Corporates as agents of economic growth

As far as philanthropy goes, the African continent is undergoing a major transformation as more corporate organizations and individuals pump billions of dollars into community projects.

But, are the billions of dollars changing the lives of Africa’s poor people?

When Kenyan philanthropists and foundations met in Nairobi a few weeks ago under the auspices of the Africa Philanthropy Forum, they reckoned that philanthropists must start seeing themselves as agents of change and economic prosperity.

Corporate philanthropy is emerging a catalyst of economic expansion in the modern world. Organisations have a critical role to play through igniting solutions to transform life. More than ever before, philanthropy is a model of doing business: supporting communities to trigger economic change and transform lives. Focus should be on tapping communities to build sustainable businesses.

Organisations should not be motivated by feelings of pity towards those they engage with. They should view philanthropic efforts as indicators of the confidence in the positive and transformative change. The relationship between organisations and the community is symbiotic; it is interdependent where the success as a business entity is a function of the well-being of the society in which the firm is embedded.

When it comes to philanthropy, organisations are more often than not obsessed with strategy without attending to one of the things that puts strategy most at risk: culture. We are living in times that have shown enormous opportunity for organized philanthropy.

The role and contributions of Foundations is being reshaped by a combination of continuing growth especially around the philanthropic sector and desire for new and different strategies and platforms for social change that can lead to impact.

Philanthropy should continue to embrace innovation and pursue new modes of working. At the same time, philanthropists should not become so obsessed with identifying the next new solution for the intractable problems we face today that they neglect the tried and true. Instead of focusing solely on “what’s new,” we should also be investing in “what’s working.”

Searching for the elusive silver bullet rarely works, and there’s a healthy balance between providing risk capital for the new and investing precious capital in what we know works well. Let us nurture talented, visionary leaders and invest in building durable institutions.

We would do well to remember the wisdom in the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” One of philanthropy’s great assets is the ability to take a long-term view.

It is well noted that Kenyans are a little less successful at structured philanthropy where money is geared towards a specific long term goal, as opposed to a short term one.

One great example where philanthropy was well demonstrated was the overwhelming response to the ‘Kenyans for Kenya’ campaign in 2011 where over Sh600 million was raised to buy food for hunger stricken Turkana County residents.

Like businesses, charitable Foundations should be wary of excessive waste and inefficiencies. This time it’s not just profits that are at stake. As Kenya’s oldest bank and the largest in the East African region, KCB acknowledges that there is a greater responsibility that comes with these strengths.

KCB gives because it is the only sensible thing to do. There are over 400 million people in Eastern Africa where our operations are. Economic development trends in our region highlight three important things all of which revolve around a high population growth rate in a much smaller space; One, youth unemployment is on the rise.

Two, agricultural productivity is under pressure resulting in food insecurity. Three, there is an increasing demand for services in an environment where governments are struggling to raise revenue without raising the tax burden on impoverished communities.

The KCB Foundation has positioned itself to provide specific interventions to change this narrative.