As part of its annual primary research, Trialogue asks company and NPO respondents to name the three companies and NPOs that they perceive to be having the greatest developmental impact. These rankings are based on the perceptions of respondents and are not necessarily reflective of actual performance or impact.
Company impact
| Top companies as ranked by companies | |||
| Ranking | Company | Number of mentions* | Percent of mentions |
| 1 | Vodacom | 27 | 15 |
| 2 | Anglo American# | 13 | 7 |
| 3 | Nedbank | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | FirstRand** | 8 | 5 |
| 5= | MTN | 7 | 4 |
| Sasol | 7 | 4 | |
| Shoprite | 7 | 4 | |
| Woolworths | 7 | 4 | |
| 9 | Standard Bank | 6 | 3 |
| 10 | Old Mutual | 5 | 3 |
* Multiple response question; 67 company respondents mentioned 61 companies; total number of mentions = 178 (up to three mentions per respondent allowed; not all respondents mentioned three companies)
** Anglo American mentions include mentions of Anglo American Platinum and Anglo American Chairman’s Fund FirstRand mentions include mentions of FNB and RMB
| Top companies as ranked by NPOs | |||
| Ranking | Company | Number of mentions* | Percent of mentions |
| 1 | Nedbank | 21 | 7 |
| 2 | FirstRand# | 19 | 6 |
| 3 | Old Mutual | 15 | 5 |
| 4 | Shoprite | 13 | 4 |
| 5= | Standard Bank | 11 | 3 |
| Vodacom | 11 | 3 | |
| 7= | Anglo American** | 10 | 3 |
| MTN | 10 | 3 | |
| Woolworths | 10 | 3 | |
| 10 | Investec | 7 | 2 |
* Multiple response question; 112 NPO respondents mentioned 125 companies; total number of mentions = 317 (up to three mentions per respondent allowed; not all respondents mentioned three companies)
** Anglo American mentions include mentions of Anglo American Platinum and Anglo American Chairman’s Fund FirstRand mentions include mentions of FNB and RMB
- Vodacom was ranked first by companies for the eighth consecutive year, with the highest percent of mentions by some margin. The company was ranked joint fifth by NPOs this year, down from joint first in 2023.
- Nedbank moved up to first place as ranked by NPOs and third as ranked by companies.
- Anglo American moved up to second place as ranked by companies but dropped to joint seventh as ranked by NPOs.
- FirstRand moved up to second place as ranked by NPOs but dropped to fourth as ranked by companies.
- Old Mutual’s ranking by NPOs improved to third but its ranking by companies dropped to 10th place.
- Shoprite appeared in both lists for the first time and was ranked fourth by NPOs and joint fifth by companies.
- MTN was ranked joint fifth by companies and joint seventh by NPOs.
- Standard Bank was ranked joint fifth by NPOs, down from joint third in 2023, and ninth by companies.
- Woolworths was ranked joint fifth by companies and joint seventh by NPOs, down from joint first by NPOs in 2023.
NPO impact
| Top NPOs as ranked by companies | |||
| Ranking | NPO | Number of mentions* | Percent of mentions |
| 1 | Gift of the Givers | 29 | 16 |
| 2 | Afrika Tikkun | 8 | 4 |
| 3= | South African Red Cross Society | 5 | 3 |
| Smile Foundation | 5 | 3 | |
| 5= | Food and Trees for Africa | 4 | 2 |
| FoodForward SA | 4 | 2 | |
| Meals on Wheels | 4 | 2 | |
| Nelson Mandela Foundation | 4 | 2 | |
| 9= | Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) | 3 | 2 |
| DG Murray Trust | 3 | 2 | |
| Kutlwanong Centre for Maths, Science and Technology | 3 | 2 | |
| Rise Against Hunger | 3 | 2 | |
| Smart Start | 3 | 2 | |
| WeThinkCode_ | 3 | 2 | |
* Multiple response question; 70 company respondents mentioned 111 NPOs; total number of mentions = 186 (up to three mentions per respondent allowed; not all respondents mentioned three NPOs)
| Top NPOs as ranked by NPOs | |||
| Ranking | NPO | Number of mentions* | Percent of mentions |
| 1 | Gift of the Givers | 21 | 7 |
| 2 | Afrika Tikkun | 12 | 4 |
| 3 | Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) | 6 | 2 |
| 4= | Book Dash | 4 | 1 |
| Ikamva Youth | 4 | 1 | |
| Kolisi Foundation | 4 | 1 | |
| Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund | 4 | 1 | |
| Nelson Mandela Foundation | 4 | 1 | |
| South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) | 4 | 1 | |
| 10= | Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) | 3 | 1 |
| Child Welfare South Africa | 3 | 1 | |
| FoodForward SA | 3 | 1 | |
| Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator | 3 | 1 | |
| Inyathelo | The South African Institute for Advancement | 3 | 1 | |
| Sci-Bono Discovery Centre | 3 | 1 | |
| Smile Foundation | 3 | 1 | |
| Sozo Foundation | 3 | 1 | |
| The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) | 3 | 1 | |
* Multiple response question; 113 NPO respondents mentioned 228 NPOs; total number of mentions = 320 (up to three mentions per respondent allowed; not all respondents mentioned three NPOs)
- Gift of the Givers was ranked first by both companies and NPOs for the fourth consecutive year.
- Afrika Tikkun was ranked second by companies and NPOs for the second consecutive year.
- Smile Foundation was ranked joint third by companies and joint 10th by NPOs.
- The Nelson Mandela Foundation was ranked joint fifth by companies and joint fourth by NPOs.
- FoodForward SA was ranked joint fifth by companies, down from fourth position in 2023, and joint 10th by NPOs, down from joint third in 2023.
- The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) was ranked joint ninth by companies and joint 10th by NPOs.
- No other organisations appear in the top 10 of both company and NPO rankings.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2024 (27th edition).
