South Africa’s corporate social investment (CSI) sector now has an opportunity to reflect, as more than two decades have passed since the enactment of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 (B-BBEE Act). This report, developed by The Bridgespan Group in collaboration with Trialogue, explores how companies can move from compliance towards creating lasting social impact by building trust, strengthening nonprofit capacity and embracing collaboration.
CSI has long been a pillar of South Africa’s B-BBEE framework, with many companies able to highlight positive outcomes from notable programmes. However, the country remains one of the most unequal globally, which naturally prompts the question: Could CSI play a greater role in driving social and economic transformation?
The research aimed to answer this question and determine what it would take to transition CSI from a focus on regulatory compliance to initiatives that deliver real, lasting change. These questions are now more pressing than ever, given the recent cuts in bilateral development aid to South Africa.
Methodology
This research, aimed at company CSI leads, nonprofit partners, philanthropic funders and government stakeholders, was conducted over a four-month period in 2024. In-depth interviews were conducted with 37 leaders across corporate, nonprofit and social sector organisations and our findings were validated with input from Trialogue and other sector experts. While not statistically representative, the sample reflects a broad cross-section of CSI actors.
Key findings
Build trust as the cornerstone of productive relationships
The first and most important step in moving from transactional to transformational CSI is building trust, a process that involves building relationships over time. Consider, for example, that corporates may understandably be wary of nonprofit organisations (NPOs) they don’t understand, which can be a significant issue when working with smaller nonprofits. Communities may also mistrust a company’s intentions, questioning whether the organisation’s interest is for genuine impact or public relations.
Recognising these kinds of challenges, corporates, nonprofits and community leaders can foster trust through transparent financials and reporting, long-term relationships, site visits and open dialogue.
Fund non-programme administrative costs and capacity building
Ninety-three percent of the companies surveyed by Trialogue in 2024 directed some of their CSI funds to nonprofits. However, this money went primarily to programme costs (expenses directly attributable to specific projects). Companies typically limit funds for non-programmatic costs and organisational development. This chronic underfunding undercuts nonprofits effectiveness, rendering them perpetually subscale.
Unrestricted funding is one way to address this, permitting nonprofits to allocate resources as needed. Trialogue research shows that only 10% of companies surveyed offered unrestricted funding in 2022, while 86% were unwilling to consider it. Flexible, multiyear funding allows an NPO to invest in strategic planning, measurement, evaluation and learning (MEL), leadership development or technology and programmes.
Adequate resourcing is not only about money. Companies can also provide valuable, non-monetary assistance, such as facilitating networking with like-minded businesses or nonprofits, organising knowledge-sharing events and training NPO staff in specific skills.
Secure commitment from corporate leadership
Both company and nonprofit interviewees agreed that CSI initiatives require buy-in from boards and company leadership to steer programmes towards transformational impact. From the nonprofits perspective, frequent turnover of CSI managers impedes the relationship building necessary for effective CSI initiatives.
Additionally, CSI, which is often viewed as a marketing tool or merely a box-ticking exercise for the B-BBEE scorecard, rarely delivers real change or meaningful outcomes. Sustained impact requires executive-level ownership, stable and skilled CSI teams and a clear organisational purpose that links business to social value.
Balance business expertise and community needs to shape CSI initiatives
CSI initiatives achieve stronger outcomes when they balance internal business expertise with community needs. This shared-value approach strengthens CSI by leveraging the company’s skills and networks to support social and environmental initiatives.
For communities, CSI programmes are more likely to have a lasting impact when businesses tap into nonprofits’ community-based knowledge because nonprofits bring the local experience and contextual wisdom essential for designing sustainable initiatives. Community participation is essential for building ownership and ensuring a programme’s longevity after the company’s involvement ends.
Collaborate with other funders – businesses, philanthropy and government
Collaboration for social good is a growing trend in South Africa, home to half of the 41 African philanthropic collaboratives identified in The Bridgespan Group’s 2024 report Philanthropic Collaborations in Africa and Their Unique Potential. Its appeal is growing among companies aiming for transformational change and recognising that no company can succeed alone.
Collaboration occurs on a sliding scale of coordination, ranging from informal networking and knowledge sharing to more formal efforts that involve pooling resources and structuring partnerships to achieve specific results. In South Africa, corporate-driven collaboratives typically seek the government as a strategic partner, given the state’s financial clout to promote the nationwide adoption of successful innovations in areas such as education and healthcare.
Trialogue has described the establishment of collaboratives that pool funds and form a coordinating body as an emerging trend in what it calls ‘leveraged CSI’, a form of collective impact where stakeholders’ activities are mutually reinforcing. Leverage comes from taking advantage of company internal assets and skills as well as the external expertise of collaborative partners, creating a programmatic impact greater than the sum of its parts. However, this approach is inherently more complex and requires longer time frames to manage relationships and coordinate activities. It also necessitates investment beyond programmatic funding.
Invest in impact measurement to learn and improve
The report notes that, in South Africa, an average of only one rand out of every 100 spent on CSI initiatives goes to funding MEL. Further, 10% of companies reported that they do not measure outcomes at all. To date, most measurement has focused on short-term outputs, such as the number of meals served or students graduated, rather than longer-term impacts, such as communities free from food insecurity or consistently high educational performance. This principally serves reporting and auditing requirements.
However, data is more than just a tool for reporting or auditing. Better use of data enables learning, decision-making and evidence-backed investment to maximise the impact of CSI initiatives. While there is broad agreement on the need for better MEL, funding remains a stumbling block – with one percent of CSI spend being simply not enough.
Recommendations
South Africa’s CSI sector has an opportunity. While compliance with B-BBEE remains essential, this research highlights how companies can take it a step further and why they should. The challenges facing communities are too complex for transactional or compliance-driven approaches alone. With 20 years having passed since the enactment of the first B-BBEE legislation, it is time to take CSI to a higher level.
Research findings have led to six recommended shifts for companies to evolve their CSI initiatives from transactional to transformational:
| 1. Elevate CSI beyond compliance. Treat CSI not as a tick-box exercise, but as a strategic investment in South Africa’s future. |
| 2. Build enduring partnerships. Cultivate trust-based relationships with NPOs, rooted in mutual accountability and shared purpose. |
| 3. Pay what it takes. Provide multiyear, flexible funding that covers organisational capacity building. |
| 4. Lead from the top. Secure visible commitment from boards and executives to embed CSI into core values and strategy. |
| 5. Co-create with communities. Ground initiatives in lived experience by engaging nonprofits and communities from the start. |
| 6. Measure to improve, not just to report. Invest in measurement and learning to understand what works and adapt along the way. |
Case study
Anglo American Foundation
The Anglo American Foundation exemplifies how CSI can evolve from being a compliance function to a strategic priority embedded in leadership, systems and culture.
Recognising the limitations of short-term, output-focused giving, Anglo American developed the Social Way Toolkit, a comprehensive framework designed to embed MEL across its CSI initiatives. The toolkit outlines clear governance structures, risk management protocols and indicators that help track progress, not just in terms of funds spent but also in the number of lives improved.
Crucially, this approach is championed at the highest levels of the organisation. CSI is viewed not as a peripheral function, but as an integral part of Anglo American’s long-term vision for contributing to South Africa’s development. The foundation’s leadership has committed to learning from both successes and failures, adapting its strategies based on evidence gathered through rigorous evaluation.
By investing in internal capacity and partnering closely with communities and nonprofits, Anglo American is demonstrating how corporate leadership and structured learning can drive more equitable and scalable impact. Its efforts underscore a broader finding of this research: transformation happens when CSI aligns with business purpose, is led from the top and is guided by a commitment to measurable and long-term change.
Find out more
- The full report, Delivering on the Promise of Corporate Social Investment in South Africa, is available at: https://www.bridgespan.org/getmedia/c6e03d8e-2c09-46d0-870b-4b41e39c474a/delivering-on-the-promise-of-corporate-social-investment-in-south-africa.pdf
- Contact: The Bridgespan Group | contact@bridgespan.org | www.bridgespan.org
