Controversy surrounds Spore’s World Savers Awards Congress

Survival International has reported that the 2010 World Savers Award Congress, due to be held in Singapore on 20 October, has been met with criticism over its decision to award a prize to controversial tour operator, Wilderness Safaris. Read more

Nigerian CSR Legislation: Good News or Bad?

By Charlotte Morgan

The Nigerian Government’s decision to issue a bill which legislates CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) on a national level has been met with a fierce wave of criticism, which has now spread rapidly across the world. The bill, which was first announced in February 2009, proposes to make obligatory a 3.5% donation of companies’ profits to the government to spend on general CSR practices, such as “community investment and philanthropic activities”, as stated by Camilla Flatt, a consultant in Corporate Citizenship at AfricaPractice in London.

Many are under the impression this new move is a tax scam, an audacious action on the part of the government as Nigerian companies are already taxed just over 30% on their gross profit. Mallen Baker’s article, ‘Nigeria joins the “CSR as stealth tax” movement’, suggests that the Nigerian Government is abusing the notion of CSR to “lever more cash into government coffers”. Others see it as a step backwards, as it is common belief that CSR initiatives should come from the companies themselves, motivated by incentives as opposed to being forced by laws. Read more

African Entrepreneurs: Creating Opportunities for Success

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge

by Grace Segran, Barcelona

The solution to African development must be African and internally generated. However, it will need support from the developed world, mostly in terms of knowledge and training, as well as investment. This was the consensus of a panel at Net Impact’s Doing Good, Doing Well 2009 European conference held here.

“We are not discarding government-to-government aid. However, companies need to learn how to be more productive and efficient in their business-to-business transactions,” says moderator Lluis Renart, an assistant professor of marketing at IESE business school, who has been going to Africa over the past four years to train university professors in business case writing.

He was impressed by what he saw in the field: highly motivated entrepreneurs, capable of identifying the needs around them and creating a viable business out of nothing which is highly adapted to Africa’s needs and environment. However, there were a lack of methodology and coherent business plans.

Their business processes could be improved by refining their ideas, drafting business plans, further improving and refining their ideas after the business has been launched and is operating, to help it further grow, develop and consolidate, Renart told INSEAD Knowledge on the sidelines of the Net Impact 2009 conference.

“One can’t help but think that if several thousand businesses had processes like this in Africa, the continent would make a major stride forward – assuming, of course, that their good work is not destroyed by war, sickness, corruption, or lack of sufficient infrastructure,” he says.

How can Europe and the developed world help?

Malik Bakayoko

Malik Bakayoko, Operations Counsel for North, West and Central Africa with the Coca-Cola Company says that although the developed world has contributed a lot to the development of Africa, some Africans still consider them as “devils who are the root cause of Africa’s problems.”

“Africans must stop thinking of themselves as victims and work towards the development of the continent using aids that are coming into Africa,” Bakayoko says. “And Europe and the rest of the world must stop looking at Africa as a charity case and start working with African entrepreneurs as peers and partners.”

Foreign investors should not tolerate a lack of responsibility on the part of African entrepreneurs, he says. “Africans need to understand that the business world has its rules and that commitment must be correctly and timely fulfilled. Any lack of responsibility should be sanctioned according to business rules and amicable settlement, which is standard in Africa – even in a case of extreme breach of contract (that) should be the exception.”

Noel de Villiers

Noel de Villiers, founder and CEO of Open Africa, feels that politically, Europe tends to be too soft on criticism where it is due and this filters down to other levels as well, such as the management of aid.

“Africa is weak in terms of governance and outsiders let us get away with this too easily,” he says.

Whereas poor, indifferent, and lax management is at the root of many of Africa’s problems, he feels that the history of colonialism has resulted in Europeans being reluctant to talk straight and be blunt about the need to deal with these weaknesses, fearful of being branded racist.

“We need all the help we can get from Europe, literally across the board in terms of finance, investment, expertise, development and exposure to best practices and marketing,” he adds.

Emphasis at which level?

To achieve social and economic development and successful entrepreneurship models, should emphasis then be placed at the individual, family or community level?

De Villiers believes that everything starts with individuals who have the will to make a difference, adding that he “looks for stars, and tries and empower them.”

It’s just a matter of style and approach, he says, as there are others who focus on extended families and whole communities. “It is much easier for what we do to concentrate on individuals who have shiny eyes and a fire in their gut. My belief is that if you get them going, they will get the community going,” he says.

Bakayoko, on the other hand, says that “it’s a big mistake to encourage individualism in Africa,” and refers to “the negative consequences that individualism has brought to the West.” He cites emerging economies such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia where the sense of community has strengthened and accelerated their development.

Community is an African reality that African entrepreneurs cannot easily get away from; it has to be taken into account, says Bakayoko.

Reversing Africa’s poverty slide: a view from the ground For Noel de Villiers, founder and CEO of non-governmental organisation Open Africa, three issues are key for Africa’s development: the need for the emancipation of women, the need to overcome the debilitating effect of a lack of confidence among the people, and the need for people in rural and marginalised areas to get more exposure to success stories which could then inspire others. In his view, these three issues, if properly addressed, would help to reverse Africa’s poverty slide. Read more…

The African diaspora

Africans living overseas send money home regularly to support their extended families. According to United Nations estimates, total remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa reached more than 20 billion dollars in 2006, but the actual numbers might be much higher as these numbers include only official transfers.

Even so, Bakayoko says entrepreneurs in Africa are getting “very little support from the African diaspora.”

Rather than just being an unfruitful capital disbursement, Bakayoko proposes that perhaps three to five members could pool part of the money they receive each month to invest in small family businesses.

The diaspora does however also provide funding for hospitals and schools. Bakayoko quotes Professor Vijay Mahajan of Wharton Business School in his book ‘Africa Rising’ that “the African diaspora is a huge market for African entrepreneurs for goods from Africa and goods designed for Africans.”

Bakayoko believes that if remittances are institutionalised like the Moroccan Bank for the Diaspora, the money may be one of Africa’s most valuable natural resources and drivers of wealth.

Regulating Ramatex: Authorities Shut Out as Malaysian Investor Threatens Namibian Environment

courtesy of CorpWatch, by Moses Magadza, Special to CorpWatch

For nearly six years Ramatex Textile and Garment Factory barred government regulators from entering prime industrial premises the company leased from the City of Windhoek. Meanwhile, the Malaysian textile giant was polluting the area around its Namibian factory with salty wastewater. Evidence of the violations finally emerged after the company absconded and the city commissioned an environmental audit.

Sam Hugo is 53 years old and self-employed. He lives at House Number 4, Amsterdam Street, about 50 meters from the now defunct Ramatex factory. Sam has lived at this house with his wife Francina, 51, son Nolan, 30, and daughter Samantha, 23, for 14 years. His grandchildren – many younger than 10 years old – live with him. He says fumes blow from Ramatex toward his house. Read more

Clean Water For Africa

The quality of life has been improved for people in Africa with the help of LANXESS AG. Last year, the specialty chemicals company entered into a partnership through to 2010 with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), a reputed African relief organization.

Rainier van Roessel, Labor Director and member of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG, says, “LANXESS is convinced that the world’s water problems will become even more acute than they are now. For this reason, the company wants to do its bit in helping to solve the problems, both through its social commitment and through its innovative products.” Read more

Nigeria: Legislating CSR

By Daniel Chandranayagam

Nigeria might be the first country in the world to legislate on corporate social responsibility (CSR). A bill which proposes that businesses spend 3.5% of its gross profits on CSR is making its way through  the National Assembly.  While there have been many definitions of “CSR”, “tax” has never been one of them, for that, appears to be the essence of the proposed legislation. Doing business in Nigeria is getting more expensive.

On the face of it, the Nigerian idea of  “CSR” appears to be more philanthropy-based, with some failure in valuing CSR’s integration through the supply chain (although labour aspects are covered in the bill). In addition, the Nigerian government (which has proposed the bill) seems to have overlooked that CSR means going beyond compliance. Read more