Social investment - and CATALISA

Social investment projects that really work are hard to design and implement.  Some have to be done to meet legal or regulatory requirements.  Other projects are an expression of corporate interest in the community and country that they are working in.  And I have not yet met an engineer who does not want to help in somewhere very poor like Mozambique.

Total tried to take the opportunity to create lasting benefits with their social investment projects in Capo Delgado province in the north of the country. The proof of the effectiveness is that some of these projects survived the tragic civil war that erupted in 2020. I helped design and implement multimillion dollar projects that benefit very large numbers of people:

Private sector development

Mozambique LNG, led by Total, has invested more than US $ 10 million over five years from 2018 in the Province of Cabo Delgado to implement the Catalisa project. This project aims both to promote agribusiness through the development of value chains in poultry and horticulture and to empower young people to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise with the development of Rovuma basin gas projects.

Catalisa is being implemented by TechnoServe. It will align with Government priorities and act as a catalyst for private investment through access to financing, markets and training in the use of improved agricultural techniques. This will increase poultry and vegetable production and increase the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Catalisa expects to train more than 1000 young people to help them set up their own businesses and take advantage of future employment opportunities.

Linking CSR, Social Investment and Philanthropy 

The first issue is ensuring that the company has a clear and easily understood approach to "doing the right thing".  But there is so much jargon and technical confusion that articulating the clear approach is something that needs time and a good understanding of the way the company actually works.  Getting to that vision is a vital step, and one you cannot miss out.

The projects

Once the overall vision and direction is clear, well-designed projects are needed, that can be overseen by the right corporate systems, include the other functions and actually deliver some benefits.  It is possible - but takes longer to do than anyone first thinks.

The partners

And once you have the vision and the sorts of project sorted, you will need the best partners.  Much more detail will follow, but for a world class LNG project, you have to get world class partners.