Strengthening Township Economies through Pro-Growth Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies

The study explored pro-growth corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies of large firms in township economies of Cape Town in South Africa. The reasoning behind the choice of Cape Town for this study was due to the entrenched economic inequalities in Cape Town which stems from the apartheid governance system that was abolished in 1994. The study argued that the remnants of the apartheid governance are still prevalent and frames the township economies of the Cape Flats. The study found out that the endogenous growth of the Cape Flats township economies has been stunted and this aggravated the crime and murder rates in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Such an unfortunate trajectory still exists three decades after the abolishment of the apartheid system that propelled the minority races to higher echelons of wealth whilst leaving the black majority in adject poverty. These narratives have seen South Africa to be measured as one of the most unequal countries in the world. The study argued that township economies can be used to stimulate endogenous economic growth by large corporations working in collaboration with institutional stakeholders through CSR
programmes that are focused on pro-growth strategies. The pro-growth CSR strategies are arguably strategic and sustainable for township economies when they are underpinned by community economic development (CED) programmes, enterprise development (ED) programmes and the local development planning (LDP) programmes. The study puts forward a township economies capacity building CSR framework that can inform CSR initiatives and policies for large companies and listed companies operating within township economies.