An Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya’s Extractives Sector

Kenya’s oil & gas sector is quickly developing with industry players predicting the date of first oil to be 2024 once the upstream and pipeline projects are developed. Kenya has a robust mining sector with rare earth and soda ash accounting for the largest mineral exports. Kenya is increasing investment in its extractives sector and angling to position itself as a technical leader in the region by building its technical expertise. Companies operating in the extractives sector often negotiate their economic and financial terms with governments gaining a legal right to operate and separately negotiate with host communities for a social licence to operate. Companies must obtain both licences in order to run a successful operation. In this chapter, we view corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a method for the company to obtain a social licence based on the practice in Kenya where the national government was previously not directly involved in informing and consulting communities. We shall first conceptualise CSR in the Kenyan context, examine two case studies, identity a few instances of the best and worst CSR experiences and conclude with an assessment of the challenges companies face when engaging communities. The chapter aims to inform the reader of the practice in Kenya with insights from the author’s interviews and interaction with host community members, companies and government officials, and finally, this chapter is intended to contribute to the literature on CSR in the extractives industry in Kenya.