For decades, strengthening country institutions and developing human capital have been the bread and butter of the development community. Over time, USAID and others have helped countries develop accountable government and civil society services while investing in the health and education of developing country populations. While there is no recipe for reliably delivering sustainable, broad-based economic growth, responsive institutions and strong human capital have always been key ingredients.
But there is another critical ingredient to growth that we have seen in every country that’s grown its way out of poverty: a strong and dynamic private sector. And while USAID has been focused on private sector engagement for years, the development community does not always embrace the encouragement of private sector activity as part of our core mission.
Last week, I gave a speech at our Agency’s Public-Private Partnership forum highlighting how our community could embrace a new wave of enlightened capitalism to help drive the sustainable, broad-based economic growth called for in the President’s Policy Directive on Development and the Secretary’s Quadrennial Review.
I’m not talking about forming partnerships for partnership’s sake or photo opportunities. I’m not even talking about Corporate Social Responsibility or charity work. I’m talking about helping support the work of markets that can deliver profits and create jobs and deliver economic opportunity for women, minorities and the poor.
In the speech, I announced several new steps that I believe will be key to this effort, among them the formation of our new Innovation and Development Alliances Office, the expansion of our use of the Development Credit Authority to support local private sector growth and significantly increase our commercial leverage, the deployment a new cadre of investment officers to boost our field based transactions expertise and a reevaluation of the way we strengthen enabling environments abroad.
A lot of people are currently giving speeches about the need to move beyond foreign aid—you’ve probably heard a few. But I believe the private sector connectivity we drive with developing countries today will determine how much we can trade and partner with them tomorrow, creating economic opportunity for own country.
If we want to truly get to a world that has moved beyond aid, then we need to invest in exactly the kind of developmental and private sector engagement that will get us there.
PPP-is very good project if the investor get back the investment within 2-3 years and produce skilled and happy small farmers.
Great article. The focus needs to be on continued economic growth, responsive institutions and strong human capital if there is going to be any positive result.
-Igor Purlantov
I couldn’t agree more, Rajiv. Private sector engagement is critical.
Another reality which we need to respond to is that half the world’s population is under 25 years old. I was really pleased to hear USAID is launching a new youth development policy the other day – the first major bilateral agency to do so. Raising productivity, especially amongst the 7-10 million young people entering Africa’s labour force each year, is surely Africa’s biggest challenge – and its biggest opportunity.
Dear USAID
My Name is DRIUNI JAKANI I am a farmer farm Lakya village Mundri West County Western Equatoria State, always I am hearing about millions of dollars been donated to the government of South Sudan by USA through USAID, to my perspective this fund cloud be given for us as loan to enable us to increase our production, but at the grassroots level we are not able to have access to any those funds either from government or USAID,
I am wondering whether those funds for service delivery or for politics game only
Thanks