Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies Adopted by Micro Finance Institutions: A Case Study

Abstract

We hypothesize that, in order to improve their financial performance, Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s) should invest in social empowerment or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. CSR investments create opportunities to raise savings deposits and reduce default rates among debtors. However, the 2008 credit crunch led many MFI’s to cut back on CSR investments. Using case analysis and interviews, we examine the CSR best practices of uniCredit Ghana Limited MFI. We establish that a single branch used CSR strategies and outperformed the others. We therefore conclude that MFIs should consider CSR investment as a business opportunity rather than an expense.