Multinational corporations, education and United Nations Development Goals: a literature review

Abstract

This article reviews works of literature on the intervention of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in the achievement of education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing from conceptual and empirical papers published from 2000 to 2020, we identify that education is central to achieving development goals. The lack of requisite knowledge of these goals may hamper their implementation. We focused on interventions of MNCs like Microsoft, Oando, Nestlé, LEGO, ING Bank, Standard Chartered, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), and Hess Corporation in promoting educational equality and development in line with MDGs and SDGs. The findings showed that the MNCs’ intervention in education in their respective areas has led to a considerable improvement in areas such as infrastructure development, school enrolment, and quality output, among others. The paper submits that improving education has dual benefits for both society and the MNCs; government should engage MNCs to use their intervention to assist in the achievement of the SDGs. Compared to these corporations’ annual revenue and profits, the scope of their intervention is still very small and the impact is not felt in the global South. There is a need to increase financial commitment to achieve this development goal by 2030.