The aim of Illovo’s social investment activities is to contribute to the development of thriving and vibrant
societies against the background of our stated intent to be welcomed in the communities in which we
operate. We are ever mindful of the rural and relatively underdeveloped nature of these locations,
characterised by limited infrastructure and significant development needs and have developed a number
of partnerships with development partners to further improve our outreach and positive impact.
As a long-term investor in the Southern African region, the group has developed a social compact with
its local communities, and today administers wide-ranging social investment programmes aimed at
infrastructural development, job creation, health and wellbeing, education, the provision of potable water
and sanitary services, involvement in community projects and promoting culture and sports
development.
In line with the pillars of our Strategic Intent, our CSI strategy is to support communities which are
located in and around our operations, from which we draw the majority of our employees. Our long term
strategic focus is on education, health, environmental development, capacity building, infrastructure
support, enterprise development (excluding sugar cane grower and supplier development which we
consider to be normal supply chain development), and other areas, typically sports, arts and culture
which are important particularly for youth development. Community projects motivated by its members
and designated company representatives are subject to a thorough assessment to ensure they meet the
prescribed long-term criteria of being meaningful, sustainable and have sufficient community reach and
participation. Initiatives are managed either at a group or business unit level, depending on
circumstance.
Depending on the nature and scope of these projects, we require that beneficiaries of our CSI
programme report on the impact and benefits of our monetary contributions and/or provision of
resources and whether the assistance provided, achieved the desired objectives. This is a critical
process in evaluating the effectiveness and continuation of support for community CSI projects. A case
in point is our support of the local KwaZulu-Natal branch of PROTEC in South Africa which provides
study assistance to mathematics and science pupils in the last three years of schooling. Continued
evaluation of PROTEC’s work has resulted in annual extensions of our existing support, with the majority
of students achieving results well above the matriculation pass rate and serving as the entry point for
technical qualifications at universities or colleges.
While a common trend in corporate social investment presently leads companies to focus on limited
flagship projects with maximum impact, our locally driven approach of supporting community projects
across the range of scale remains valid, relevant and in line with our Strategic Intent.
The scope of Illovo’s corporate social investment involvement includes the following:
Education
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In terms of community outreach, Illovo has been involved in a number of
educational upliftment projects, including upgrades and administration assistance at more than
20 schools in the countries where we have operations; support for government and corporate
education-related campaigns such as national literacy projects and teacher support programmes,
and the provision of necessary educational equipment.
