Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Corporations in Angola: An Analysis of Practices and Localised Impacts (2010–2025)

This original research article critically examines the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) within Angola’s extractive and infrastructure sectors from 2010 to 2023. It addresses the research problem of a persistent disconnect between formalised, internationally-derived CSR frameworks and their tangible, localised socio-economic outcomes, with a specific focus on women’s empowerment. Employing a rigorous qualitative methodology, the study undertakes a thematic analysis of corporate sustainability reports, triangulated with primary data from 37 in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions conducted in 2023. Participants included women-led community groups, local NGO representatives, and Angolan CSR managers. The findings demonstrate that despite increased formalisation of CSR commitments post-2015, initiatives remain predominantly philanthropic and top-down, failing to engage with structural gender inequalities. The analysis argues that community development projects systematically overlook women’s specific needs in sustainable livelihoods and leadership, thereby reinforcing existing disparities. The study’s contribution is its African-centred critique, which challenges the importation of generic CSR models and underscores the necessity for context-specific, participatory frameworks that position African women as central agents of development. It concludes that for CSR to foster genuine local governance and inclusive growth, MNCs must transition from symbolic reporting to substantive strategies that actively promote women’s leadership and remediate the gendered impacts of their operations.