Kindness is its own reward, or so we thought. A growing number of companies are discovering that kindness is also great for business. A 2014 Nielson study revealed that 55% of online consumers would be willing to pay more to companies that display social responsibility, and two thirds would prefer to work for such a company. Increased profits and a superior workforce are two powerful incentives driving corporate philanthropy around the globe.
Silafrica, a leading packaging supplier to East Africa and surrounding regions, has agreed to commit up to 10% of current manufacturing capacity for explicitly serving the greater social good of communities in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. In fulfilling Silafrica’s commitment of up to 10% of current manufacturing capacity, the company will be heavily discounting a variety of household product lines, including furniture and washbasins, which will be manufactured along with non-discounted Silafrica products and produced in accordance with Consumer-Packaged-Goods (CPG) global quality standards.
The company’s decision to commit this manufacturing capacity comes less than two months after Silafrica announced a commitment making them the first African-based company in the packaging industry to become part of the Pledge 1% movement, an international coalition of corporations who have pledged to donate a percentage of respective company resources for the greater social good.
In making the Pledge 1% announcement on August 20, 2019, Silafrica announced that they would donate one percent of profits, one percent of manufactured products, and one percent of Silafrica personnel’s time to directly serve African-based non-profit organizations and community projects.
Over the last several years, Silafrica has continued to act upon its set of governing corporate principles known as “The Silafrica Way.” These tenets reflect Silafrica's corporate vision for environmentally sustainable trade and equitable relations among both trade partners and the communities being served by Silafrica's products.
In commenting on the company’s ongoing commitment to improving lives and communities throughout East Africa, Akshay Shah, Group Managing Director of Silafrica, stated, “By aligning our company’s policy to discount up to 10% of current manufacturing capacity, we firmly believe it will ensure that lower-income African families can have higher-quality household items and an improved standard of living.” This belief is underscored by the fact that the discounted products are not only produced in the same factories as non-discounted offerings but are also created by the same engineers who design and produce Silafrica's most premium products.
Pledge 1% is a global movement to promote the general welfare through corporate philanthropy. You can read more about it here.