Indeed CEO’s have recognised the
importance of Shared Value. Under the
umbrella of The Business Roundtable,
a lobbying group composed of the
USA’s leading CEO’s, 181 of them
signed, in September 2019, the Business
Roundtable’s Breakthrough Statement. By
doing so they pledged to ‘care about more
than shareholder value’ by embracing a
much wider interpretation of the purpose
of the corporation and ‘deliver against a
wider social purpose’. They committed to
lead their companies for the benefit of
all stakeholders - customers, employees,
suppliers, communities not just their
shareholders.
The shared Value principle is based on
businesses meeting their profit objective
and in the same vein addressing the
challenges that face society resulting
in a ‘win win' situation. As businesses
clamour to have a competitive advantage
they should simultaneously advance the
economic and social conditions in the
communities. For in the end when ‘society
wins businesses win’ it should not be
either or.
Shared Value is created by connecting
companies’
success
with
societal
improvement for example by launching
new products that serve an underserved
or ignored market. An example is M-Pesa
which has a huge impact benefitting
Safaricom as well as the subscribers.
Equity Bank’s focus on the ‘bottom of
The question mar-
keters
reading
could be asking
then is how does
embracing Shared
Value give one a
competitive advan-
tage? It starts with
understanding and
appreciating that
the idea of Shared
Value is as much
as business strate-
gic tool as well as a
marketing one.
68 MAL35/20 ISSUE
The shared Value principle is based on
businesses meeting their profit objective
and in the same vein addressing the chal-
lenges that face society resulting in a ‘win
win' situation. As businesses clamour to
have a competitive advantage they should
simultaneously advance the economic and
social conditions in the communities. For
in the end when ‘society wins businesses
win’ it should not be either or.
the pyramid’ has paid dividends to the
bank and society as a whole. This was
only possible as it redesigned its products
and delivery to suit the unbanked. These
two examples called for a radical shift in
thinking and execution, and prove that
when businesses see opportunities in the
challenges (not problems) facing society
they can exploit (solve them) for mutual
gain.
Today the Corona Virus epidemic is
calling for companies to think of shared
value and the Mercedes Formula One
team in partnership with the University
of London Engineers have developed a
breathing aid that delivers oxygen to the
lungs without the need of a ventilator
which are in short supply. The regulatory
body has approved the gadget in record
time opening up for mass production. This
brings me to the next point: shared value
calls for collaboration between businesses,
governments, and NGO’s.
This was articulated by Nzioka Waita,
Chief of Staff & Head of The President’s
Delivery Unit, who gave the keynote
speech. He said that ‘Governments exist
to serve its people by helping them achieve
prosperity and improved quality of life
through addressing their most pressing
concerns’. But we must all appreciate that,
due to limited capacity, ’‘Government
cannot do it alone and thus Businesses and
what he referred to as ‘Non State Actors’
must come together’. He concluded that
‘this collaboration is only possible if there
is a common denominator on which the
players focus their energies and resources.
Agenda 4 becomes even more relevant as it
articulates the socio-economic challenges
facing Kenyans and provides clarity to
those looking to achieving Shared Value.
However the Governments must go
further and create a conducive climate and
re-look at their policies such as licensing
new ways of doing businesses if shared
value is to make an impact in society.
Businesses too must collaborate and not
view each other as aggressive competitors
and understand that indeed it makes sense
to come together. The convergence of
M-Pesa and banking has further enhanced
the benefits for all despite initially being
viewed as competition.
One of the other speakers at the
conference was the late Bob Collymore,
who started by contrasting life of the
attendees of the Conference as well as
the venue of the Conference, Radisson
Blue Upper Hill, with those living a few
kilometres in the sprawling Kibera slums.
Acknowledging the stark dichotomy he
noted that this situation needs to change
as businesses cannot ignore the problems
facing the communities around them
as they pursue financial success. It is
becoming imperative that they do so in
a way that simultaneously yields societal
benefits. He concluded by saying that
‘there is growing pressure for businesses
to address issues facing society as part of
their core business practices’.
It is important at this juncture to note
that Shared Value is not CSR which is
philanthropy and discretionary. CSR is
limited by the resources the company
has and is based on personal preferences.
It tends to be short term in many cases.
Shared Value is part and parcel of the
business and is long term in nature.
The question marketers reading could
be asking then is how does embracing
Shared Value give one a competitive
advantage? It starts with understanding