On April 14, 2010, there was an unveiling of a first-of-a-kind initiative, a CSR Centre at the Lagos Business School, the Pan African University. This centre was borne out of the need to advance the concept and penetration of CSR as a business ideology in Nigeria in an intellectual and practical way, thereby contribute in shaping the perspectives of key policy and decision makers in the public and private sectors and positively impacting the various levels of the socio-economic strata using a targeted and intellectual-oriented approach.
This company was a late comer in its chosen business environment, but has shown in the growth and acceptance of its businesses in Nigeria as well as in some bold initiatives that being late to the market does not always mean being late to closing the best deals.
The company is Etisalat, a brand that has come to represent innovation, especially to young people, and a leader to those that were otherwise its seniors in the market.
CSR has been defined over-time as an ongoing commitment by a business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while demonstrating respect for people, communities, society at large and the environment. CSR marries the concepts of global citizenship with environmental stewardship and sustainable development. It is conceived as the inclusion of public interest in business-decision making in a manner that honours people, the planet and profit.
In a market where virtually everything including sales promotions have been sold off as CSR, there was clearly a need to find an institutional foundation where the ideology of social responsibility as an expectation of business should be defined and given an intellectual basis. That was essentially what the CSR Centre was out to achieve just over a year ago.
We live in an environment where government is expected to do so much yet delivers so little. The need plane is quite vast and so finding what needs to be done is its own challenge. This creates the need for private interventions, especially since businesses are much closer to the market and can identify critical intervention areas and make quicker decisions towards arriving at community problem solving.
In its commitment to the people among whom are its customers, Etisalat, regarded as a very innovative network has set a standard in Corporate Social Responsibility. As a responsible corporate citizen on entry into the Nigerian market, Etisalat did not wait to start making profits before embarking and entrenching itself in sustainable CSR activities and projects.  
In addition to embarking on various projects in partnership with government and other stakeholders in implementing its CSR initiatives, Etisalat has been championing and extending the frontiers of CSR in the country.
It serves as an efficient platform to develop new CSR ideas, advance CSR initiatives and provide highly efficient ways of solving the problems among others. Creation of CSR best practices in the country and setting standards for all corporate organizations in Nigeria amongst others are key focal points for the centre. The centre demonstrates Etisalat’s pioneering efforts in institutionalizing corporate social responsibility research and best practices in Nigeria.
The idea behind create an institution for the CSR vehicle, according to the Managing Director of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Steven Evans, is to provide a training ground for drivers of social responsibility in various organisations, sharpen their knowledge base and take the minds of the management of organisations away from the old order of viewing social responsibility as something an organisations does just to keep up the good looks, but that which, like religion, should guide the life and lifestyle of business.
Since its launch, the centre has been hosting various activities not only aimed at giving a new face to CSR practice in Nigeria but many more. Over 150 professionals from different sectors of the economy amongst whom are 50 top executives have benefited from training and workshops hosted at the centre.
One year down the road, the CSR centre has attained certain heights amongst which is the integration of “the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a catalyst for social and economic development” as a compulsory course for MBA students at the Pan African University. The course titled “Managing Shared Value – A Unique CSR Approach” is designed to prepare students to think comprehensively and systematically about the role of business in development and the manner in which business is conducted and governed. Running through this course, students learn to appreciate how to deal with social issues as managers and develop a sense of giving something back to society in a sustainable manner.
The course covers topics and discussions including Ethical Dimensions of Business; Corporate Governance Development in Nigeria; Corporate Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda; The Concept of Shared Value; Accountability Requirements for Today’s Leaders; Stakeholder Engagement; Developing a CSR Strategy; Responsible and Ethical Use of Digital Technology among others.
As a veritable tool in creating CSR knowledge, dissemination and application through research, seminars and conferences, various workshops and conferences have been institutionalized at the centre. The first of such seminars held in Lagos in the year 2010. With the theme, “Bringing the social dimension into businesses”, the conference which included a CEO Forum was designed to increase awareness for corporate social responsibility in the country and encourage more companies to properly incorporate it in their business model.
At the conference, participants agreed on the misplaced concept of CSR in Nigeria, called on advocacy groups to assist companies to understand CSR. It was re-iterated that some companies erroneously think that execution of CSR was only when a company is financially buoyant. The call to action was to drive home the point that CSR should be an integral part of a company’s business.
Again, a workshop for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) titled “NGO’s and Corporate Organizations: fashioning enduring partnerships” was held. Its essence thrives on the necessity to enable NGO staff and practitioners tap into the emerging landscape of opportunities for both NGO’s and the private sector to collaborate, increase capacity, sustainability and deliver service to the community. It also set out to equip NGOs with the necessary tools that give NGOs a sellable and tenable edge and ensuring private companies forge partnerships with them.
In recognition of its role in CSR development, a number of international organizations including European Union is partnering with the Centre to hold a conference on corporate social responsibility for its members at the venue identified as a knowledge bank for CSR. Following up of this for 2011 is the CSR Masterclass workshop which is majorly a programme for practitioners keen to build a robust set of competence in CSR across sectors and functions, it will expose participants to cutting edge CSR practices in Change Management, Social Investment and community relations, Responsible practices in workplace amongst others.
Strategic CSR for Oil and Gas will target operators in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector who are eager to embed responsible business practices in their core strategies. Not excluding the drivers of information Journalists, a workshop is being designed for them to enable them understand the fundamentals of CSR and their role in reporting CSR activities. All of these activities are strategic to CSR development in Nigeria and values cast in stone.
Other Etisalat activities include Adopt-a-School programme in collaboration with the Lagos state government; under the initiative Etisalat adopted three schools namely, Akande Dahunsi Memorial Secondary School Ikoyi, Edward Blyden Primary School Okesuna and Rabiatu Thompson Primary School Surulere. The Annual Merit Awards, the scholarship scheme for University students have rewarded over 450 students for outstanding performance in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Management Services since 2009. Not one to rest on their oars, Etisalat organizes Career counselling sessions for secondary school students in partnership with Lagos Empowerment Resource Network (LEARN), a Lagos-based NGO, and this scheme is executed under the auspices of Etisalat’s Employee Volunteer Programme. Etisalat yearly also organises Career summit for corps members in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) under the Mind-The-Gap Scheme designed by E-Green Services.
On Health and Environment platforms, the innovative telecommunication company launched “Fight Malaria Initiative” that includes distribution of mosquito nets and information packs and an educative radio drama series on prevention and control of malaria. It is on record that Etisalat remains the only GSM service provider that introduced Eco-friendly SIM packs in this clime reducing the size of the classic SIM card from 16g of carbon (CO2) emissions per card to 8g thereby reducing its carbon footprint by half and enhancing a sustainable environment. The new SIM reduces plastic waste thereby contributing positively to the protection of the environment.
It is hoped that gathering driver of CSR activities for training and mentoring in this centre will in the long run lead to greater good for the greater number – the vast majority of the Nigerian people.