{"id":2349,"date":"2020-04-17T11:10:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T11:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/?p=2349"},"modified":"2020-04-17T11:10:12","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T11:10:12","slug":"how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest Blogger<\/strong> Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu is Faculty at Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the globe with devastating consequences. The advent of the pandemic on the African continent – in most of the 54 nations that make up this young, beautiful, vibrant yet fragile continent -holds important lessons for the practice of corporate citizenship and responsible business.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is Power and Promise in Collective Philanthropic Action<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The COVID-19\u00a0 crisis triggered an outpouring of homegrown\u00a0 corporate philanthropy and community solidarity at an unprecedented scale.\u00a0 One good example is South Africa\u2019s Solidarity Fund which has so far mobilized over 2 billion Rands (about $105 million) to combat the health and socio-economic aspects of the crisis. Another example of this is the partnership of leading businesses in Nigeria under the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), to support the Nigerian government\u2019s humanitarian response to the crisis with over 21.5 billion Naira (about $56 million).<\/span><\/p>\n

This joined-up philanthropic action, in the spirit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 on Partnerships, demonstrates the power of\u00a0 private sector response. The private sector has stepped up in ways African governments –\u00a0 themselves perceived as corrupt, inept and now impoverished by the plunge in commodity prices –\u00a0 could never have done alone. There is still room for greater cohesion, inclusion and accountability in the\u00a0 private sector response.<\/span><\/p>\n

Responsible Business Action is a Marathon, Not a Sprint<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is\u00a0 important that\u00a0 the response of businesses in this moment is not a solitary act of charity\u00a0 but a long-term commitment to strengthening the social fabric. The COVID-19 crisis reveals a torn social fabric with most Africans living precariously at $1.90 a day. A\u00a0 long-term institutional approach is needed when considering that – from the World Health Organization records – in the current pandemic people over 60 years of age in Asia, Europe, and North America are known to suffer severe cases of COVID-19. With the median age in Africa being 19 years, Africa\u2019s youth may seem a significant protective\u00a0 barrier in this pandemic. However, widespread malnutrition, anemia, malaria and tuberculosis in African nations may result in a higher incidence of severe forms of COVID-19 in younger patients.\u00a0 These endemic immunity-suppressing\u00a0 conditions combine with weak public health infrastructure and the exodus of doctors to \u201cgreener pastures\u201d to invite a more robust approach to CSR.<\/span><\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s business leaders must now reflect closely on how their initiatives positively impact government priorities under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the United Nations, 587 million Africans, making up 60 percent of the continent\u2019s population live in overcrowded and unsanitary urban slums. In\u00a0 Africa\u2019s urban slums – from Alexandria, Makoko, to\u00a0 Kibera – the social distancing needed to fight COVID-19\u00a0 is impossible to enact and citizens balk against lockdowns which bar them from eking a living from informal sector jobs. Yet the battle against the virus will be won or lost in the continent\u2019s poorest communities and there is a long road to socio-economic recovery ahead. The private sector at all levels has remarkably established relief funds to ameliorate the present suffering but the true test for corporate citizenship lies ahead in long-term and collaborative engagement with structural poverty and related sustainable development challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tackling Social Challenges Can Drive Business Innovation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Faced with the spread of COVID-19, businesses responded with agility to recreate their products and services in safer, more accessible and affordable forms. Governments and startups in Africa instituted measures to push cash transactions toward digital payments, limiting physical exchanges of cash as a vector \u201ccommunity spread\u201d of the virus. Yoco in South Africa encouraged the use of contactless payment options on its point of sale machines. Nigeria\u2019s Paga made fee adjustments allowing merchants to accept payments from Paga customers for free to reduce the handling and exchange of cash. Safaricom, the creator of the M-Pesa mobile money, waived fees on transfers below the 1000 Shilling (about $10) threshold. These financial service providers demonstrate that Africa\u2019s businesses can innovate around this pandemic and pivot towards market-creating opportunities to meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a hopeful story in the way the Coronavirus crisis has inspired responsible business practices across Africa. The Coronavirus crisis teaches us that it is possible to\u00a0 forge new corporate alliances and inclusive business models for the common good, activate multisectoral networks for positive social change, disrupt and transform failing systems of public service provision and demonstrate purposeful corporate leadership and business innovation beyond individual brands and the glossy photos of the latest sustainability report.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Blogger Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu is Faculty at Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the globe with devastating consequences. The advent of the pandemic …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guest Blogger Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu is Faculty at Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the globe with devastating consequences. The advent of the pandemic ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gronen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bhaveshsarna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GRONENetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bhavesh Sarna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Gronen | Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCGWjq_mc75vvfim1zn7x6DA\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GRONENetwork\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/logo-gronen-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/logo-gronen-2.png\",\"width\":640,\"height\":305,\"caption\":\"Gronen | Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/\",\"name\":\"Gronen\",\"description\":\"Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/\",\"name\":\"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#\/schema\/person\/b700706d04f46d924dbe9d66f1ecf59c\"},\"headline\":\"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":765,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#\/schema\/person\/b700706d04f46d924dbe9d66f1ecf59c\",\"name\":\"bhavesh Sarna\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c189e473ce6ca736cd164b6839967d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c189e473ce6ca736cd164b6839967d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"bhavesh Sarna\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Bhavesh Sarna is a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Coordinator for the Corporate Environmental Management Master's program at the University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, Finland.\u200b With a Ph.D. in Corporate Environmental Management, he specializes in sustainability, circular economy, and responsible business practices. Dr. Sarna has extensive teaching experience, including courses on environmental management and sustainability strategies. He is the principal applicant for the KODECET project, funded by an Erasmus+ EU Research Capacity Building Grant. His research focuses on employee-CSR relationships and microfoundations of corporate social responsibility. Dr. Sarna actively participates in international conferences, contributes to academic publications, and serves as a reviewer for reputed journals in his field. You may find more details about him on his website https:\/\/www.bhaveshsarnav.com\/ LinkedIn\u00a0Twitter Scholar\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bhaveshsarna\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@bhaveshsarna\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen","og_description":"Guest Blogger Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu is Faculty at Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the globe with devastating consequences. The advent of the pandemic ...","og_url":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/","og_site_name":"Gronen","article_published_time":"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bhaveshsarna","twitter_site":"@GRONENetwork","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bhavesh Sarna","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization","name":"Gronen | Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment","url":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCGWjq_mc75vvfim1zn7x6DA","https:\/\/twitter.com\/GRONENetwork"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/logo-gronen-2.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/logo-gronen-2.png","width":640,"height":305,"caption":"Gronen | Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/","name":"Gronen","description":"Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage","url":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/","name":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa | Gronen","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#\/schema\/person\/b700706d04f46d924dbe9d66f1ecf59c"},"headline":"How COVID-19 is Changing Philanthropy and Responsible Business Practices in Africa","datePublished":"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-17T11:10:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#webpage"},"wordCount":765,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/2020\/04\/17\/how-covid-19-is-changing-philanthropy-and-responsible-business-practices-in-africa\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#\/schema\/person\/b700706d04f46d924dbe9d66f1ecf59c","name":"bhavesh Sarna","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c189e473ce6ca736cd164b6839967d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c189e473ce6ca736cd164b6839967d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"bhavesh Sarna"},"description":"Dr. Bhavesh Sarna is a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Coordinator for the Corporate Environmental Management Master's program at the University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, Finland.\u200b With a Ph.D. in Corporate Environmental Management, he specializes in sustainability, circular economy, and responsible business practices. Dr. Sarna has extensive teaching experience, including courses on environmental management and sustainability strategies. He is the principal applicant for the KODECET project, funded by an Erasmus+ EU Research Capacity Building Grant. His research focuses on employee-CSR relationships and microfoundations of corporate social responsibility. Dr. Sarna actively participates in international conferences, contributes to academic publications, and serves as a reviewer for reputed journals in his field. You may find more details about him on his website https:\/\/www.bhaveshsarnav.com\/ LinkedIn\u00a0Twitter Scholar","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bhaveshsarna\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@bhaveshsarna"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2350,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions\/2350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gronenonline.com\/_gronen1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}