ‘green’ products)
 Compliance with competition law
Legal Responsibility  Compliance with anti-corruption law
 Integration of civil society pressure groups’ demands (e.g. living wage campaigns,
Ethical Responsibility Fairtrade)
 Laying foundations for sustainable growth in future generations (e.g. sustainable
forestry)
 Signing up to voluntary industry ‘codes of conduct’
 Provision of ‘public’ services such as hospitals, education, sports and arts provision
Philanthropic in local communities
Responsibility  Discretionary (i.e.. non-strategic) poverty relief campaigns
Figure 3
In the Western economies of the USA and Europe, these categories have proved
useful in understanding firm’s CSR initiatives and motivations. This is partly due
to stable social foundations upon which firms can maximise profits; that is to say,
social capital and resources are exogenous to firm’s profit-maximising
calculations, encouraged by the state’s provision of high quality public education,
healthcare, and infrastructure. As a result, the (relative) abundance of rich social
capital makes fostering that social capital less of an economic necessity than in
developing countries, resulting in a clear(er) distinction between economic,
ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities.
6

8. 3. INTEGRATING SUB-
SAHARAN AFRICA INTO
THEORIES OF CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
7

9. 3.1 Accounting for variation: socio-
economic differences and CSR
However, the boundaries between these responsibilities are especially blurred in
SSA. Both Visser and Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie and Amao’s analyses of CSR in
Africa question the usefulness of Carroll’s model. Wayne Visser, Founder of CSR
International, concludes that in Africa “the interconnections between Carroll’s four
levels are so blurred as to seem artificial or even irrelevant”, resulting in a
4
pyramid that is “very simplistic and static.”
What the CSR literature has neglected is the impact of unique socio-economic
and socio-cultural contexts on the priorities given to different forms of CSR. SSA
faces particular socio-economic challenges in the form of, for example, lack of
social capital (i.e. a healthy, educated workforce), infrastructure (i.e. roads and
telecommunications), and weak institutions (i.e. rule of law). The commonplace
nature of CSR initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS – which may be seen as an ethical
or philanthropic gesture in the West – can therefore be seen as a response to an
economic imperative to maximise profits. Where multiple stakeholders benefit
from such initiatives (e.g. shareholders from maximised profits, workforces from
direct protection from HIV and treatment of AIDS symptoms, and community
members from ‘herd immunity’ effects), CSR initiatives defy being categorized.
The specific socio-economic context of a developing country and therefore the
unique challenges facing business is “what makes corporate responsibility
important,” and thus we can see different CSR priorities in different regions of the
56
world.
Complicating things further, African CEOs often cite philanthropic reasons for
why they undertake such work, and not the expected ‘strategic’ motivation of
economic responsibility. Amaeshi et al.’s survey of indigenous CEOs and Senior
Executive Personnel of Nigerian firms showed that whereas 46% of those
questioned gave ‘local needs’ as a reason for CSR, only 31% gave the ‘firm’s
4
Visser, W., Revisiting Carroll’s CSR Pyramid: An African Perspective, in A. Crane &
D. Matten (eds.), Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Volume Set, London: Sage,
pp.195-212
5
Blowfield M, Murray A, Corporate Responsibility: A Critical Introduction, 2008:
Oxford: OUP, p.178
6
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Corporate Responsibility: Strategy, Management and Value,
2006: London and NY: PWC
8

10. 7
success’ as a reason for CSR. Clearly ‘PR misuse’ by those surveyed is a
danger in such subjective research, and thus methodologies need to be
tightened to be more precise in the conclusions they yield in future. Nonetheless,
such a low response rate for a core business responsibility of firms’ CEOs (i.e.
acting in the firm’s interests) is remarkable given it would go against
shareholder’s expectations.
7
Amaeshi K, Adi B, Ogbechie C, Amao O, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in
Nigeria: western mimicry or indigenous practices?, 2006: Nottingham: International
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, p.29
9

11. Figure 4: CMI
10

12. 3.2 Accounting for variation: Cultural
differences and CSR
Amaeshi et al. also find that “manifestation of CSR does not necessarily need to
8
follow a linear progression as predicted by Carroll.” They cite cultural and
sociological differences in Nigeria as being responsible for the widespread
citation of philanthropic motivations as taking priority over economic and legal
responsibilities. The Nigerian concept of ‘extended kinship’ fosters a “communal
philosophy of life and concern for the less privilege” that necessitates an
9
extension of benefits beyond simply those directly involved in the firm. Visser
also draws attention to the impact of cultural expectations, stating that across
10
SSA “philanthropy is an expected norm.”
3.3 Accounting for variation:
differences between MNCs and
SMEs and CSR
If cultural factors do have an impact on the form CSR takes – a thesis supported
by current research – then we could expect to see a divergence in the attitudes
of multinational companies (MNCs) and indigenous small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs). MNCs might be expected to import cultural norms of self-
help and individualist-contractarian justice from their home countries whereas
indigenous SMEs may be more influenced by cultural norms of ‘extended
kinship’. In Nigeria, Amaeshi et al. do find that “while indigenous firms are more
11
involved in philanthropic CSR, the multinational firms are more strategic.”
8
Amaeshi K, Adi B, Ogbechie C, Amao O, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in
Nigeria: western mimicry or indigenous practices?, 2006: Nottingham: International
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, p.32
9
Ibid. p.18
10
Visser, W., Revisiting Carroll’s CSR Pyramid: An African Perspective, in A. Crane &
D. Matten (eds.), Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Volume Set, London: Sage, p.12
11
Amaeshi K, Adi B, Ogbechie C, Amao O, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in
Nigeria: western mimicry or indigenous practices?, 2006: Nottingham: International
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, p.28
11

13. Alongside cultural determinants of differences in CSR between MNCs and SMEs
is economic capacity; one would expect MNCs to dedicate more resources per
employee to CSR initiatives than smaller firms due to their increased
organizational networks, the economies of scale and their monopsony status as
often the only employers in an area (therefore entailing greater ethical obligations
to provide for a larger share of communities).
SUMMARY: EXISTING THEORIES OF CSR IN A SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN CONTEXT
Existing theories of CSR fail to sufficiently capture the particular dynamics of CSR in Africa. Carroll’s ‘hierarchy of
CSR’ model appears oversimplified when applied in the context of SSA;
 The ‘hierarchy of CSR’ overlooks the role of economic development in determining the priority given to
different forms of CSR and the motivation behind them.
 The ‘hierarchy of CSR’ overlooks the role of sociological practices and cultural norms in determining the
drivers of CSR and the form CSR takes.
 The existing literature therefore suggests a linear development of CSR responsibilities that does not match
the empirical evidence from SSA.
 The case of SSA suggests that SMEs have a valuable role to play in CSR, but that their responsibilities are
defined not in economic terms as much of the existing literature suggests
 Due to the significant disparity between the role of MNCs and SMEs in different sectors, the level of CSR
activity in SSA would seem to vary largely between sectors.given their limited capacity, but in philanthropic
terms.
Figure 5: EXISTING THEORIES OF CSR IN A SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN CONTEXT
The varying impact of MNCs and SMEs on CSR initatives should be revealed in
the variation of CSR in different sectors; those sectors that are constituted mostly
by MNCs (e.g. extractives and much of agriculture) would be expected to have
more established and larger CSR initiatives than those sectors constituted by
SMEs (services and manufacturing). The existing literature on CSR in SSA lacks
any quantitative study that explores this issue, but qualitative and anecdotal
evidence does indicate such a divergence in CSR.
12

14. 4. CURRENT CSR
INITIATIVES IN AFRICA
In the 1980s, the relationship between the private sector and society was re-
evaluated on a grand scale in sub-Saharan Africa. Following years of post-
colonial ‘developmental’ states that saw the state as the key driver in fostering
growth, the economies of nearly all SSA countries went into freefall in the 1980s.
The structural adjustment programmes proposed by IMF and World Bank as a
necessary but painful remedy to Africa’s economic woes entailed a huge
shrinking of the state apparatus, ranging from subsidies for domestic production
to “reducing spending on health and educational facilities, even if they
recognise[d] that these are essential to meet the needs of an expanding
12
population and to lay a basis for future economic growth.”
Combined with the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s and
environmental disasters in extractive industries throughout the 1990s (e.g. Royal
Dutch Shell and Chevron in Nigeria), this put the spot-light on the need for
private sector responsibilities beyond simply profit-maximization. Globalization
has accelerated MNC’s responses to these challenges as consumers incorporate
the need for responsible management of the supply chain into their demands. As
a result of all these factors, it became increasingly evident to foreign firms that
they would need to reassess how they do business in SSA and introduce CSR
initiatives.
As regards SMEs, CSR initiatives do exist but are limited as a result of economic
capacity and managerial training. Below a brief overview of CSR in major sectors
will be given along with some examples of specific initiatives – many of the
initiatives are administered by ‘foundations’ established by firms specifically to
promote CSR:
12
Williams, Gavin, Why Structural Adjustment is Necessary and Why it Doesn’t Work, in
Review of African Political Economy, 1994: Oxford: ROPAE Publications Ltd., p.222
13

15. 4.1 Extractives
CSR has been a particular concern for the extractives industries in SSA due
firstly to the increased environmental implications of its operations and also its
role in conflict zones across the region. The Meridian Group International cite
mining, oil and gas as having “by far the most advanced CSR programs in
13
Africa.”
All mining companies have HIV/AIDS policies “with clauses regarding
nondiscrimination, confidentiality and disclosure, benefits, and retirement
14
treatment.” Evidence has been put forward suggesting the increased
vulnerability of the extractives industries – particularly mining – to the HIV/AIDS
epidemic; factors such as the concentration of single-sex hostels (fostering “a
thriving commercial sex industry”) and abundance of migrant labour
(undermining efforts to prevent the spread of the virus) have been suggested as
potential problems that have contributed to the limited success of these policies
in the past, as in Campbell’s study of the Summertown township in South
15
Africa. Often these HIV/AIDS worksite programmes are run as public-private
partnerships – for example the £50 million five year Angola Partnership Initiative
between ChevronTexaco and the Angolan government.
The widespread environmental degradation resulting from the oil sector has
led to companies monitoring the environmental impact of their work and investing
in education, health and often sport initiatives for locally affected groups. Local
opposition represent a potentially destabilising stakeholder in the extractives
industry. A twin attack involving armed conflict (e.g. Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta) and legal battles, often taken back the
company’s home-country (e.g. most recently resulting in Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s
admission at UK’s High Court of responsibility for huge oil spills in Ogoniland,
16
Nigeria) has put pressure on the oil industry to extend its CSR initiatives. One
problem is that the extractives industry seems mostly reactive to events, rather
than proactive, and as a result CSR is often seen as compensation rather than a
genuine desire to engage its stakeholders in a meaningful way and listen to their
concerns.
13
Meridian Group International Inc., CSR in Africa: Internet Research Study, 2006:
Washington DC, p.25
14
Ibid.
15
Campbell, Catherine, Letting them DieL Why HIV/AIDS Prevention Programmes Fail,
2003: Oxford: James Currey, pp.12-13
16
The Guardian, Shell accepts liability for two oil spills in Nigeria, 3rd August 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/03/shell-liability-oil-spills-
nigeria?CMP=twt_gu
14

16. SMEs IN THE EXTRACTIVES INDUSTRIES: SANDALI WOOD INDUSTRIES LTD. (TANZANIA)
The high level of CSR activity in the extractives industry is partly due to the well-established organisational
structures that MNCs, who dominate the sector, can provide. However, extractive SMEs can and do engage in CSR.
In the journal ‘CSR Africa’ Laura Hampson details the case of the Sandali Wood Industries Ltd in Tanzania, which
won the ‘Most Ethical and Responsible Business Practice for Supply Chains’ award at the East African CSR Awards.
Recognising the danger of environmental degradation, the health hazards involved in transporting and milling wood,
and the wasted off-cuts of wood, Sandali has invested in training local people to undertake selective harvesting of
commercially viable trees, thereby minimising waste and environmental degradation. With increased investment in
locals, workers’ safety was an increased concern, and so mechanical lifting tools were introduced to transport logs
rather than the more risky conventional method of carrying logs by hand. This ensures minimal harvesting and
maximum pay for workers’ labour (as workers do not waste time delivering inadequate logs).
Figure 6: SMEs IN THE EXTRACTIVES INDUSTRIES: SANDALI WOOD INDUSTRIES LTD. (TANZANIA)
Due to an inevitable government monopoly on the distribution of rights for many
resources in the extractives industry, corruption remains a serious problem. A
major voluntary multi-stakeholder initiative is the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI), which as the name suggests works with various
organizations including MNCs, NGOs, the IMF, UK Government, and World Bank
to promote transparency around government deals and contracts in member
states (of which there are five African members, with more holding only
candidate status).
Where oil is concerned there is also a danger of huge export revenues crowding
out other sectors and resources, whether as a result of upward pressure on
exchange rates (thereby disadvantaging local producers aiming at the export
market) or detracting from the need for CSR initiatives in non-oil producing
regions; both of these are a significant challenge for the oil industry in Angola,
where oil constitutes over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings and is
17
concentrated mostly in coastal areas and the province of Cabinda.
17
Meridian Group International Inc., CSR in Africa: Internet Research Study, 2006:
Washington DC, p.16
15

17. 4.2 Agriculture
The labour-intensive nature of agriculture in SSA and its direct contact with
consumers in the developed world has led to a range of CSR initiatives mostly
aimed at employee relations, one of which is the Fairtrade Foundation’s
campaign that seeks to promote higher wages and better working conditions for
farmers in the developing world. Again, the labour intensive nature of agriculture
and its seasonal variations (which encourage the employment of seasonal
workers) have led to a vulnerability to HIV/AIDS; a problem the sector takes very
seriously. Brooke Bond Kenya Ltd, a tea growing firm in Kenya, has one of the
larger schemes that reaches over 80,000 people (equivalent to the extended
network of its 20,000 employees) focusing on peer education, counselling, anti-
retroviral drugs and condom distribution.
The seasonal nature of work results in a large proportion of workers being
employed only on a ‘casual’ basis, and therefore lacking access to the range of
services that firms offer through their HIV/AIDS workplace schemes. This is
particularly true of the horticultural business; 65% of Kenyan and 85% of
18
Tanzanian flower workers are non-permanent. Of these, a large majority are
women, raising issues of gender inequality – women are not entitled to benefits
and are likely fired if they become pregnant.
In the cocoa industry the use of child labour and abuse of migrant workers has
been a focal point of concern, leading to the creation of the West Africa Cocoa
Agriculture Program to Combat Hazardous and Exploitative Child Labour
(WACAP) in 2003. Such initiatives are complemented by those that seek to
secure fair prices for local growers, since profits can thereby be sustained
without needing to reduce production costs by seeking cheap child labour.
Both the tea and coffee growing sectors are governed by a plethora of
sometimes overlapping voluntary codes of conduct, such as SA800 (a broader
standard working across sectors), EurepGAP, the Ethical Tea Partnership, the
Utz Kapeh Code of Conduct, and the Fair Trade Label. A wider problem for the
tea, coffee and banana-growing sectors is the lack of CSR penetration to
smaller farms.
18
Meridian Group International Inc., CSR in Africa: Internet Research Study, 2006:
Washington DC, p.16
16

18. 4.3 Manufacturing, Electronics and
Bottling
Manufacturing, electronics and bottling represent a diverse group of sectors that
would generate intense CSR interest in the developed world due to the risk of
exposure to hazardous materials and equipment. However, perhaps due to the
proliferation of SMEs involved in these sectors and lack of industry coordination,
there is little evidence of significant CSR concerns from these sectors. That there
is little data collected centrally is of course not evidence of a lack of CSR, but its
exposure – should it exist – seems limited. What is notable is the lack of CSR
exposure in a sector that draws significant attention in developed
countries.
DIFFERENCES IN CSR PRIORITIES BETWEEN THE DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING WORLD: VODAFONE
AND VODACOM
Based in South Africa, Vodacom is the pan-African subsidiary of UK-based mobile telecoms company Vodafone,
which took majority ownership of the company in 2008. Despite being in the same sector and owned by the same
company, the CSR priorities in two companies are completely different.
In the developed world, much of the CSR initiatives in the telecoms industry are aimed at researching and educating
about the potential health complications posed by radiofrequency (RF) signals, preventing access by children to
unsuitable information and products via their mobile phones, recycling chemical components of mobile phones
(partnering with WWF to achieve this) and privacy protection. In recognition of its CSR efforts, Vodafone was ranked
as the world’s most accountable business by London thinktank AccountAbility in 2006 and by CSRNetwork in 2008.
Figure 7
There are, however, notable exceptions to the lack of CSR initiatives, as
demonstrated by the cases of Vodacom (see box above) and the work of The
17

19. Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) in providing HIV/AIDS-related services to
the families of its 60,000 employees through a partnership with UNAIDS and
support of a further 123,000 HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children across 8
19
countries.
4.4 Tourism
CSR has a mixed record in the tourism industry. Codes of conduct are becoming
more common; although not legally binding, the Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism (created by the World Tourism Organisation) is notable due to its
enforcement mechanism under Article 10. Individual hotels’ often have CSR
policies, but Dodds and Joppe find in their 2005 study that “there is little overt
demand for sustainable tourism” and that “if the consumer and the industry are
driven by price then there is a need to re-think the strategy of how to include
20
sustainability within current cost structures.” Indicative of the lack of CSR
awareness is the fact that two hotel chains with a major presence in SSA, Hilton
and Sun Africa, do not publicise their CSR activities through their websites; The
Serena Hotel Group is a notable exception. Few safari tour operators and tourist
destinations publicise CSR initiatives. Where CSR policies do exist, their
monitoring and evaluation remain weak.
19
http://www.tccaf.org/coca-cola-africa-foundation-health.asp
20
Dodds, R and Joppe, M, CSR in the Tourism Industry: The Status of and Potential for
Certification, Codes of Conduct and Guidelines, 2005: World Bank,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEXPCOMNET/Resources/CSR_in_tourism_2005.
pdf
18

20. 5. POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The above overview of current CSR initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa is
necessarily brief given the summary nature of this report. However, the cases
and examples have been chosen to demonstrate some of the challenges that
CSR in SSA faces and how the priorities of and obstacles to CSR vary between
sectors:
Diffusing
knowledge
about CSR
potential to
Minimising the SMEs
perceived trade-off
betweeen job
Lack of concern for
creation and
'legal responsibility'
improving working
conditions/higher
wages
Challenges
for CSR in
Lack of consumer SSA Gender inequality
demand for CSR in CSR provision
Lack of concern
Monitoring and for 'socially
evaluation of responsible
CSR activity production
practices'
Figure 8: Key Challenges for Corporate Social Responsibility in sub-Saharan Africa
Finding effective solutions to these problems will be difficult, especially given the
relative infancy of research into CSR in sub-Saharan Africa and the lack of data
with which to work and evaluate the success of CSR initiatives. However, this
report highlights four areas in which much can be done to foster CSR in the
19

21. region; these are based around i) the strengthening of consumer awareness and
capacity, ii) legal and policy reform, iii) management education (especially for
SMEs), and iv) the deployment of international finance institutions (IFIs),
multilateral development institutions (MDIs) and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs).
6.1 Strengthening consumer awareness and capacity
As outlined above, one of the key challenges for the extension of
CSR in the region is the lack of consumer demand for products and
services that have been produced in a socially responsible corporate
environment. Strengthening this demand will encourage firms to
increase CSR by acting firstly on their economic responsibility to
maximise profit (which will now be served by supplying CSR-
produced goods) and secondly the ethical responsibility to integrate
consumers’ demands by establishing public norms of what is
‘expected’ of firms even where profit will not be maximised. This has
two components:
 Increasing consumer awareness
A key obstacle to achieving change in consumers’ attitudes
is a lack of knowledge of problems, and where problems are
acknowledged there is often no realization that the private
sector has the power (and often desire, if only it were
economically viable) to support local communities in tackling
problems. The following measures will support this change:
 Incorporating business education into the
curriculums of educational institutions
 A media with minimal corporate influence
(e.g. newspapers, radio, television)
 NGOs and civil society organisations
publicly holding local businesses to account
 Increasing consumer capacity
Without a credible capacity to change their consumption
habits, even consumers with an awareness of and desire to
support CSR to change will be unable to pay a premium for
CSR and therefore realize change in firms’ behaviour. A
history of poverty alongside weak market forces and civil
society organizations in SSA means this is a particularly
important challenge to overcome:
 Creation of a policy environment that
encourages entrepreneurship and
innovation, which will raise employment and
spread wealth in African communities;
particularly in less resource-rich areas that
draw less investment from MNCs (see Sub-
20

22. Saharan Consulting Group’s other work into
promoting entrepreneurship and innovation
in SSA) – these involve increasing access to
(micro)finance, decreasing the costs of
attaining legal certification, improving
infrastructure etc.
6.2 Legal and policy reform
Although CSR is organised and implemented mostly by the private
sector (whether for profit or not for profit), the public sector clearly
has an important role to play in establishing the institutional
structures conducive to CSR activities. Of particular note is the public
sector’s role in fostering legal responsibility, which is currently
lagging behind other sorts of responsibility in SSA:
 Reform of corporate governance frameworks:
Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie and Amao’s research into CSR in
Nigeria highlights the contrasting impact of ‘contractarian’
and ‘enlightened shareholder value’ frameworks of
corporate governance. The current US-inspired
‘contractarian’ law “essentially reflect[s] the shareholder
supremacy and shareholder wealth maximization goal” by
drawing the memorandum and articles of association as a
triadic relationship between the company, its members
21
(stockholders) and officers (management). In contrast, an
‘enlightened shareholder value’ framework, as reflected in
the UK in its Company Law Reform Bill (2006), requires
companies to “report on the impact of their operations on
other stakeholders such as employees, suppliers,
communities and the environment.” Thus the authors
suggest a change in the corporate governance framework
would trigger firms to re-evaluate their purpose and impact
on other stakeholders – both insofar as they can influence
the company’s operations and therefore profits, and as they
exert ethical demands on the company.
 Capacity-building of judiciaries:
21
Amaeshi K, Adi B, Ogbechie C, Amao O, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in
Nigeria: western mimicry or indigenous practices?, 2006: Nottingham: International
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, p.10
21

23. Firms’ relative lack of concern for legal responsibility may
also stem from the weak power of judiciaries in SSA to
produce neutral rulings that can be effectively enforced.
Furthermore, the lack of credible ‘threat’ from judiciaries
make it is less likely that firms integrate legal liabilities into
their calculations regarding economic responsibility. Many of
the most pressing CSR priorities – such as compliance with
international law regarding child labour, respect for
communal property rights, environmental sustainability etc –
require faith in the rule of law to be taken seriously.
Corruption and lack of monitoring agencies undermine the
influence of judiciaries in this regard. Tackling corruption
may involve reviewing the appointments procedures to
judiciaries, increasing their accountability through
transparency initiatives and stronger civil society groups,
and reviewing salaries and training. Government
sponsoring of Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) has
also been suggested as a way of minimising the cost of
litigation and therefore extending access to justice, as in
22
Ghana.
 Introducing conditionality for services:
South Africa has experimented with increasing CSR (or
corporate social investment/CSI as it is referred to there) by
imposing conditions on companies in exchange for access
to public services. In order to be listed on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange (the largest SE in Africa), companies must
comply with the principles of King Code on Corporate
Governance, most recently revised in 2009. Requirements
include the production of an annual integrated report that
“focuses on the impact of the organisation in the economic,
environmental and social spheres” (in place of the usual
financial report), formal risk management processes,
internal audits, a written assessment of the company’s
internal financial controls, and performance reviews of long-
standing directors. Since the requirement was introduced,
South Africa has become a world-leader in sustainability
reporting. The Integrated Reporting Committee was
established in 2010 to set standards and provide support to
firms compiling these reports. It is possible that similar
introductions of conditionality could be applicable elsewhere
in SSA.
22
Adjabeng S, Using ADR to reduce judicial corruption and the cost of accessing justice
in Ghana, 2010: Brussels: Effectius ASBL
22

24.  Fiscal changes
Governments have an important role to play in fostering
CSR through their fiscal policy:
 Tax structure: many analysts have
considered the impact of the structure of the
tax system on CSR. Though most agree
that tax breaks given to companies that can
demonstrate a commitment to CSR would
incentivise giving (for example as tax breaks
given to corporate foundations that oversee
external CSR projects and philanthropy),
doubts have been expressed over the ability
of the tax structure to influence the CSR
23
activities of smaller firms. This is partially
as a result of the difficulty in establishing
objective criteria for eligibility (presumably
based on the success of companies’ CSR
initiatives), but also the weakness of sub-
Saharan African governments’ tax collecting
agencies; if tax is not already being
collected, then a tax break will do little to
24
help.
 Expansion of the formal economy: the
large informal economy in SSA is an
obstacle to CSR. Policy changes that would
make entrance into the formal economy
easier would thereby encourage CSR either
directly (e.g. giving registered workers rights
in the workplace) or indirectly (e.g.
increasing the impact of other policy
changes that only affect those firms in the
formal economy, such as tax breaks). Such
policy changes include lowering barriers to
entry for firms and offering a broader range
of government support and opportunities for
registered firms (thereby increasing the
opportunity cost of staying in the informal
economy).
 Subsidies: in most cases subsidies are
provided through public-private
partnerships, most of which are currently
between MNCs and IFIs, MDIs or NGOs
(see below). But in reality if local
23
Petkoski and Twose (eds.), Public Policy for Corporate Social Responsibility, 2003:
World Bank, p.13
24
Williams, D, Tax and Corporate Social Responsibility, 2007: London: KPMG, p.38
23

25. communities are going to take ownership
over the promotion of CSR and
governments are to synchronise public
policy with firms’ CSR priorities, government
will need to make strategic partnerships with
the private sector to realise their aims.
Further research is needed in this area, but
it is plausible that governments’ lack of
organizational capacity and networks in
delivering services can be made up for by
working with firms. Corruption is of course a
real issue with public-private partnerships,
thus ensuring transparency would be a key
objective of any such arrangements.
6.3 Management education
Alongside the lack of consumer capacity and potential for public
policy changes, there remains a lack of awareness about the
potential benefits of CSR and skills necessary for its implementation
in the firms themselves. This is particularly true of SMEs, whose
senior executives may be working too much in the business to work
on the business and recognise the broader strategic potential of
CSR. The following may therefore be useful measures in solving this:
 Training in management tools:
Senior executives frequently lack the awareness of CSR
opportunities and skills associated with those opportunities.
Several studies have studied the potential of management
tools implemented in SMEs to focus attention on CSR-
associated activities. For example, in a European-based
2007 study, Ascigil finds that “by linking operational and
non-financial corporate activities within causal chains to the
firm’s long-term strategy, EFQM Excellence Model
provides an opportunity for alignment of performance on
social issues with decision-making strategies and
25
structures.” Informed use of risk management tools can
aid firms by identifying stakeholders (defined as those who
have an interest in and can effect the operation of the
business) and therefore enable a firm to institute a
considered policy that respects the sensitivity of business to
changes in stakeholder behaviour.
25
Acsigil S, Towards Socially Responsible SMEs? Quality Award Models as a Tool,
2007: Nottingham: ICCSR
24

26. How can such management tools be taught? Business
schools, as incubators of entrepreneurship and innovation,
certainly have a role to play. Inclusion of management tools
that have yet to be employed in most of SSA in the
curriculum, in addition to the study of CSR itself, would
foster CSR for the future.
The media also presents an important avenue for the
dissemination of business information and debate. For
example, in Uganda the Nekolera Gyange (I Run My Own
Business) radio programme broadcasts technical advice
and business linkage opportunities to (mostly) self-
employed people. The project was so successful that it was
extended to Ghana, and is now supported by over six other
26
private and public organisations. NGOs can also help
disseminate management advice, as the ILO’s Coop Africa
scheme seeks to do.
 Investment:
Ascigil’s study also highlights a difference in CSR between
independent and dependent SMEs, (where dependent
SMEs are companies that have at least 25% of their shares
owned by a holding group or company). His suggested
explanation is that equity investment stimulates an influx of
expertise into management systems and provides contacts,
and that “having access to [such] expertise on development
of management systems to enable informational diffusion is
27
critical for SMEs.” Furthermore, he suggests that financial
shortages in independent SMEs may make those firms
“slower in adopting CSR”, and that the contacts provided by
investors can help the firm overcome staff related
inadequacies that may prevent CSR being implemented.
26
http://www.comminit.com/?q=africa/node/121995
Meridian Group International Inc., CSR in Africa: Internet Research Study, 2006:
Washington DC, p.22
27
Acsigil S, Towards Socially Responsible SMEs? Quality Award Models as a Tool,
2007: Nottingham: ICCSR, p.26
25

27. 6.4 Deployment of MDIs
Figure 9: Vivo Energy
The role of multinational development institutions (e.g. the World
Bank Group, IFC, UNAIDS, DFID, ILO, African Development Bank)
and non-governmental organisations cannot be overlooked when
tracing the rise of CSR in the developing world. Such organisations
have been pivotal in promoting CSR and holding private enterprise to
account in the face of a weak civil society. Antonio Vives identified
28
four ways in which MDIs can foster CSR ; NGOs clearly fill similar
roles:
 Promotion and advocacy
A recurring theme in this report has been the challenges
posed by a lack of awareness at all levels – from executives
in SMEs to government bureaucrats – of the potential of
CSR to add (economic) value to business and mitigate
persistent social and environmental problems. MDIs and
NGOs, in importing new ways of thinking and modes of
operating, and due to their perceived independence, are in a
strong position to promote CSR within the business
community.
28
Vives, A, The Role of Multinational Development Institutions in Fostering Corporate
Social Responsibility, 2004: Society for International Development
26

28. Promotion can also come in the form of partnership
facilitation. Rather than taking an active role as a member in
a bilateral partnership that supports CSR initiatives, MDIs
and more localised NGOs can broker partnerships between
different actors in the same private sector supply chain, or
between the private sector and other MDIs. Two examples
of this ‘partnership brokering’ stand out. In Kenya The
Ufadhili Trust networks on behalf of SMEs who lack the
resources and time to dedicate towards developing those
contacts with institutions willing to support their CSR
programmes. In Zambia The Partnership Forum has been
doing similar work in facilitating partnerships that correlate
with CSR objectives. For example, The Partnership Forum
have helped Shoprite, a South African supermarket chain,
source their food locally following their expansion into
Zambia, rather than import food from South Africa (which
would be more costly for Shoprite, less environmentally
29
sustainable, and not invest in the local community). This
application of local expertise to solve business problems is a
promising development in emerging markets that have yet
to develop integrated communications networks.
 Policy lobbying
Achieving the legal and policy reforms referred to above
necessitates people and organisations to lobby
governments to adopt these changes. Again, MDI’s global
knowledge of other countries’ policy environments and their
perceived independence make them potentially useful
advisors to government ministries. MDIs can also expand
the drivers for CSR indirectly through their other activities;
for example “by supporting the development of financial and
capital markets, MDIs are making available a vehicle for
investors and lenders to express their preference for
responsible firms through the demand for the firm’s financial
products, which, in turn, will affect their costs and rate of
30
return.” Furthermore, NGOs can represent the interests of
those who lack the resources (time, money, expertise,
contacts) to represent themselves in the policy-making
process – for example in campaigning for improved working
conditions and compliance with international human rights
law.
29
Kivuitu, M, Yambayamba, K, and Fox, T, How can Corporate Social Responsibility
Deliver in Africa?, 2005: International Institute for Environment and Development
30
Vives, A, The Role of Multinational Development Institutions in Fostering Corporate
Social Responsibility, 2004: Society for International Development, p.4
27

29.  Financial support
Alongside ‘partnership brokering’ (above), MDIs can take an
active role in the partnership itself. The ‘IFC Against AIDS’
campaign (2001-2010) is an example of such support, in
which it partnered with companies such as K-Rep (Kenya)
and Odebrecht (Angola), supplementing existing finance
and providing expertise in designing HIV/AIDS awareness,
31
prevention and treatment programmes. In 2006 Odebrecht
received further support from USAID and the National
Institute to Fight AIDS to set up the Business Committee to
Fight HIV/AIDS
Alongside partnerships, thanks to the large presence of
MDIs and NGOs in SSA, they can put pressure on suppliers
through their procurement policies by favouring firms that
can demonstrate strong CSR.
 Evaluating CSR success and reporting
This report demonstrates that CSR is becoming established
in SSA, and that many governments, organisations and
firms actively promote CSR. But in having so many bodies
with overlapping agendas and responsibilities, and a lack of
broader government infrastructure to coordinate and monitor
such organisations, CSR initiatives are in danger of
becoming poorly executed, unaccountable and thereby
ineffective. Often CSRs are promised, reported, but not
followed through on, or alternatively are abandoned once
the company’s activities and interests shift elsewhere. For
example, The Economist reported that the China
International Fund (a Hong Kong based mining company
“shrouded in secrecy”) in Africa “failed to meet many of the
obligations it took on to win mining licences. Zimbabwe is
still awaiting even a fraction of its promised infrastructure.
Guinea never received the 100 public buses that were
32
meant to arrive within 45 days of the 2009 deal.”
MDIs and NGOs must play an important role in monitoring
the success of CSR projects given the lack of basic
government capacity in even the most basic services.
Again, perceived independence from special interests
makes MDIs suited to this task. Furthermore, the research
expertise of MDIs and NGOs is ideal for undertaking
comparative analysis of projects with similar aims; currently,
the literature on how effective different HIV/AIDS worksite
31
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/aids.nsf/Content/Projects
32
http://www.economist.com/node/21525847
28

30. schemes (and other forms of CSR) are is sparse.
Comparative research undertaken by MDIs would increase
the accountability and effectiveness of those schemes by
exposing failures and suggesting solutions.
These four categories suggested as identifiable ways in which CSR can be
fostered in sub-Saharan Africa are summarised in Figure 10.
• Increasing consumer • Reform of corporate governance
awareness frameworks
• Increasing consumer capacity • Capacity-building of judiciaries
• Introducing conditionality for services
• as • Fiscal changes
Strengthening
consumer Legal and
market policy reform
pressures
Management MDIs and
education NGOs
• Training in management tools • •Promotion and
(EFQM Excellence Model, risk advocacy
management, balance scorecard)
• Business schools • Policy lobbying
• Media • Financial support
• Investment • Evaluation and monitoring
Figure 10: Fostering CSR in sub-Saharan Africa
29

31. 6. CONCLUSION:
THE FUTURE OF CSR IN AFRICA AND
THE IMPORTANCE OF DYNAMIC
APPROACHES
This study has examined how CSR in sub-Saharan Africa differs from CSR in
other parts of the world, and highlighted the challenges that CSR in Africa faces.
The suggestions for fostering CSR outlined in the previous section are not
comprehensive. Despite earlier drawing attention to the importance of cultural
influences on CSR (Section 3.2), the practical discussion has focused on ways of
extending and encouraging the legal and economic drivers of CSR. What is more
challenging is identifying and encouraging the cultural drivers of CSR, for
example identifying businessmen’s ethical convictions and creating a CSR
structure that can adapt to local ethical and philanthropic perceptions. To an
extent, cultural perceptions of CSR and the implementation of CSR are mutually
reinforcing; as an increasing number of firms recognise the legal and economic
potential of CSR, ethical perceptions of what is ‘due’ and ‘expected’ of firms will
be strengthened through the creation of social norms. In the long term, as social
and economic conditions for Africa’s poorest improve, we might expect
philanthropic (i.e. ‘supererogatory’) motivations to decline and be replaced by
ethical responsibilities.
CSR must remain dynamic in sub-Saharan Africa. Globalisation has introduced
a series of new challenges that firms must overcome, with new pressures from
above and below to review their business challenges. Furthermore, there are an
increasing number of organisations involved in CSR. Of particular note is the
broad range of firms with a stake in the economies and societies of SSA.
Perhaps the most pressing concern as regards CSR is the rise of para-statals
undertaking economic operations on an enormous scale – especially ‘land grabs’
from the Middle and Far East. Understanding para-statals’ behaviour in SSA will
30

32. require a re-evaluation of the theory of CSR – and indeed a re-assessment of
whether the concept of corporate social responsibility is applicable to state-
owned corporations based outside of their home country. For example, power
relations between countries will inevitably lead to differences in the way para-
statals are treated by their host governments, and motivations extend beyond
simply financial profit. Furthermore, CSR must become localised in the face of
globalisation; evidence of this localisation (i.e. responding to local stakeholders
and concerns) has been demonstrated above, but CSR agendas ought to be
tailored at a community level rather than an ‘African’ level; challenges and
priorities will of course vary between countries and sectors, and thus the concept
of CSR must be able to adapt to its surroundings rather than become a ‘one size
fits all’ stereotype. Rapid social change within those same communities (e.g.
urbanisation, changes in expectations) and economic growth further increase the
need for a dynamic approach to CSR.
This report has not compared the relative strengths and weaknesses of the
measures suggested above in facing up to these challenges. It is a preliminary
investigation that highlights the main issues and reviews existing and potential
strategies that could be used to foster CSR in the region.
31