Private sector participation in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana: Experiences from the mining and telecommunications sectors

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have, since 2015, become the normative framework driving global development discourse. The international development community has since taken comprehensive action to mobilise resources in a bid to operationalise these Goals, and there is growing recognition in both policy and public discourse that the private sector can assist in this endeavour. Drawing on data from interviews conducted with community beneficiaries and key informants, we explore the specific case of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives taken in the mining and telecommunications sectors in Ghana in their bid to operationalise the SDGs. What is abundantly clear is that while the CSR initiatives of the private sector hold some potential to contribute to the attainment of a number of the SDGs, the short-term nature of interventions, the lack of coordination between private sector actors and meaningful community participation, stand to limit this potential. We conclude by outlining key lessons for those seeking to maximise the potential of CSR initiatives of the private sector to advance the attainment of the SDGs.