Mainstream Foundation: Doing Well and Doing Good 

‘It is more blessed to give,’ the Holy Book says, “than to receive.”

That is not a principle commonly associated with the corporate world. A business is, after all, set up with the primary aim of MAKING money. As for giving said money away, some would say, that job belongs charitable organizations – be they civic or faith-based – and good-hearted individuals.

However, it is heartwarming to note that in recent years, an increasing number of forward-looking companies have taken the conscious decision to represent a departure from the norm. This decision is driven by the principle of enlightened self-interest, and informed by the understanding that (as the Americans would say) the continued prosperity of Wall Street is not sustainable without the continued welfare of Main Street.

One company that has demonstrated this understanding is Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), the operators of Kainji, Jebba and Zungeru hydropower plants, as well as the largest hydropower company in Africa. MESL is a privately-owned company that oversees the daily operations of these plants. First incorporated and licensed as a power-generating company in 2011, the company acquired the Kainji and Jebba Hydro Plants (HPP) – which boast a total installed capacity of 1338.4 mw – through a concession agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria in November 2013. Recall that Kainji was commissioned as Nigeria’s first-ever hydropower plant in 1968, while the Jebba hydropower plant was commissioned in 1985. With the three plants currently in its portfolio, MESL currently generates an average of 25% of Nigeria’s power.

Undoubtedly, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited has established itself as a leader in the Nigerian energy ecosystem. But beyond reaping the rewards and recognition that come with that enviable status, the company is deeply conscious of an obligation that goes beyond delivering service to clients with an eye on the bottomline. It has now incorporated into its  business – as a core value and an integral corporate principle – a corporate social responsibility (CSR) mindset that has made it even more accountable to both its stakeholders AND the general public. By practicing this corporate principle, Mainstream Foundation is intentional about the kind of impact it aims to have on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental – with a view towards enhancing all these aspects even while continuing to make profit.

It is this understanding of its role in society as well as the natural environment, that informed the establishment of Mainstream Foundation in 2016.  The setting up of the Foundation made its parent company the only one among the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to have a duly registered foundation. Through Mainstream Foundation, MESL has over the years reached out to its host communities with an unswerving focusing on key areas of intervention, namely, Education, the Environment, Health, and Community Empowerment (which constitute the most fundamental human development indices).

The bulk of the Foundation’s work is centered around the communities that border the Kainji, Jebba and Zungeru lakes, as well as the Niger River Basin, with a view towards improving the quality of life of their inhabitants – in line with the Foundation’s commitment to building thriving local economies with sustainable economies. To this end, the Foundation has, over the years, built 317 classrooms, drilled 300 boreholes, undertaken 26 medical outreach programmes, and performed 409 VVF correctional surgeries.

In recent months, the Foundation has organized a medical outreach in a number of communities where over one thousand villagers were screened and medical assistance provided to them. In addition, seventy-four  surgery cases were organized in identified cases – in particular at the New Bussa General Hospital, the Katemiya First Call Hospital and the Bida General Hospital, all in Niger State.

Not long ago, the Foundation identified a need for a  River Blindness Eradication Campaign in some communities around the lake and locality where that debilitating disease is prevalent – thereby setting itself up for a challenge that seems to have defied previous efforts aimed at eradicating the ailment. To this end, the Foundation intends to work with a team of doctors (in partnership with interested donors) in an effort which, hopefully this time, will fight the disease into submission.

In responding to the crying need for action in respect to the four key intervention areas – namely, health, education, the natural environment, and community development – the Mainstream Foundation has gone right to the heart of the most fundamental issues that bedevil developing societies – without in any way jeopardizing its own core business – which, of course, is the generation and delivery of electricity in a safe, reliable, efficient and most environmentally-friendly manner.

This noble endeavour has not gone unnoticed, as can be seen from the outpouring of accolades  from grateful community leaders as well as influential stakeholders across the parts of the country where its impact has been most keenly felt. This gratitude is displayed in various ways – including via hand-written letters and other means.

One such letter reads thus: ‘ … On behalf of the Community Head, Council of Elders and Youth Forum, I wish to appreciate you for donating and installing two 33Kva power transformers and the construction of a well-equipped functional health centre for the benefit of the community. We are highly humbled.”

Another message, this time from one of the country’s universities, says, concerning the Foundation’s donation of yet another generator: “The donation came at the right time when the University Management was trying all within its purview to sustain and improve power supply within the campus to allow for seamless academic activities.”

Upon the Foundation’s donation of a Skills Upgrading and Vocational Training Centre in one of its catchment areas, the benefitting communities had this to say: “This donation will go a long way in adding value to our training by giving our trainees the desired practical knowledge. Despite the short time since your incorporation, your activities have touched the lives of many within your area of operation and outside.’

A spokesperson for yet another educational beneficiary, the Borgu LGA (Niger State) branch of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) expressed the body’s gratitude thus: ‘I write on behalf of the entire teachers of Borgu LGA to sincerely express our unreserved appreciation to Mainstream Foundation for the timely and laudable projects done for the education industry – the construction of classrooms. We remain ever grateful to Mainstream Foundation for the laudable projects ..  experienced in the education industry.’ And so on and so forth.

Having seen the far-reaching impact these amenities, programmes and outreaches have made so far in the lives of their intended beneficiaries, Mainstream Foundation has no intention of letting up anytime soon – not least because, in the course of improving various aspects of society in its catchment area and beyond, Mainstream Foundation (and by implication, its parent company, MESL) have succeeded in also promoting a positive brand image for themselves.

In today’s business and social environment in which perception matters as much as, if not more than, actual reality) such a positive brand image is indispensable for business. The Foundation’s interventions have not only brought immense quality-of-life benefits to the people, families and communities in the aforementioned catchment areas, as well as vastly improving their standard of living) it has also had a positive impact on the internal operations of both the Foundation and the larger MESL family.  For example, knowing that the company they work for is promoting good causes and is an important part of the life of the community in which it is located, can bring about a tremendous increase in employee satisfaction, and with it a strengthening of the company’s ability to retain staff. In addition, too, members of society (including current and prospective clients/customers) are more likely to choose to transact their business with a company that they see attempting to make a more conscious positive impact beyond the narrow scope of its business.

And that’s what Mainstream Foundation has been doing since 2016 – creating beautiful beginnings, changing the age-long narrative of underdevelopment for catchment communities, and entrenching hope in a future of possibilities – one life, and one family, at a time.

Keem Abdul, publisher and writer, hails from Lagos. He can be reached via +2348038795377 or [email protected]