On both local and international scenes, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is being touted these days as a major index to measure business growth.
As a result of this, any company worth its salt always want to be seen to be doing something along this line. While CSR understanding and practice is well rooted in advanced economy, the concept is still greatly misunderstood in many developing countries, including Tanzania.
However, this is not to say that some companies in the country are not adopting global best practices. In fact, a few do, when it comes to the strict adherence of CSR as a strategic policy.
Corporate companies can no longer pretend to operate in a vacuum. Consequences of every action can be felt not just on the balance sheet of the company, but also on the communities where the company operates in.
Hence, it is vital for organisations to exhibit responsible corporate citizenship, which implies an ethical relationship between the company and the community in which it operates, for ensuring peaceful coexistence in the society.
Keen competitions in the telecommunications sector notwithstanding, Tigo Tanzania has continued proving its mettle both in the market place and creating sustainable social responsibility initiatives across the country.
To become a ‘sustainability enterprise’ the management of Tigo Tanzania whose parent company is Millicom, has focused on empowering the community with the use of digital technology focusing on education, health and entrepreneurship.
In the education sector, Tigo is one of the companies that have taken it upon themselves to invest in youth development in Tanzania. With its “a desk for every child campaign” in collaboration with Hassan Maajar Trust (HMT) a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the vanguard of improving the learning environment in schools, coupled with its Connected Schools programme aimed at providing free internet to 350 Public Schools in Tanzania in a bid to support government e-schools initiative, Tigo has made it clear that the goal of its CSR policy is creating a sustainable learning environment and nurturing new creative leaders of tomorrow.
According to Tigo’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Woinde Shisael, recent projects such as providing internet connected computers to Tanga based Chuda Primary School and donating a total of 600 desks worth a total of $50,000 to eight schools in Shinyanga region is testament to the telecommunications company taking social commitments seriously.
Ms Shisael noted that the company is also supporting text book donations in primary schools in the country in a bid to see students/ pupils improving performance. We recognize the importance of education as a key ingredient in turning around the lives of communities and the country as a whole,” she added.
In May, this year, Tigo further extended support to the roll-out of the second phase of the new birth registration system which uses innovative mobile technology from Tigo.
The new decentralised birth registration and certification system capitalises on the existing health infrastructure and personnel to register newborn babies soon after birth or within 12 months when visiting health facilities for vaccinations.
Registration information is uploaded using mobile phone technology to a centralized data-base resulting in real-time data availability, and a certificate is issued the same day.
“We are transforming the system to make it easier for children and families to access their entitlement of a birth certificate,” said the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA), Ms Emmy Hudson.
According to her, this simplified system supported by Tigo marks a significant shift in accelerating birth registration in Tanzania after years of stagnation.
In the past three years Tigo has spent US $ 150,000 to support cleft lip treatment at the CCBRT hospital benefitting over 1,300 children.
Tigo has also recently again committed another U$ 150,000 for another years to support treatment of 1,700 children born with club foot at the hospital.
Apart from the above, other Tigo community support programs aimed at empowering the society by providing them with ICT based solutions include free internet-connected computers to selected primary schools as well as health facilities across the country.
Ms Zena Tenga, the Executive Director at Hassan Maajar Trust commended Tigo for getting actively involved in the drive towards developing and improving the standard of education in Tanzania.
“Tigo Tanzania Limited has been instrumental in a desk for every child’ campaign since its inception, it is pertinent to note that Tigo has been in the vanguard of this campaign for a while and they deserve a pat on the back for their unwavering commitment,” she said.
Similarly, CCBRT’s Chief Executive Officer Erwin Telemans declared that through Cleft Lip and Club foot surgery support funds, Tigo has given back to the society in a great measure.
He therefore implored other corporate organisations to emulate Tigo, as access to affordable health services holds the key to a nation free of deformities.
According to him, any investment in the health of our children remains the greatest gift we can bequeath to the masses. Tigo has also been a shining light in the area of digital change.
The company is focusing on is social entrepreneurship in a bid to empowering young leaders with innovative solutions that help solve problems facing children and the youth in the country.
The Tigo Reach for Change Social Entrepreneurship is an annual program that identifies and supports social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to transform the lives of children in the country.
The three awardees will now successful get a startup fund kitty to the tune of 25,000 dollars each; join an incubator programme where they get support to transform their ideas into sustainable ventures.
Apart from the funding, they receive mentoring and professional advice from senior employees of Tigo. It has also been rolled out successfully across all Tigo’s African operations.
“We initiated the Digital Change-makers campaign to give youths a chance to turn their creative and helpful innovative digital ideas that can impact positively and provide genuine solutions to problems facing children at a great scale, while at the same time promoting connectivity and access to communications, particularly underserved populations in the country,” explained Tigo’s General Manager Diego Gutierrez.
To date Tigo has invested over 150,000 dollars over the past three years in bankrolling creative educational and ICT projects of seven Tanzania social entrepreneurs whose ideas have helped to touched lives of thousands of school going children in Tanzania,” the GM added.
“We want to be seen as a good corporate citizen that really cares and supports the communities that that our business. It is our way giving back to the community,” he elaborated.
It is important to state that as the environment is getting increasingly more competitive and Tanzanians more exposed to standards in the western world, more companies are realizing the need not just to emulate organisations that are already doing well in the area of CSR but would be encouraged to have in place processes to integrate social, environmental and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy.
This article was taken from here.