Contribution of the Military in Corporate Social Responsibility For Promoting Development in Africa: Case Study of Rwanda

Military Corporate Social Responsibility (MCSR) is a strategic approach that combines military doctrine and corporate social responsibility practices to contribute to national development. Emerging creative endeavors provide assistance for sustainable development initiatives in various countries in the twenty-first century. For instance, military engagements in operations other than war, which are generally regarded as the secondary duty of military forces, have the ability to contribute to the growth of a state. Therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility in military service may be viewed as one of the tasks (military secondary function) that creates the ground for sustainable growth in a community. This is because the military serves as the foundation for the development of a society. The objectives of the study revolved around the examination of the contribution of the military corporate social responsibility in promoting development in Rwanda, where the researcher aimed at analyzing the concept of Military Corporate Social Responsibility in national development. The researcher also assessed the importance of applying CSR in RDF vis-à-vis the development of Rwanda. The potential contribution of RDF CSR endeavors to Rwanda vision 2050 were also examined. The rational choice institutionalism theory which posits that institutions, including organizations and governments, act rationally to maximize their self-interest in the decision making process was used for this study. In the context of military involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) for economic development, this theory implies that the military is motivated by a desire to enhance its own interests while also promoting development. The study targeted subject matter experts in CSR and those who have an idea in the area of CSR, to include Managing Directors of RDF Industries involved in CSR and CSR beneficiaries as well as some of RDF joint staff with a sample size of sixty respondents. The key finding in this study is that most of the respondent acknowledged that RDF CSR plays a noticeable role in the economic development of Rwanda, especially in the field of infrastructure development. In Rwanda, the contribution of MCSR cannot be underestimated since the country has a history of conflict and the military has played a key role in ensuring peace and security. Even if it is obvious that military Corporate Social Responsibility plays a part in the promotion of the growth of a country, this field of research continues to be intriguing and desirable. The ultimate goal of this line of inquiry is to seek out ways to continuously improve the contribution of the military to the development of a country. In spite of this, relatively few efforts have been undertaken to investigate the current function of the armed forces in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility for the purpose of development in Rwanda. A case study research design was used for this thesis as it provides a good view of what the issue is really like. According to the findings of the study, RDF businesses participate in various Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in their day-to-day operations. Though the extent to which these businesses contribute to Rwanda’s economic development is not yet established, there is already a recognizable contribution to Rwanda's current economic development, and they also have the potential to make a contribution to Rwanda's economic development in the context of Rwanda vision 2050.