Making CSR in Africa, part of the Public Relations function is a key to its effectiveness

The recent years have seen across the continent and especially in West Africa, the rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with businesses. The COP 21 in Paris, France led the way to a reckoning that something needed to be done for the planet, the people, while they continue to make profit. The enthusiasm led to an array of beach cleaning, school bags recycled from packaging or advertising materials, trash sorting initiatives. In Côte d’Ivoire where I live, the CSR function started to gain momentum in major industries as well, such financial services, telecommunications, food and manufacturing. The trend was also driven by the global movement towards purpose and ESG, which spilled through acquisitions and ownership in the local companies increasingly taken over by their global counterparts.

However, CSR’s very technical approach with materiality assessment being self-centred, the observation is that CSR is still seen by company as doing good, rather than the critical tool in managing public relations and thus reputation. Shareholders appear to be dissatisfied that despite their CSR efforts, companies appear to be openly hated and their reputational capital being at the lowest. And if companies are still trusted according to Edelman Trust Barometer latest data for Nigeria, it is mostly because of failing states with limited capacity to provide for communities. The question then remains, how to improve CSR effectiveness? The separation between PR and CSR, a standalone, one-person unit in most organisations is highly problematic.

Most companies have CSR strategies in place and consider PR as a support function to inform of their efforts. To improve CSR is to make it a full part of the company’s ambition to improve its relationship with the different publics. Incorporating CSR into the PR function can significantly enhance its effectiveness, ensuring that CSR initiatives are not only well-executed but also well-communicated and appreciated by the community. The advent of mass disinformation through online platforms, the geopolitical conflicts, the polarisation in public discourse and the inequality worsened by rising inflation have made the business landscape volatile, complex and uncertain. The integration of CSR and PR is essential for companies in Africa to navigate the complexities of modern business environments and contribute meaningfully to the communities they serve.

This change of approach could lead to significant changes in the way CSR activities are conducted drawing from PR methodology which focus on audience insights to create successful engagements.

• Alignment with the company’s business goals: CSR is not philanthropy and boards demand more than donations, they want CSR to be embedded in their products, creating value for the community but driving business success. Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire implementation of the group program ELLEVATE (“ELLEVER” in French) went beyond the idea of targeting women-led or owned SMEs, to even target self-employed women with “Ellever pour Elle”. A product aimed at bridging financing gap for women and providing financial education, while recruiting more clients for the bank. PR teams work from the company’s business goals and are very familiar with transforming them into communications pillars and initiatives, they will lead CSR into following the same route.
• Stakeholders’ engagement: PR professionals work to build trust between the organization and its stakeholders leading to a positive reputation. The observation however is that CSR consider it as a tick-a-box task. A comprehensive stakeholders’ mapping should be conducted, and an engagement plan defined and implemented beyond the annual meeting tactic, and the participation into CSR forums, that are far from being representative.
• Trust and Reputation building: Building trust and positive reputation is usually cited part of goals of the PR function. But this imperative has a profound way of affecting the thinking of the professionals. Trust is a perception of competence and ethics. Trust building therefore requires paying attention to that. Under PR, CSR function can develop an awareness of the possible repercussions of their initiatives which are often overlooked. For instance, the lack of transparency in CSR initiatives (partners’ selection, location choices, beneficiaries’ identification) can derail trust building efforts. The communication around CSR initiatives is also usually lacking as it is more information (explained in jargon) than communication. How MTN reports on sustainability or communicate on 21 Days of Y’ello care could inspire more businesses across the continent.
• Work with local news’ context: CSR usually tries to tie its initiatives to the SDGs to fit global frameworks. But they fail to match the local news context and are slow to seize opportunities offered by the conversation ongoing in the countries. During COVID, businesses successfully managed this, but returned to their old ways once vaccines sent us back into offices. PR experts understand that the local context is what drives better engagement and being timely leads to effectiveness. Good strategies are designed to serve as a guide in identifying opportunities for action, not dictating fixed ones.

Corporate Social Responsibility has significantly increased business engagement on the continent. What was yesterday, seen as only a mining industry practice became a function for almost all business including SMEs and the growing movement towards UN Global Compact in the region is a testament to that. Maturity in the practice will push it towards the PR function to deliver value. It is already the case in some organizations as they cover the full potential of their mission.

Adeola Ibiyemi is Project Management Office lead at THOP.