What SABMiller’s new CSR initiative means to next generation of entrepreneurs

SABMiller, South African 1895 established firm but now with headquarters in London, is a major operator in the Nigerian brewery sector. It recently unveiled a CSR project that stakeholders described as breathe of fresh air and a move to tackle Nigeria’s rising unemployment put at over 22 million.  The programme ‘Hero Foundation Kickstart’ designed to empower next generation of entrepreneurs by exposing them to modern business management, mentorship, training and funding is seen by reviewers as not just engaging in community CSR but an initiative informed by research and need to connect with the society to create necessary impact. Daniel Obi assesses this initiative by the Hero beer manufacturer.

Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR as a concept is gaining traction globally. It is informal and voluntary activity but assuming obligatory status because of increasing awareness of various stakeholders and the expected benefits for companies. CSR has become a symbiotic activity.

These days, most organisations are engaging in community projects with intention not only to be seen as socially responsible but aligning their values and behaviours with the expectations and needs of stakeholders. Any CSR project is therefore seen as more enduring and impactful when it is informed by research and resonates with the beneficiary community.

It was based on this understanding that Intafact Beverages Limited, a subsidiary of SABMiller, one of the world’s largest brewers and maker of popular Hero Beer recently introduced a unique  CSR programme which was tagged ‘Hero’s Foundation Kickstart’. The programme has been identified as distinctive and pertinent, particularly for the eastern community where it operates.

Understanding Kickstart programme, CSR initiative

From the name ‘ Kickstart’, the CSR programme is basically aimed at assisting budding entrepreneurs in the South East to start up and expand their businesses through requisite training, mentorship and financial grants. The plan of the programme is to ensure that the growth of businesses have a multiplier effect on the Southeast economy and ultimately, Nigeria. Under the competitive programme , individuals and small business operators are encouraged to put their business dreams to practice and receive trainings and mentorship and seed funding while startups can expand their businesses through trainings and mentorship and funding. Only selected ideas and startups are supported by SABMiller.

The KickStart programme is SABMiller’s social corporate investment initiative (CSI) on poverty alleviation and sustainable enterprise development by assisting young people between the ages of 18 and 35 years, build enduring entrepreneurial skills.

General Manager, Intafact Beverages Limited, Lukas Van-Deventer explained further that the programme would help reduce youth unemployment and also improve the lives of youth in the Southeast region by helping to create a culture of entrepreneurship.

“The Kickstart programme is aimed at creating and developing a culture of entrepreneurship among our young people by promoting business skills, managerial awareness and material support through training, mentorship and provision of grants as start-up capital or expansion seed.

“The major objective of the initiative is to ensure that the teeming youth in the South East with bright business ideas turn these ideas into reality and this will in turn reduce undergraduate unemployment by engaging them meaningfully through an entrepreneurship programme that will encourage them to bring their dreams to life” he stated.

He said with the platform, SABMiller is investing in the future of the region where it operates by helping to build a prosperous young society adding that interested applicants will be able to get their forms through the company’s website or at the Intafact Beverage office in Ontisha and other designated points in and around the South-East region.

The Kickstart programme launched in South Africa in 1995 is the first of its kind in the South East and the second in Nigeria after Ilesha. It has also been implemented in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Tanzania. The programme will have eligible applicant present their original business ideas for a chance to get funding and business support for their start-ups or small businesses.

Resonating niche of Kickstart programme

The rising unemployment figure in the country and the worrisome high failure rate of small businesses has underscored the significance of the programme.

“Youth unemployment in Africa remains stubbornly high. Against this backdrop, SABMiller recognises that encouraging enterprise development and job creation in the communities in which it operates is important to the community and for  the company’s long-term sustainability. KickStart is one of a number of programmes designed to fulfill these goals”, Michael Daramola, Country Corporate Affairs and Strategy Director SABMiller Nigeria, and Trustee, SABMiller Hero’s Foundation said at the unveiling of the programme.

It is also seen as very important as most people implement their ideas and startups engage in businesses with less mentorship and training which see the short life span of such businesses

How it operates

The programme is designed as  a competition for 18 to 35-year-olds (Youth as determined by SABMiller) from the host communities. Under the programme, applicants must be prepared to run and manage their business on a full time basis. Such businesses must be legally permissible businesses in terms of local laws, and could be either new businesses requiring startup capital or existing small businesses needing capital to expand operations.

The top KickStart applicants participate in a short intensive business skills training workshop during which they are given assistance to develop business plans. Candidates with the best business plans receive grant funding for their businesses during which comprehensive business development support is offered to assist entrepreneurs in developing and growing their businesses. In all of these, the judges’ decision on determining winners is final. A thorough assessment of each business proposal is followed by a tailored growth strategy and individual mentorship programme for the entrepreneur for 12 months. The growth strategy also determines the amount of grant funding a business receives from KickStart. Thereafter, KickStart facilitates business development opportunities.

From a development perspective, KickStart helps to support successful businesses in local communities- creating and sustaining jobs and providing role models to inspire others. From a business perspective, KickStart enables SABMiller to deliver on its sustainable development objectives by helping to nurture more prosperous and healthy communities, the company said. In pursuing these objectives through KickStart, SABMiller contributes its corporate social investment resources to provide grant financing, training and mentoring for entrepreneurs; its expertise in managing and delivering a multi-layered, enterprise support programme; and access to its value chain and networks.

Various stakeholders including the Anambra State government and Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha had noted that the SABMiller’s Hero’s Foundation Kickstart offers strong prospects for new ideas and job creation in Nigeria, which is in urgent need of multiple new investment platforms in view of the country’s dwindling fortunes from oil. His Majesty also believed that the Kickstart programme, is aimed at creating and developing a local culture of business entrepreneurship among young people in the South East of the country, by encouraging and promoting business skills, managerial awareness and material support, through training programs, mentorship and provision of business grants as start-up capital or expansion seed funding.

Explaining the objectives behind the launch of the programme, the Obi said that SABMiller is focused on bringing fresh ideas and social upward mobility to millions of people all over the world who enjoy its drinks and beverages; adding that the company does business in a way that strives to improve the livelihoods of the local communities in which it operates.

“We know that many of the communities where we work face serious challenges in their environments and societies, which we share with them. We know that when local communities prosper, so do we. The SABMiller Hero’s Foundation Kickstart Programme is Corporate Social Initiative (CSI), and part of its ongoing commitment towards poverty alleviation and sustainable enterprise development in its areas of operation”, he added.

This type of CSR which involves identifying a dream, turning it into reality through mentorship and eventual funding is an eye opener, especially in the East part of Nigeria where some of them think that capital is sole foundation of any business. The CSR is not  only a differentiating factor for the company but it provides benefits for new market opportunities, protection and reputation and increased consumer brand loyalty while also helping to develop the economy.

The CSR by SABMiller also provides opportunity for a lot of young men and women within the age bracket required to push their dreams through, especially when funding from conventional sources has become difficult for such projects due to various factors.

The project, no doubt has placed SABMiller as a socially responsible organization that cares for the needs of communities within the environment it operates. It therefore becomes important for all stakeholders such as the state government, communities and the company to make the project succeed and sustainable for the interest of the company, the communities and the nation.

Daniel Obi