“Whether it's addressing nutrition, shelter, water scarcity, or other critical areas, let the social impact drive your business strategy. This approach can be seen as impact investing, where you aim for financial returns alongside substantial social impact.” Andy Eberechukwu Akukwe
Andy Eberechukwu Akukwe serves as the Vice President of the PlungeSmile Foundation, which provides education, health, nutrition, and infrastructure programs to support rural communities in Nigeria, Africa. In this interview, we discuss how corporations can partner with foundations like PlungeSmile to tackle pressing societal challenges. Our conversation explores how authentic corporate social responsibility drives sustained business success and why it should be central to every company's mission.
Stephen Matini: You are a businessperson and entrepreneur but also deeply committed to sustainable development. How did these two aspects come together for you?
Andy Eberechukwu Akukwe: PlungeSmile is a foundation initiated by Olayemi Popoola, the group managing director of Reliance Info Systems, whom I'm fortunate to work alongside.
Over the years, his personal mission has been to assist people, particularly in advancing their careers. He extended this mission publicly to address a significant issue in Nigerian society, which centered around education. For him, integrating his passion into his work wasn't challenging, and assembling a team of like-minded individuals was equally straightforward.
I'm passionate about making a social impact and seeing people smile. Joining PlungeSmile, where our primary goal is to achieve this social impact, aligns perfectly with my dreams. It's a natural blend of career and passion for me.
SM: I’ve had the pleasure of talking to other business leaders in Africa, and one thing you all share is a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility. Why do you think this theme is so crucial in Africa?
AEA: The African society is founded on interdependence, where nuclear families are predominant, we embrace extended family systems. This means that caring for your spouse and children also involves consideration for uncles, aunts, in-laws, and others. This traditional structure shapes our view on community support.
Corporate social responsibility holds immense significance here because local communities always include individuals who are less privileged and in need of support.
Giving back is deeply ingrained in our culture. Many business leaders and prominent figures in various fields, including sports, have risen from backgrounds where they relied on others for survival—whether through community aid, scholarships, or other forms of support.
When individuals achieve success, their first instinct is often to contribute back to society. That's why CSR is such a pivotal issue for us, intertwined with our traditional family values.
SM: When did you first hear about corporate social responsibility?
AEA: That was during my early corporate days in the early 2000s when I joined Diageo. It was a significant concept, not just for Diageo but for many other corporations globally. CSR is crucial because it involves giving back to the community that supports your business and forms your customer base.
SM: In the Western world, there's often a debate about whether to manage a business for shareholders or stakeholders. CEOs frequently prioritize short-term returns over long-term investments. In your view, how can we strike a balance between ensuring profitability and pursuing long-term goals?
AEA: It all comes down to strategy. There's the quick approach to making money: conducting research, identifying market needs, developing products or services, planning distribution channels, positioning your brand, and implementing strategies and tactics to gain a competitive edge. These efforts lead to immediate revenue, profits, and growth.
However, when we consider the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), which emphasize sustainability, it becomes clear that we shouldn't focus solely on short-term gains. Shareholders may prioritize quarterly or annual returns, potentially selling their shares, but stakeholders, including long-term employees, are invested in the company's enduring success over the years.
Therefore, it's crucial to balance short-term profitability with a sustainable, long-term approach that builds goodwill in the market through effective marketing and customer engagement. This is where CSR plays a crucial role: fostering goodwill among stakeholders ensures lasting market presence and success.
SM: Do you think this approach can be applied to any industry or company?
AEA: Definitely, yes. It depends on the vision and mission of the organization. The vision is the big picture, while the mission comprises the steps that lead us toward achieving that vision. The key to achieving this is assembling the right team.
This is where HR professionals play a crucial role. At Reliance Group, for example, we have a strong team of HR professionals who bring a wealth of experience to their roles. It's essential to ensure that the team shares a common vision.
As CEO or founder with long-term goals, it's important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. While there may be staff turnover over the years, those who align with your vision will remain. With them, you can progressively build and ensure their retention through proper recognition and rewards.
SM: I'm fully aligned with your perspective. However, if someone were to argue hypothetically that your ideas are idealistic and impractical because a company must prioritize operational success and shareholder satisfaction, how would you address such criticism?
AEA: Partnerships can be established with NGOs, such as PlungeSmile. Alongside your business operations, you can contribute financially, engage in employee volunteering, offer pro bono services, and provide skill-based volunteering. For example, identifying individuals who can teach coding to schoolchildren at no cost. Cause marketing and advocacy can also be utilized to highlight social issues and advocate for social and policy reforms through marketing campaigns.
Another opportunity is partnering with PlungeSmile for supply chain integration. Suppose your goal is to support education or provide free school meals as part of your corporate social responsibility. PlungeSmile has the local presence, personnel, and tools to help integrate your supply chain and achieve these goals.
Impact investing is another avenue, where addressing societal challenges like water scarcity while positioning your brand as a leader in the market.
Additionally, research and data sharing are crucial for gaining insights into real-time societal issues. Partnering with NGOs like PlungeSmile allows businesses to gather rich data from the field to inform future products and services.
At PlungeSmile, we provide dashboards that offer real-time visibility into your donations,
resources, their utilization, and the impact created. You can showcase your successes on your website and celebrate your contributions to social causes. It's a collaborative effort where businesses can focus on their core operations while partnering with us to enhance their social impact initiatives.
SM: It's such a systemic and collaborative view of the world and its potential future. What drew you to PlungeSmile?
AEA: Back when I was younger, I represented my school in quiz competitions, even reaching the state and national levels. Through these experiences, I saw firsthand that many children desired to excel academically but lacked the means to do so. Factors like poverty, lack of parental support for education, peer pressure, or community violence often deprived them of educational opportunities.
Recognizing the potential to make the world a better place by ensuring that underprivileged children have access to quality education, proper funding, and necessary resources, I was drawn to PlungeSmile. The organization has been actively involved in this space for years, making it a natural and effortless fit for me.
SM: Where do you envision PlungeSmile being ten years from now?
AEA: PlungeSmile has a flagship initiative called Educa, which has been refined through our extensive interventions in Nigeria's educational sector. Our plan is to expand Educa across Africa. Through Educa, we address various challenges such as funding school fees for children, repairing dilapidated school buildings, providing meals for hungry children, and ensuring that children who lack uniforms, shoes, bags, and essential school supplies can attend school.
Our interventions have shown a significant 5% increase in school attendance when these barriers are removed. This underscores the importance of our "Kit Up A Child" program, which ensures that children not only return to school but stay there by providing them with complete school kits including uniforms, bags, and shoes.
Organizations and individuals can support our Educa initiative in several ways: through donations, volunteering their skills, or sponsoring children—whether it's one child, fifty, or a hundred. So these details can be shared with you depending on the school and the specific needs or popularity of your chosen initiative. You can partner with us for the long term, as we discussed earlier about different partnership trends that ensure scalability and sustained engagement.
Educa utilize interactive maps, dashboards, Application Programming Interfaces, and ensure a user-friendly experience on our app. You can explore the map, select a school, and choose a project to support. Once selected, you can donate towards the project and track its progress in real-time through our dashboard. We encourage celebrating successes and impact on social media, offering badges and other recognition to highlight your contributions.
Our approach is not about personal accolades but about achieving social impact in the name of corporations. With over 112,000 public primary schools already integrated into our system in Nigeria, we have the expertise to navigate and support various schools, including your alma mater or any school facing challenges.
With this approach, achieving your go-to social impact becomes straightforward and allows you to fulfill your aspirations. Looking ahead, I envision PlungeSmile expanding beyond Nigeria and scaling across Africa in the coming years, with plans already in motion for 2024 to mark the beginning of this expansion.
To achieve this vision, we are seeking collaborators—individuals, corporations, and others—to join us in this journey. PlungeSmile benefits from the support of Reliance Ecosystems Group, a technological powerhouse, enabling us to implement tech-driven solutions and ensure transparency and accountability in all our projects.
SM: Has education always been central in your life?
AEA: Oh, absolutely. A well-informed person makes informed decisions, whereas an uninformed person makes flawed decisions. They may think they understand market dynamics or the challenges faced by people, but without proper research and inferential analysis, their decisions will always be flawed. Education is crucial in anyone's life. Through PlungeSmile's Educa Initiative, we emphasize the importance of education. We invite individuals and corporates to join us in our longstanding efforts.
We've achieved significant milestones, including donating thousands of textbooks and notebooks, hiring school teachers in underserved communities, and renovating school buildings. In some areas, we provide free school meals, ensuring children come to school with the focus on learning, not hunger. Additionally, PlungeSmile reaches out to communities, distributing essential food supplies and medicines to promote health and well-being.
Our ICT center is equipped with laptops and gadgets where children enhance their computer skills. They explore various programs in fields like Internet usage, cloud computing, coding, graphic design, and data analysis at a foundational level. These experiences broaden their perspectives and motivate them to strive for excellence beyond traditional subjects like English, mathematics, and science. Education is fundamental to everyone, including myself.
SM: These days, many people are feeling scared and uncertain about the future. We hear constant news of polarization and wars. How do you manage to stay positive?
AEA: As a tripartite being—spiritual, mental, and physical—a man must always draw strength from God. Personally, my faith in Jesus Christ is fundamental to how I sustain my energy. Additionally, I derive energy from the events around me.
The challenges faced by others inspire me and remind me of the need to seek solutions for their problems. Growing up, I witnessed firsthand the diverse challenges people face, and I have encountered my own difficulties. Challenges in African society are persistent, but by staying focused and persevering through adversity, one can rise above and make a difference.
So, my strength comes firstly from God, and secondly, from the inspiration I gain from helping others overcome their challenges.
SM: What advice would you give young entrepreneurs interested in pursuing a professional route focused on sustainable development?
AEA: According to the UN, there are 17 SDGs, with three being particularly significant: health and well-being, quality education, and industry innovation and infrastructure. When venturing into this space, it's crucial to align your vision with achieving some of these goals. Trying to tackle all 17 goals might be overwhelming for any business due to its breadth.
Begin by identifying your core strengths and marry them with societal issues you are passionate about solving through your business. Whether it's addressing nutrition, shelter, water scarcity, or other critical areas, let the social impact drive your business strategy. This approach can be seen as impact investing, where you aim for financial returns alongside substantial social impact.
My advice is to conduct thorough research to understand the problems, leverage your strengths, and position your venture to provide meaningful solutions. Collaboration is key—partnering with established organizations like PlungeSmile, with their extensive groundwork in key social areas, can provide essential support and guidance. Having a strong partner ensures your resources are effectively deployed and maximizes your impact.
SM: Growing up, was there any person or event that influenced who you wanted to become?
AEA: Growing up presented me with numerous challenges. My upbringing was marked by adversity, as I was the eldest of four children and lost my parents at a young age. Ensuring my younger siblings could achieve what I did became my priority.
Even during secondary school, I faced a disparity in access to certain luxuries compared to my peers. I realized that the key to overcoming these challenges was through education. I became a dedicated student, focusing solely on my studies.
Unlike many of my peers who enjoyed activities like playing PlayStation, I didn't have those luxuries. Instead, I knew that my path to success lay in diligent study and faith in God. This commitment has guided me throughout my life.
SM: Is there anything specific you'd like our readers to focus on from our conversation?
AEA: I want to speak broadly, regardless of industry or specific solution areas. Fundamentally, you need to be socially aware of yourself. As humans, we're not merely elevated animals; we're designed to solve problems.
Start early to identify existing problems that align with your natural abilities. Your initial capacity may be limited—perhaps only 20% of what's needed to solve those problems. It's up to you to build the remaining 80% capacity while actively working on solutions. For example, if I aim to support 100 households but lack the resources, I can start with one household, learn, and grow my business until I can exceed that initial goal.
Secondly, you must be tenacious and consistent in your efforts. Challenges and criticisms are inevitable. Even as PlungeSmile delivers social impact to communities, there will always be skeptics questioning motives or hidden agendas. You must stay committed and find ways to navigate through these challenges without losing focus.
Lastly, keep your eye on the ball. Define your goals clearly—whether it's revenue targets, profit margins, employee expansion, or social impact metrics. Review your progress daily and adjust accordingly. Learn from those who've succeeded before you. Study how they built their businesses, nonprofits, or social impacts, and emulate their trusted methods.
Just as PlungeSmile has built a foundation of trust with its partners, transparency and clarity should permeate throughout your organization. When everyone—employees, C-level staff, partners—has visibility into your mission and operations, innovative ideas flow freely, and achieving your dreams becomes achievable.
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PlungeSmile Foundation empowers and uplifts marginalized individuals and communities by providing comprehensive support and resources. Through collaboration, advocacy, and innovative solutions, we aim to breach the cycle of poverty and inequality, fostering sustainable development and long-term positive change. Partner with PlungeSmile to create the leaders of tomorrow.
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