Forging Stronger Partnerships: Collaboration for Enhanced Public Service
No one can tackle Africa's challenges alone. By forming strategic partnerships and collaborating, we can achieve greater impact and drive real change.
As we move toward 2025 and beyond, strategic partnerships are essential for achieving meaningful and sustainable progress. This overview looks at current trends in partnerships that can drive change in the public sector.
Recent trends indicate that multi-stakeholder collaboration is becoming increasingly important. This approach brings together governments, civil society, businesses, and international organisations, to achieve common goals. By leveraging their diverse skills and resources, these collaborations can effectively address interconnected challenges facing the African public sector such as poverty, inequality, under-resourced public institutions and corruption, ultimately improving the lives of citizens.
A notable development in Nigeria reflecting this trend, is the Nigerian Corporate Social Responsibility Bill, passed in 2023. This law mandates companies to allocate at least 3.5% of their annual net profit to CSR initiatives, recognising the private sector's role in contributing to societal well-being. By encouraging businesses to invest in their communities, this legislation promotes a culture of corporate accountability and social responsibility.
Trends in Partnerships for Change
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Critical for economic growth, PPPs enable private sector involvement in public projects, improving infrastructure and services. For example, PPPs can help address the significant infrastructure deficit estimated at $108 billion annually, which could increase to $170 billion by 2025.
Engagement of Civil Society: NGOs play a vital role in advocating for community needs and holding governments accountable. Their involvement guarantees that development initiatives are inclusive and address the concerns of marginalised groups.
Leveraging Technology: Technology is key to enhancing collaboration. Digital platforms enable seamless communication and resource sharing among stakeholders, improving coordination and efficiency.
Last year, we partnered with the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and Phillips Consulting, to deliver an impactful leadership training programme to established Directors in the Nigerian Federal Civil Service. By embracing multi-stakeholder collaboration and prioritising strategic partnerships, we can achieve collective impact, driving sustainable development across Africa. We invite organisations and individuals who share our vision to explore partnership opportunities with us. You can reach us via email at bukky.akinsemoyin@aigafrica.org.