Getting results from engagement

26 June 2009

Partnerships between businesses, governments and development actors are tackling constraints in the investment climates of developing economies and helping business to invest in ways that contribute more to development. What can government do to best support business? And how can business help governments to build capacity and develop appropriate policy? What is the role of donors? What barriers to partnership exist between these stakeholders?
 
These are the questions recently asked at a DFID / ODI / Business Action for Africa event hosted by Shell in London as part of a series on  ‘Harnessing the power on business for development Impact’. Darian Stibbe, Programmes Director of The Partnering Initiative (TPI), joined a panel of Baroness Lynda Chalker, former head of DFID, who talked about the practicalities of doing business in Africa, Ed Bickham from Anglo American who introduced the Investment Climate Facility and Sunil Sinha who talked about DFID’s challenge funds.
 
Darian introduced some findings from ‘Partnering with Governments’, a TPI / GTZ programme with Shell, Rio Tinto, SAP, Microsoft and the Shell Foundation, which is building the capacity of governments and business to partner more effectively in Africa. He then drew together the three panellists’ talks into a framework for action to make partnerships happen: motivation (spreading awareness of what’s possible and the benefits that can be gained), means (developing capacity and building and enabling environment) and opportunity (systematically bringing the right people and organisations together).

For forthcoming events in the series please click here