The Mauritian business sector and the fight
against poverty: a NGOs’ perspective
Nicolas Jean Francois Ragodoo
Abstract
Purpose – This paper seeks to analyse the contribution of business organisations towards
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged in the fight against poverty. Studies generally refer
to figures and reports provided by business organisations themselves. This present research, however,
aims to turn towards NGOs engaged in the poverty battle to have their views on the role presently being
played by the business sector. It aims to study the case of Mauritius, a developing-economy.
Design/methodology/approach – For data-collection purposes, a research instrument, in the form of a
structured interview schedule, has been devised and applied to a representative sample (50 per cent) of
the 110 NGOs actively engaged in helping the poor in Mauritius. Data collected provide valuable
information with regard to the NGOs’ perception of business organisations and their engagement in the
poverty battle through CSR initiatives.
Findings – From this work, it is clear that the perception of NGOs engaged in the poverty battle is
generally negative towards business organisations. The range of CSR initiatives is considered as being
poor, and the funding they received from the business sector is considered as being marginal. They are
also of the opinion that their on-the-ground expertise is not presently being used.
Originality/value – This paper contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Africa by taking a deep
insight into the business-NGO relationship from an innovative angle. It analyses the present situation and
identifies steps to be taken for this link to be strengthened so as to be more effective in the poverty battle.
Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Poverty, Non-governmental organizations, Mauritius
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In spite of the efforts made by governments and international agencies, the global poverty
problem is worsening day by day. The new figures from the World Bank confirm concerns
that poverty has not been reduced by as much as was hoped. Revisions of estimates of
poverty reveals that 1.4 billion people (one in four) in the developing world were living on less
than $1.25 a day in 2005 (Chen and Ravallion, 2008). As part of their corporate social
responsibility (CSR), the expectation with regards to the contribution of business
organisations to the creation of a better society is rising. This study is carried out in the
context of Mauritius and aims at analysing the present contribution of the business sector
from a non-governmental organisation’s (NGO’s) perspective in a developing economy. It
also evaluates the actual business-NGO relationship and analyses measures which could
be implemented at different levels so that the efforts of the business sector could be
strengthened in order to make a more positive contribution to the battle against poverty.
2. Literature review
The term ‘‘non-governmental organisation’’ can be broadly viewed as being composed of a
wide variety of organisations variously known as ‘‘private voluntary organisations’’, ‘‘civil
society organisations’’ and ‘‘non-profit organisations’’ (McGann and Johnstone, 2006),
PAGE 152
j
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY JOURNAL
j
VOL. 7 NO. 2 2011, pp. 152-165, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-1117 DOI 10.1108/17471111111141468
Nicolas Jean Francois
Ragodoo is a Lecturer at
the University of Mauritius,
Reduit, Mauritius.