‘Transformational!’ MTN Foundation clinches Most Impactful CSR Initiative of the Decade

One of the Nigeria’s leading telecommunication companies’ CSR arm, MTN Foundation, has emerged the Most Impactful CSR Initiative Brand of the Decade at the maiden edition of The Freelanews Leadership & Entrepreneurship Awards, TheFLEA Awards, held recently in Lagos.

The awards, which was an initiative of Freelanews, a daily news website, was held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja and according to the founder of the awards, Victor Ojelabi, MTN Foundation’s selection was reached by TFA Selection Committee, who researched the activities of private sector organizations and projected their expected impacts on the society in the next ten years.

“For most of the companies that were reviewed, the committee found out that corporate social responsibility initiatives were their expedient responses to the demands of brand development. The committee’s construct of an ideal recipient is one whose CSR activities are woven into the corporate structure of the organization,” he said.

While explaining further, the founder of the awards event revealed that the selection team evaluated the impact of the over N23billion, 914 projects executed by the MTN Foundation since existence and projected the impact of same initiatives on the society for the next ten years as follows:

1. The Mother and Child Health Initiative (MCH) has the potential to save 618,640 lives of mothers and babies (given Nigeria’s MMR rate of 814 out of 100,000 live births), besides thousands of lives that will be save through the Primary Health Care intervention projects, and Sickle Cell support.
2. The MTNF Scholarships (at an annual average addition of 300 students) would have provided 3,000 high promising Nigerian students with an opportunity to pay their way through schools and become assets to national development.
3. The MTNF ICT and Business Skills Training would have provided over 20,000 Nigerian youths with relevant ICT and Business skills, which will enhance their employability and entrepreneurship endeavours. The multiplier effect of this cannot be over emphasized.
4. MTNF Community Development Project would have provided portable water for over 100 communities across Nigeria (at the current of 10 communities per year). The impact of this cannot be projected on a linear term, but imagined in terms of the lives that would be saved from deaths accounted to water borne infections and epidemics in Nigeria.

“The above projections are only a few of the expected impact of what MTN/MTN Foundation is doing on the CSR front. The submission of the committee was that MTN Nigeria’s CSR drive is a conscious, deliberate and well-articulated plan to promote higher standards of living and quality of life for the communities that surround their operations. Worthy of note also, is the religious alignment of the initiatives to the globally accepted Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

“The committee concluded that MTN’s establishment of a strong foundation for corporate citizenship and the resultant positive multiplier effects on the Nigerian society is the sort of story that is worth sharing as a good benchmark for other corporate organisation in Nigeria.”

On the need for TheFLEA awards, Ojelabi explained that the event was a child of necessity which arose from the thirst to encourage exceptional political leaders, hardworking entrepreneurs and intending ones especially in the country for spending their hard-earned funds in an unstable economy like ours, which is beset with multi-taxation, policy somersaults and lukewarmness on the part of government in protecting its citizens’ investments.

“We recognise that the government can’t do everything for us, especially in terms of flattening the unemployment curve. Hence, we came together and decided to encourage willing entrepreneurs making positive impacts in the lives of ordinary Nigerians despite the pandemic and other business threatening economy policies. And our criteria are very simple to attain; as a brand, you need to have a business making impacts in the lives of over 500 Nigerians with a projection of 10years, and as a public servant, your impacts in the lives of the citizens must be astounding and verifiable. Then you’re a candidate,” he explained.

Speaking further, the Freelanews boss said:

“And as you could see from the event, these individuals received a symbolic gift to remind them of what our collective futures hold because of what they do.

“The vision of TheFLEA Awards is to reduce the awards itself to a symbol of remembrance of what our collective future holds if they persist in their good works.”

TheFLEA Awards is an initiative of Freelanews and through its website, www.Freelanews.com, the newspaper strives every day to make the lives of readers better by keeping them informed and advocating on their behalf.

MTN Foundation was set up to drive MTN Nigeria’s various CSR initiatives commissioned in May 2005 and funded by up to 1% Profit After Tax from MTNN.