Context
In recent years, improving the conditions for sustainable, economic, ecological and social development has increasingly become a focus of government reform efforts. Cooperation between the government, the private sector and civil society is gaining significance. In dialogue forums, public administrators, entrepreneurs and civil society can balance their interests and work together to shape the conditions. In addition, there are diverse possibilities to apply the actors’ specific strengths to development measures to the benefit of all. In many African countries, however, there is still insufficient cooperation between the government, private sector and civil society, and the actors’ capacity to plan and implement such development partnerships with the private sector is often limited.
Objective
Actors from government, the private sector and civil society are strengthened in their capacity to plan and implement development partnerships with the private sector that contribute to sustainable development.
Approach
Promoting cooperation between the private sector, government and civil society is an important lever for sustainable development in Africa. The financing of development partnerships with the private sector as well as structural capacity development enables potential to be recognised and tapped. The project pursues three approaches in the participating countries:
1.Government institutions in the partner countries are enabled to initiate and implement development partnerships with the private sector independently. The project supports governmental partner organisations, such as ministries and public authorities, in creating regulatory and institutional conditions so that the private sector can be successful as well as various forms of partnership models.
2.Through promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and multi-stakeholder forums, GIZ strengthens business in its role as a responsible social actor.
3.GIZ realises development partnerships in cooperation with enterprises based in Africa. These measures are examples of cooperation between the government, the private sector and civil society, and they have positive effects on the target group.
Results achieved so far
There is increasing political consensus that the private sector and civil society should be involved in the government’s planning and decisions, for example in Kenya and Tanzania, where decision-makers have publically advocated partnerships within the context of a multi-stakeholder dialogue and have agreed on activities for their implementation.
In Tanzania, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has included cooperation with the private sector in its planning, developed a corresponding strategy and established a competence centre.
GIZ is advising the secretariat of the regional organisation Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the introduction of regional guidelines for partnerships with the private sector, and the SADC Water Authority on implementing an analysis of the legal and institutional framework conditions for such partnerships. To an increasing extent, the conditions for partnerships with the private sector to be implemented independently are being created by the partners.
In Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, CSR forums are available, not only for political dialogue, but also for closer cooperation with German international cooperation. In Kenya and Cameroon, for example, public-private partnerships to combat corruption are being implemented through these forums.
Development partnerships with the private sector are established. 74 partnerships with Africa-based entrepreneurs have been entered into since the project began.