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MTN Foundation Advocates Sustainability Practice in Organisations
MTN Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility vehicle of Nigeria’s leading Information and Communication Technology Company, MTN, has advocated the adoption of corporate social investments and sustainability as business models.
Nonny Ugboma, executive secretary of the Foundation, shared this insight at the 2014 edition of the CSR West Africa Summit, which held in Lagos, recently.
CSR West Africa Summit, which focuses on critical sectors of development such as employment, education, local community development and the environment, is a forum that brings Governments, Policy Makers, Corporate Organisations, NGOs, Regulators and Social Enterprises together to discuss CSR and its effects on the social and economic development of the West African sub-region.
The Summit also serves as a platform to engage attendees from the different economic and social sectors on how to adopt long-term sustainability frameworks, leverage stakeholders engagement, design positively impactful CSR initiatives and encourage partnerships as well as networking.
Ugboma, while presenting the paper titled, ‘How do you create a sustainably led organisation,’ said that Africa is the next global frontier opening up to huge opportunities for investments. For businesses to succeed, they must operate within a healthy and stable society, she said.
“A sustainable business model should involve its host community regardless of what challenges they are facing. A sound community involvement strategy in line with a company’s overall business and corporate responsibility strategy can help organisations achieve business successes, “she added.
Akinwale Goodluck, corporate services executive of MTN Nigeria, said: “At MTN, we consider corporate responsibility as a smart way of doing business. We believe in adding value while practicing good corporate governance and ethics.
Committing up to 1% of MTN Nigeria’s annual profit after tax to high impact corporate social investments, he added, “is a demonstration of the company’s values and focus on developing people and their communities.”
The MTN Foundation began operations in 2005.
After a thorough needs assessment exercise, the Foundation’s strategic direction was focused on three key areas of interventions: Health, Education and Economic Empowerment.
The Foundation receives its funding from MTN Nigeria, which commits 1% of its annual profit after tax for executing sustainable initiatives.