Etisalat committed to facilitating local development -CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steve Evans, has said that the need to help create a platform for the academic community and businesses to work together in order to achieve a more meaningful impact on the society informed the firm’s decision to set up the Etisalat CSR Centre at Lagos Business School, Pan-African University.

Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of the two-day International Corporate Social Responsibility Conference, in partnership with the Lagos Business School, Pan African University, Evans said Etisalat intends to act as a catalyst for the development of the CSR agenda in the country.

‘The essence of the centre is  to  bridge the usual gap created by the tendencies of business and academia to work independently and hopefully it will both enhance the practice of CSR in Nigeria and help shape the perspectives of decision and policy makers who can assist by developing an appropriate framework in which CSR can thrive’ he said.

He urged other businesses in Nigeria to embrace effective CSR noting that if practiced properly, it has the potential to improve business environment. He added that effective CSR strategies help reduce risks, costs and create business opportunities by simply aligning CSR strategy to corporate and business strategy.

“A growing body of evidence demonstrates that effective CSR strategies help reduce risks and costs and create business opportunities.  Most organisations especially in developing economies do not have clearly defined CSR objectives, let alone strategies to drive these goals. The first step towards developing a sound and sustainable CSR strategy and initiatives is to define your CSR goals and objectives, which should be made to align or at least be synergistic with key business goals of the organization,” he said.

Evans stated that in practical terms the centre provides opportunities for research, conferences and workshops that serve as efficient platforms to develop new CSR ideas; advance CSR initiatives at a fast pace and provide highly efficient ways of training practitioners together.

According to him, so far, Etisalat has facilitated a number of activities, including seminars for NGOs, CSR Master-class for practitioners; workshops for journalists and organisations working in the social sectors.

 L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans; Director, Centre for Infrastructure Policy, Regulation and Advancement ( CIPRA), Lagos Business School Pan-African University, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe;  Head, Economic Analysis and Corporate Planning, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ms. Funlola Akiode and  Director, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko at  the Etisalat- sponsored International CSR Conference held at the Lagos Business School (LBS)  in Epe on Tuesday, February 21  

Also speaking at the Conference, the inspiring keynote speaker, Jedrzel Georg Frynas gave an inside look on how businesses tackle their issues and challenges; He also highlighted the role of globalisation in the rise of CSR. In his words ‘There are no global institutions to enforce global standards’. Highlighting the problems of CSR, he said, ‘it is difficult to assign a monetary value to CSR and many business CSR benefits are intangible’.

Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, urged telecom companies that were committed to CSR to get involved in the health sector, education and directly contribute to staff development.

Ndukwe, a former CEO of NCC revealed that the communications agency has been involved in several CSR activities including the donation of computers and the imminent establishment  emergency communication centres.