Don’t do CSR without stakeholder mapping

When companies map out their corporate social responsibility efforts, the temptation is often to begin with a glossy idea, announce a figure, commission a ribbon-cutting, and move on. But in Nigeria, where the social fabric is layered, diverse and heavily defined by local identity and struggle, this approach is no longer enough. The companies that are making the deepest and most sustainable impact today are not the ones with the most generous cheques, but those that are taking the time to ask, to listen and to involve.

Meaning of stakeholder mapping? It is not far to fetch.

Stakeholder mapping in a typical community engagement in Nigeria is the strategic process of identifying, analyzing and prioritizing all the individuals, groups, institutions and influencers that have a stake, whether direct or indirect in a proposed project or CSR intervention. It is the first and most critical step to ensure that community engagement is not just symbolic, but genuinely inclusive and impactful.

In Nigeria, stakeholder mapping must go beyond formal structures. Communities are complex, often guided by informal power networks as much as by official leadership. A successful mapping process involves identifying the traditional rulers, youth leaders, women’s groups, faith-based organizations, local influencers, vigilante groups, religious clerics, artisans’ unions, and community development associations (CDAs). These are the people and structures that hold sway over public opinion, maintain social order and influence the success or failure of any intervention.

The process?

It typically begins with a reconnaissance: Desktop research or field visits to understand the context of the community. This is followed by stakeholder identification, where everyone who could affect or be affected by the project is listed. After this, stakeholders are analyzed based on their level of interest, influence, or vulnerability. Those with high influence and interest (like youth leaders or traditional rulers) are prioritized for deeper engagement, while those with less influence but high vulnerability (like widows or people with disabilities) are noted for support inclusion.

In practice, this means that a company planning to build a health centre in a rural Akwa Ibom village would not only engage the village head, but also the women’s leader who understands the maternal health issues, the youth president who knows where resistance might come from, the local nurse who knows what health challenges are prevalent and even the church leaders who can help with community sensitization. Each of these stakeholders offers unique insight and legitimacy.

When stakeholder mapping is done properly, it exposes risks early, clarifies expectations, surfaces hidden tensions and opens up channels of communication. It also protects the company from later accusations of imposition, exclusion, or insensitivity. In the Nigerian context, where grievances can easily spiral into conflict or sabotage, especially in resource-sensitive areas like the Niger Delta or mining zones in the North, proper stakeholder mapping can be the thin line between project success and project crisis.

You see?

Stakeholder mapping and community engagement is no longer a box-ticking requirement in a CSR plan. It is now the backbone of social investment. It determines whether that borehole will be used or abandoned, whether that skill acquisition center will train real people or sit empty for years. And most importantly, it shapes how communities come to see that company not as a temporary benefactor, but as a long-term partner.

One of the most instructive examples comes from Nestlé Nigeria, whose recent initiatives in Ogun State were not rolled out until after a series of community mapping sessions and listening tours. The company engaged local women, youth groups, health workers and traditional rulers, not just as a show of courtesy but as co-creators of the project itself. The outcome was a nutrition education and women empowerment program that aligned with both the company’s global health agenda and the everyday aspirations of the community. It wasn’t just relevant, it was welcomed.

This approach contrasts sharply with some projects by well-meaning corporates who have made the mistake of assuming what a community needs. From poorly located boreholes to technology hubs in places with no power supply, the evidence is everywhere. The truth is, there is no substitute for presence. Being on the ground, hearing community members define their own priorities and acknowledging the existing structures of influence can save millions in wasted CSR budgets and reputational damage.

For companies operating in oil-producing states, especially in the Niger Delta, stakeholder mapping is not optional, it is a prerequisite for peace. Years of mistrust between corporations and host communities in those areas have shown that even the most brilliant sustainability plans can fail if the people at the center of those plans were never consulted. Youth leaders, women’s cooperatives, religious heads, and environmental activists in these regions are not simply stakeholders to be informed. They are partners to be involved.

The call to action is not complex. It is simply for brands to start from the grassroots. Ask questions. Listen to answers. Identify the real power brokers within the communities, not just the ones with titles. Design interventions that grow out of local insights, not imported blueprints.

Companies that do this often find that their projects enjoy more ownership, less vandalism, and greater longevity. And more than that, they earn the one thing no CSR budget can buy – trust!