I was reviewing South Africa’s top retailers and their corporate social investment (CSI) spend, and one question kept coming to mind: what is the actual impact of this investment?
Take Woolworths Holdings Limited as an example. In the 2024–2025 financial year, Woolworths reported nearly R900 million in social impact. Yet, R857 million of that comprises surplus food donations — items approaching their sell-by date, redistributed to NGOs and food banks. The cash spent on community programmes? Just under R52 million, roughly 1% of net profit after tax, in line with standard CSI benchmarks.
Food donations are critical. Millions of South Africans face hunger daily, and redistributing unsold stock is both necessary and humane. But this is reactive impact, not visionary impact. What if Woolworths’ R52 million cash CSI — the portion representing true investment — could be applied strategically and systemically, creating long-term solutions rather than addressing immediate needs alone?
Consider a bold vision. Suppose Woolworths committed 10% of its annual CSI cash spend towards the CSI Indaba’s 30-year plan to build three universities. That would amount to roughly R5.2 million each year dedicated to this initiative. Over three decades, without any investment growth, the total would reach R156 million — a substantial contribution from a single company through annual budget allocation.
If other corporates joined in, these annual contributions could fund a meaningful portion of the capital required to construct three fully equipped universities, complete with lecture halls, laboratories, student housing, research centres, and digital infrastructure. Such universities could accommodate tens of thousands of students each year, addressing structural bottlenecks like those at Stellenbosch, where over 100 000 applicants compete for just 6 000 first-year places.
The potential impact is transformative. Each university could employ thousands of staff, stimulate regional economies, and provide skills training across science, technology, health, business, and the humanities. Over decades, this approach moves CSI from reactive programmes to visionary, systemic change.
The barriers to higher education in South Africa are structural — insufficient buildings, limited housing, and inadequate capacity — not a lack of talent or ambition. Redirecting CSI cash toward this challenge would expand access, empower regions, and build local economies, creating a system capable of preparing future generations for meaningful participation in the economy.
Woolworths already invests in education through scholarships, bursaries, and school programmes. Yet corporate South Africa must be held to a higher standard. Feeding people today is essential, but building institutions that serve generations is transformative.
The CSI Indaba 2026 theme, “The Inequality Mandate: Rewriting South Africa’s Social Contract through Transformative Corporate Social Investment”, calls for precisely this type of strategic thinking. It urges corporates to move from incremental programmes to systemic interventions, from reactive measures to visionary investments. Universities are one of the most powerful levers available — they reshape opportunity, address inequality at scale, and produce long-term societal returns.
The challenge to Woolworths and corporate leaders is clear: if you are already heavily invested in food security, why not apply the cash portion of your CSI to create permanent infrastructure for opportunity? Even a fraction of this spend could help build the next three universities over 30 years — a legacy that feeds not only the stomachs but also the minds of generations to come.
Join the conversation at the CSI Indaba 2026. Be part of the movement challenging corporates to think bigger, act boldly, and invest in the institutions that will define South Africa’s future. Secure your ticket today and help shape a country where CSI builds universities, empowers communities, and creates lasting impact.
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