UNLOCKING AFRICA`S INVESTMENT POTENTIAL

The magazine for the developing world
UNLOCKING
AFRICA’S
INVESTMENT
POTENTIAL
■ Interview with Jorge Rocha de Matos
President of AIP - p.3
■ Infoterra and PROGIS: Using spatial information
systems to aid Food Security - p.4-5
■ EMRC AFIF 2007: Goals, achievements and
perspectives - p.6-7
■ Global Fund and UNAIDS prove fighting diseases
spurs development - p.8-9
■ EMRC AgriBusiness 2008 at the FAO headquarters:
programme - p.11
Published quarterly by
Ec o n o m ic m is
si o n s a c h ie ve
d
in Is ra e l a n d Sp
a in - p .1 0
Editorial
The man in the mirror
2008 started on the wrong foot for the African continent –“As always”, pessimists might say… Sadly,
everlasting crisis in Darfur (Sudan), instability in Ituri (East DRCongo), and recent violence in Kenya
still generate a common feeling of insecurity towards the African continent as a whole. “As usual”,
millions of refugees will add their misery to the number of overpopulated urban metropolis; peasants
will abandon their land in search for a brighter future; and children will suffer from curable diseases,
due to the lack of vaccines… These are the sad “clichés” about Africa the world receives frequently
through the eyes of the international media.
Philippe van Maldeghem
Editor-in-Chief
Reality is often distant from the “published” truth, as news come and go, but sometimes leaving
deep prejudice behind. Fortunately, some visionaries are still taking up the challenge, regardless of
the country’s image. The consequence of such bad press can be disastrous for the regions in focus:
foreign investors will be driven out of a region qualified as “unstable”, preventing therefore investments which are vital for future development. Examples of countries still suffering from the negative
press coming from past conflicts are numerous: Angola, Sierra Leone or Mozambique, to name a few.
Nonetheless, Africa’s countries are vast, and rich in diversity. This perception ought to be taken into
account by foreigners willing to set up businesses in these untamed “Eldorados”. Africa’s development can only succeed through overcoming stereotypes and establishing private partnerships between
businessmen from Northern and Southern hemispheres. To that extent, members of EMRC realize
how much dialogue is a key factor of success, since it enables business agreements and networking.
Parallel to those private initiatives, let’s hope the upcoming French presidency of the EU will tackle
the issues around the new series of economic partnership agreements with ACP countries, which
were due to be in place by the start of the year. A successful Africa should aim at increasing Trade
over Aid. More than ever, the EU has to be ready to give the developing world control over its own
development. This process passes precisely through shared business ideas becoming reality, using the
know-how, contacts and expertise from the developed countries.
To the question: “Who will stand up to give Africa a chance?” The answer starts with the
(business)man in the mirror…
Upcoming projects this year:
■ Economic mission to Israel: 13 to 17 April 2008
■ EMRC Agribusiness Forum at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy: 18 to 20 June 2008
■ Economic mission to Bié, Angola: third quarter of 2008
■ European Development Days, Strasbourg, France:15 to 17 November 2008
■ Africa Finance and Investment Forum (AFIF): end of 2008
The next issue of Dialogues Magazine will feature a special focus on Zimbabwe
The magazine for the
developing world
Published quarterly
by
Publisher: Idit Miller
Editor-in-Chief:
Philippe van Maldeghem
Main contributors:
Jeanne McCaul,
Hans Gössl, Pierre Coetzer
Designer: Bird
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The views expressed in this issue of Dialogues are the private views of individuals and are not necessarily those of EMRC International, its executive committee, or members of its business
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-
DIALOGUES
- EMRC
I nterview
Jorge Rocha de Matos
President of AIP
(Portuguese Industrial Association)
Lisbon, December 2007
■ Dialogues: : In your opinion, what were
the main results of the EU-Africa Business
Summit?
meetings and action instruments that have
taken place throughout almost one decade:
to start, the first historical EU-Africa Summit
in 2000 in Cairo under the Portuguese Presidency that gave origin to the Declaration and
the Cairo Plan of Action; then the launching
in 2001, of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD); in 2002, the creation
of the African Union (AU) and; in 2005, the
European Commission adopted its commu-
Jorge Rocha de Matos and Idit Miller
■ Dialogues: As President of the AIP, do
Rocha de Matos: : The EU-Africa Business
you see the promotion of relations between
Summit was an important moment for the setthe Members of your Association with Aftlement of a new dynamism in the relations
rica – mainly the PALOPs (African Portuwith Africa. This dynamism considers the reguese Speaking Countries) as a priority?
gional agreements of economic partnerships
as well as the promotion of an effective inteRdM: We have strong relations with Africa,
gration of African countries in the
and in first place with PALOPs.
global and regional economy.
The conferences, the training
The EU-Africa Business Summit
courses at the public and private
represented an opportunity for
level, the business missions in difthe African and European busiferent sectors and the approach to
ness leaders to develop approachassociative structures similar to
ing mechanisms and to debate on
ours are some of the many initia“thematic round table” subjects
tives that AIP-CE has developed
such as commerce, investment and
with the African continent. Aldevelopment of resources and inthough PALOPs are the main partfrastructures. The event was also
ners of the AIP-CE in Sub-Sahaimportant for the reinforcement of
ran Africa, our collaboration is not
reliable relations at political, instirestricted to these countries.
tutional and business level.
For example, we have the case of
José Amaro Tati, Governor of the Angolan Province of Bié, discussing busi- South Africa, where we have one
■ Dialogues: Throughout the last ness opportunities with Portuguese entrepreneurs at the AFIF Forum.
of the biggest Portuguese emigrant
decade EMRC has organised numerous international initiatives to expand
business linkages between Europe and Africa. How do you see these initiatives?
RdM: AIP–CE considers it very important
to promote this type of initiative by organisations that represent the civil society and
particularly the business sector. These organisations play a fundamental role in the promotion of relations between the two continents.
It is at the level of decentralized cooperation
between companies that it is possible to establish durable relations and to share common interests.
■ Dialogues: What actions can be taken in
order to strengthen the relations between
Africa and Europe?
RdM: At a political level, the European Union has developed a strong cooperation process with the private sector through working
nication on “Strategy of the EU for Africa”,
which was approved by the European Parliament and Council. It’s consensual that it is
really important to deepen this framework
of cooperation and common action. Europe
can have a very important role in the field of
education, training, R&D and countries like
Portugal with long and strong relations with
Africa can and should be important partners
of this Continent, in order to minimize the
constraints to its development. I believe that
the European Union will benefit politically,
economically and strategically if it gives
more attention to Africa and if it knows how
to find the right instruments for cooperation.
I am sure that the business community of both
continents is an active and very interested
part of this partnership for the development
and the competitive affirmation of Africa in
the global economy.
communities, and which is also
one of our priorities. We also develop initiatives with other North Africa countries. ■
About AIP-CE
Counting more than 75.000 direct and indirect
associated members, Portuguese Industrial Association/Entrepreneurial Confederation has
consistently worked towards the improvement of
the Portuguese economy’s competitiveness, with
special focus on organisational and technological modernisation of its SMEs. Aiming to represent and defend the Portuguese entrepreneurs’
interests, AIP-CE is known for its unique position in the associative movement in Portugal. It
is active in providing a wide range of services
for its members, for instance by organising international trade fairs and conferences or promoting international expansion.
Quarterly -
Spring 2008 - Mapping Africa to unlock wealth
Infoterra is a leading provider of geo-information products and services, which have become
vital for managing the world’s environment, development and security. The Infoterra Group has
approximately 300 employees in the UK, France, Germany and Hungary and an extensive network
of partners covering all five continents.
W
”
hat we are looking to achieve
using geospatial mapping, is
to unlock Africa’s wealth”,
says Simon Ashby, Principal
Consultant with Infoterra. He goes on to explain that security of land ownership is key
to development, while reliable mapping is a
prerequisite to land and property registration
and ownership.
The total landmass of Africa is 30.3 million square kilometers while, by contrast,
Argentina, India, China, Western Europe
and the USA, together make up 28.8 million square kilometers. Meanwhile, the
maps of Africa are completely out of
date, going back to Colonial times. For
instance, the massive urbanisation, which
has taken place in recent decades, has remained essentially unrecorded.
Geospatial mapping, a digital technology,
which provides detailed and reliable spatial data, is the 21st century’s answer to
those old fashioned, hand drawn maps to
be found in antique shops.
changed circumstances on the ground, such as
urbanisation. Britain has had a national mapping agency since 1791 and, following a comprehensive digitisation programme, resulting
in the release of Ordinance Survey’s MasterMap® in 2001, now has one of the most
sophisticated national geographic frameworks
in the developed world.
available technology and investment banks
should provide the funding”, says Ashby.
Population drift to the cities increases informal land tenure systems, which in turn, increase slums. Approximately 70% of African
land is managed informally, with profound
consequences on sanitation, water and access.
Such un-formalised rural, peri-urban and urban tenures affect the poorest people.
Since they do not formally own the
land, they have no rights on it nor incentives to develop it.
Currently countries that have recognised the importance of land administration are trying to develop individual approaches, but this is not cost
effective. Therefore, the Land Administration Retreat hosted in November
2007 by the World Bank in Washington and attended by several UN agencies, recommended the establishment
of universal principles and standards.
It was also recommended that the imInfoterra’s online spatial application supporting a
Land Administration business process
portance of technology for good governance should be recognised and that
Raw data, such as accurate land statistics and
The MasterMap® references over 440 milcountries should be identified for case studinfrastructure, is transformed into business
lion natural and manmade landscape features
ies. Subsequently, the Land Registrars Expert
information for the benefit of both the public
to which 5,000 changes are made daily. This
Group Meeting in Nairobi, highlighted the
and private sectors. The examples of areas of
is an example of what is technically possible,
value of communicating with Land Registrars.
application of this technology are impressive:
provided the political will is there and the fiThese a-political civil servants are responsible
improved land, water and forest managenances allocated.
for registering land tenure.
ment, biodiversity and conservation,
“Typically, registration of property will
determining crop prospects and desertake 400 days in, for instance, Nigeria.
The technology of
tification risks, alerts on natural disasReducing this procedure to a tenth of
geospatial mapping is
ters, communication network planning
this, for instance by establishing a state
(roads, railways, electricity, telecom…),
already being considered and data-base to support registrations, would
establishing accurate topology such as
be an enormous incentive for developimplemented in a number
building heights, etc.
ment. Once people have secure ownerof developing countries in
The technology of geospatial mapping
ship of their land, they will then feel
Eastern Europe
is already being considered and imsafe to perhaps purchase their neighbor’s
plemented in a number of developing
land, allowing the neighbor to pursue
countries in Eastern Europe, such as Bulgaria,
“The challenge we face is implementation”,
another profession or trade, to which they are
Romania, the Balkans, Macedonia and Kossays Ashby. In 2006 the Africa Land Policy
perhaps better suited” says Ashby. “Needless
ovo – in particular to settle land ownership isworkshop in Kampala recognised that imto say, such a data-base would also be of great
sues exacerbated by the fact that many records
plementation was far from straight forward.
help in land feuds and in preventing corrupof ownership were lost or destroyed during reA policy document has been drawn up, but it
tion. The African Union is very interested in
cent conflicts.
must be translated into a comprehensive prothe potential of geospatial systems and, fortuToday national spatial frameworks can be
gramme of land sector reform. “Governments
nately, some African countries are moving in
created and constantly modified to reflect
need to give the concessions to implement the
the right direction”. ■
-
DIALOGUES
- EMRC
Upstream or downstream,
we all drink from the same
source…
W
alter Mayer, CEO of PROGIS GmbH,
a respected GIS-software supplier and
consulting company, is emphatic: “There is
no reason at all for farmers, consumers and
environmentalists to be enemies. After all, we
all have the same concerns. When the river is
polluted upstream, everyone downstream suffers. The future has to be not either food or
water and environment, but both, for all of us.
It follows that it is in everybody’s interest to
respect our valuable resources - such as water
- and invest in managing them well. And by
the way, this challenge is the same in developed as well as developing countries!”
PROGIS has been focusing for several years
on the development of the appropriate technical applications for efficient management
of agriculture, forestry, ecology and general
land-use. The company advocates an integrated, holistic approach, encompassing the
needs of farmers and affiliated industries and
authorities. Many large industries and organisations are already benefitting from this expertise and can serve as examples and refer-
ences. Mayer goes on to explain that the basic
management model is similar for individual
farmers, groups of farmers, or large co-operatives. The challenge is to use the model integrating agriculture, and/or forestry as well as
environmental tasks. (In this context the FAO
actually poses the question in its recent annual
publication: should farmers be paid to protect
the environment?) There is also a real need
for politicians everywhere to understand how
technology can be of help.
The World Bank has been asking how information technology can contribute to the
well-being of communities. “We have the answers,” says Mayer. “Environment problems
can be solved by information technology. For
example, instead of guessing as farmers did
in the past, technology allows us to make accurate calculations as well as evaluations. We
can calculate the optimum use of fertiliser and
we can evaluate the quality of the water (levels of nitrogen) and monitor the processes on
an everyday basis.”
The topic of “rural area management” is in-
Walter Mayer, CEO of Progis
separably connected with the sustainability
of a healthy environment. The cultivation of
fields, pastures or forests has direct effect, not
only on food, feed and bio-energy, but also on
the earth’s atmosphere, land, water, and biological resources.
To meet all these challenges, multi-class collaborations, supported by an increased use of
advanced ICT-technologies and tools, are essential. “Together with ‘SaRAM’, a specific
education and training programme, we recently launched a product range, called ‘AGROffice complete’. With ‘one-stop-shop’ all the
needs on rural area ICT can be met”, says
Mayer. SaRAM itself informs on situations,
expectations, chances and risks in rural areas,
trains software users and helps stakeholders to
get ready for this rapid and dynamic market
development. It assists participants and supports them by implementing agro-projects in
countries or regions.
PROGIS works in close collaboration with
Infoterra (see previous page) ■
Netafim: household name for
irrigation technologies
N
etafim describes itself as a “growing solutions” company and is the world’s largest
low volume irrigation company. In fact, Netafim
has become a household name in the business
of irrigation. The company has 45 years of experience in 110 countries on 5 continents via 35
subsidiaries, as well as additional, independent, Netafim trained representatives worldwide.
Manufacturing facilities have also been established in 11 countries and there are over 2200
employees.
“Today everybody is concerned with issues
regarding the environment. But the subject is
far from new; it is just that awareness has increased on every level of society, also with the
general public. However, we have been dealing with the subject of environment for over 4
decades, always with the aim to increase crop
yield, while preserving water resources and the
environment. Over the years we have developed tailor-made solutions for many different
needs and conditions. These include irrigation
technologies and crop management (open field
crops, orchards and greenhouses), desalination
and purification, industrial waste water treatment, solutions for bio-fuel energy, etc.” says
Natan Barak, Netafim’s Commercial Director
for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The company’s clients include governments,
communities and private entrepreneurs. But
Barak describes the company’s approach and
philosophy as fundamentally “farmer to farmer”. Indeed: the company originated in an Israeli
Kibbutz (co-operative farm) and at the present
time 3 Kibbutzim own the majority shares of
the company with 50% of the owners still active
members of these Kibbutzim.
Netafim is well-known for its flexibility and
creativity in finding solutions to sometimes very
difficult local circumstances, for instance in developing countries faced with limited financial
resources.
“We take into account the existing strengths and
energies in each situation and can ensure good
returns and profits on average within 3 years,
even with minimum financial investment. The
problems facing the world today concern us all.
Population growth is a global reality. Inevitably, we will have to increase food production
and yields and, more and more, we will need to
achieve this using less and less water, because
water resources are not only limited, they are
shrinking, “ says Barak. ■
Barak: “Netafim’s solution for family-sized farming: an excellent application that enables
families to produce their own food with minimal resources.”
Quarterly -
Spring 2008 - Africa Finance &
Investment Forum 2007:
Success stories in Africa’s
private sector development
How to unlock Africa’s investment potential? Representatives
from four continents and 25 countries gathered at the EMRC
Africa Finance & Investment Forum 2007 on 5-7 December in
Lisbon to discuss and showcase the investment potential of
Africa’s diverse private sectors.
T
he EMRC Forum was organised
within the bigger framework of the
first EU-Africa Summit in seven
years, which took place at the same location
one day after the private sector event. Held
under the high patronage of the Portuguese
Presidency of the Council of the European
Union, the event thus complemented the
discussions of the political Summit with its
specific focus on Africa’s private sector development.
Showcasing practical
business solutions
Idit Miller, Managing Director at EMRC International, defined the added value of
Kingsley Moghalu, Head of Global Partnerships
at The Global Fund: “The three pandemics - HIV/
AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (...) are described
as diseases of poverty because, compared to
wealthy parts of the world, their impact in developing countries is devastating.”
-
DIALOGUES
- EMRC
the EMRC Forum in its emphasis on practical business solutions and direct exchange
possibilities with major decision makers.
According to her, “this Forum gives a unique
exchange opportunity for private investors
across Africa and Europe to drive the economy in Africa.”
In its three-day programme the Africa Finance & Investment Forum presented a wide
range of successful business initiatives in
Africa’s private sector. High-rank speakers
showcased funding opportunities as well as
first-hand analysis of Africa’s financial markets and enabling environment for sustainable
investment. Special sessions on Public-Private-Partnership programmes on agriculture
and rural development, health and spatial
data infrastructure completed the exchange of
success stories and best practices. Throughout these intensive discussions, participants
were given additional possibilities to meet
in targeted one-to-one business meetings
and explore concrete business projects and
partnerships.
A concluding key moment took place at the
event’s Gala Evening with the announcement of the EMRC Awards. These prestigious Awards honoured selected achievers,
heads of commercial and national financial
institutions in Africa for their leadership
and achievements in Africa’s economic
development.
The joint organisation with the EU-Africa
Business Summit on the EMRC Forum’s
last day gave participants additional contact opportunities with key-note speakers,
such as José Sócrates, President of the
Council of the European Union and José
Barroso, President of the European Commission as well as with government officials,
business leaders and development experts
like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank and Louis Michel, EU
Commissioner for Development.
Africa Finance
FORUM
&
Investment
2007
18-99-99-9
14-50-100-0
9-19-94-0
Gideon Gono, Governor of The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe and Philippe van Maldeghem
Identifying Investors and
project owners
Ibrahim Mallam Aliyu, Chairman of Urban
Shelter Limited, one of the representatives of
the Nigerian private sector said his attendance
at the EMRC Forum has been rewarding.
“I have unlocked my potentials and those of
Nigeria at the event. My presence has led to
an acquaintance of investors willing to come
to Nigeria – open a shopping mall and a hotel. The investment summit is a gathering of
potential investors and those who need the
resources.”
“It is our aim to gather the best heads in this
platform” explained Idit Miller, “and we do
not leave it with this. Following our EMRC
Forums we organise targeted Economic Missions, tailored events and advise participants
with our business development services to
follow-up the valuable contacts and expertise
gained from the event.”
Africa is not only about business potential, but
also about business success. EMRC’s Africa
Finance & Investment Forum has shown concrete examples of the continent’s private sector
contribution to sustainable development. ■
A programme of the ACP group and the
European Commission for the promotion
of investment
S
tarting in July this year, the upcoming
French presidency of the European Union should tackle the issue of EU-ACP economic partnership agreements. In line with it,
Pro€Invest is a programme undertaken by the
European Commission to promote and facilitate the inward flow of investment, technology, know-how and management skills to the
ACP States. It is financed under the 8th European Development Fund and managed by
an autonomous unit within the Centre for the
Development of Enterprise (CDE) under the
supervision of EUROPEAID, the Cooperation Office of the European Commission. The
strategy of the Centre for the Development of
Enterprise is based on three principles, “sector
+network+partnership”, where wider sectorial
projects will be implemented through a complete range of services offered to small and
medium enterprises.
The ACP Group of States and the European
Commission are in the process of signing the
prolongation of the programme until the end
of March 2011. While the underlying objectives of the Pro€Invest programme remain
valid, the emphasis of the programme will be
increasingly put on institutional strengthening
among ACP Intermediary Organisations (IOs).
The final scope is the public-private dialogue
between IOs and governments. Therefore, direct assistance to small and medium enterpris-
es will decrease: these are expected to benefit
indirectly from the strengthened capacity of
IOs. The programme will also include interventions with Regional Organisations and
support of IOs through the Pro€Invest Information Community (PIC).
The PIC will aim to ensure co-ordination,
cross-fertilisation and the avoidance of duplication of effort between all EC-funded programmes. It may refer applicants to other programmes for interventions which are sound
but otherwise ineligible for funding under
Pro€invest. The programme consists of unblocking €110 million over 7 years. ■
Microfinance: Bright
prospects in Cameroon
“Microfinance is emerging as a major driving force of the
economy in Cameroon”, says Mr Michel Nyami, the Deputy
Director General of Crédit Communautaire d’Afrique, or CCA
Microfinance.
Michel Nyami receiving the EMRC Award, on
behalf of Albert Nkemla from CCA, Cameroon.
CA is a leading provider of microfinance
in the CEMAC monetary area, and is involved in numerous economic development
projects. “We focus on people with no access
to the formal banking system, providing them
with the capacity to raise finance for microprojects”. Indeed, over 70 % of CCA’s client base falls in this category. In 2007, CCA
attracted savings of 27 million euros, and
financed projects to the tune of 15 million
euros, mostly out of current account deposits. “We offer individuals an original way of
building up savings based on a system of joint
surety given by for periods of between three to
CCA’s aim is to find reliable partners prepared
to offer long term credit facilities. This would
allow it to respond to the rising demand for
the financing of medium to long term projects.
“We are faced with two types of challenges:
First, we handle almost exclusively current
account cash deposits, which are not suited
to any time-related commitments. Secondly,
local microfinance institutions fundamentally
lack refinancing and compensation mechanisms”.
The successful establishments of partnerships
will be important to secure CCA’s projects for
the coming five years. ■
C
six months. In this way loans can be raised by
people who would not have been able to do so
individually”. This approach is proving very
popular: So far, over 31,000 loans have been
granted by CCA, a threefold increase since
2005. And Nyami is keen to emphasise CCA’s
commitment to its customers: “We are looking to create a bond of trust with marginalised parts of the population. For instance, we
helped setting up a cooperative of 300 small
farmers in the field of medicinal plants under
the wing of AFRIMED”. Furthermore, the
authorities in Cameroon have clearly realised
the importance of microcredit institutions.
EMRC Awards 2007
A key moment of the event was the Gala Evening, where individuals were honoured for their leadership and achievements in Africa’s economic development. This year’s EMRC Awardees were: Albert
Nkemla of Crédit Communautaire d’Afrique, Cameroon, Martin Djedjes of BIAO (Banque Internationale pour l’Afrique Occidentale), Ivory Coast, Dablé Grah, Roche Internationale, Ivory Coast,
Théophile Gogui Zegre, SOGEPIE, Ivory Coast, Gideon Gono, Governor of The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe and Adriano Pascoal, President of the Banco de Comércio e Indústria de Angola.
Babs Adenaike, Programme Manager at Pro€Invest (right),
presenting the Award to Martin Djedjes of BIAO, Ivory Coast (left)
Quarterly -
Spring 2008 - I nterview
Michel Lavollay
Senior consultant for UNAIDS
Brussels January 2008
Michel Lavollay was practicing medicine in
Paris when AIDS was discovered. He got involved with this disease in the 1980’s, and cooperated with French and international institutions to find responses to deal with the issue.
This led him as far as the WHO in Geneva, the
UNDP as well as at the UN Secretariat in New
York, private foundations, and at the French
Embassy in Washington. He then spent four
years in the early creation of the Global Fund
to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, where he
pushed for the establishment of a public/private strategy and funding mechanisms.
Considering this heavy experience, he works
now in Brussels as senior consultant for a variety of organisations and, more recently, UNAIDS, where he aims at reinforcing the discussions on health, HIV, diseases linked to poverty
and partnerships with the private sector.
■ Dialogues: Big organisations created by
the UN or the EU suffer criticism because of
their complexity and delay before action is
implemented. In your opinion, what could be
done for these organisations to acquire a better knowledge on the matter and to improve
the public/private partnerships?
ML: There is an interesting parallel to draw
between the transitions at the UN in the past
twenty years, and what can happen with the
EU, in the sense that the EU must go through
transitions and transformations that take time
in order to integrate fully civil society in its
work. This is not about theory but reality and
how partnerships can actually exist. The reality is that private corporations are developing
programmes and partnerships on the ground
with local authorities, NGOs, and are actually
transforming the reality in these particular
regions through these partnerships. It is this
sort of action that needs to be valued and promoted. T he various institutions, the interested
stakeholders and groups like EMRC, who
have a critical role to play in bringing the people together like you did it in Lisbon, have to
be supported in establishing a dialogue and to
gradually bring the stakeholders to a common
understanding that there is value and a benefit
in these discussions, not just for the institutions, but also for the private sector. What is
I have participated with other institutions and
bilateral entities in developing an approach
that we call co-investment, a simple mechanism in which partners negotiate the terms of
their partnerships in order for them to achieve
common goals. These co-investments in areas
such as HIV or malaria are being implemented in Africa. There are even projects now that
benefit not only the partnerships, but also the
eco-systems. For example, in some coastal areas in East-Africa, the regression of malaria
allowed to promote tourism and other secondary benefits that are far beyond public health
and have a direct impact on the local economies. Potentially, this is a constructive way to
look at development.
■ Dialogues: A healthy environment creates
and promotes development. In your opinion,
what could be done to help governments fo■ Dialogues: How would you define
cus on social issues, allowing therefore priUNAIDS’ priorities regarding the poverty
vate companies to focus on business issues?
situation in developing countries, since
ML: Today it is basically a question of neceshealth problems are often linked to poverty
sity. If you analyse what public, private and
and impede development?
local NGOs can achieve at a local level, the
ML: UNAIDS’ experience is critical, because
political variable is out of the equation. There
a lot of what is being discussed for the moment
is a lot less evaporation of funds nowadays and
on health, partnerships, or mechanisms for dewe can clearly see what these organisations
livery of services in the poorest countries, is
can do together. The problem is not the lack
very much related to what was achieved in
of resources, because governments are receivresponding to HIV. The participation of
ing large amounts of money. It is more a
UNAIDS as well as other institutions question of dialogue, and understanding.
The problem is not the
like the WHO or the Global Fund, the
Discussions are needed, because busilack of resources, because
World Bank, and the UNDP, is essential
ness objectives can be compatible with
governments are receiving large
to maintain a discussion on these health
social objectives. Furthermore, there is a
amounts of money. It is more a
topics and the broader discussions on
need to define and promote the kinds of
question of dialogue
development objectives. UNAIDS’ role
mechanisms by which the objectives are
and understanding.
is also important in creating partnerships
not lost. The business community needs
with the European institutions, governto be confident that its contributions
ments, and the civil society. We aim to help the
striking in Brussels is that everyone, politiare respected, that the lines of responsibility
dialogue between civil society organisations
cally and in various parts of the EU process,
are well identified and that the monitoring is
and local institutions. Actually, just talking
is convinced that nothing can be done without
shared in order to reach common objectives.
about the problems is not enough! Solutions
public/private partnerships. This takes time
The analysis of what actually happens in pracand practical mechanisms to bring additional
and requires a confidence-building process.
tice shows us that common objectives can be
resources and capacities, in order to improve
The potential partners must feel confident
found, that there are methodologies defined
the efficiency of delivery of development aid
that what they bring to the various partnerbetween the parties involved. But at the inmust be found, and that is a real challenge.
ships will not be modified or be deviated from
stitutional level, there is always a tendency
DG DEV (Directorate for Development of the
their original purpose because companies get
to interpret and mistrust. So the discussions
European Commission) has an important and
involved to do business! We have to stay away
should be focused on what is happening in
clear role in strengthening partnerships.
from substitution and philanthropy!
concrete terms. All these elements from real
-
DIALOGUES
- EMRC
“Health is Wealth”
T
he Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland. It was set up in 2002
at the initiative of the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, to
mobilise, manage and disburse large sums
of money, initially to combat the spread of
HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Mr Annan put his money where his mouth was by
time situations can be included in models that
will be used to create partnerships and share
experiences.
■ Dialogues: Considering that a company’s
experience can stimulate other companies
to follow its footsteps, could you give us an
example that proves that the system works,
where partnerships are actually taking
place?
ML : The Malawi project, is a very important project that was introduced four to five
years ago, that I helped negotiate, where
the Ministry of Health received one of the
first rounds of grants from the Global Fund
($ 200 Million) on HIV treatment. The proposal was considered a very sound one but,
not unexpectedly, within a year the government started to have some problems executing
and implementing. The process at the Global
Fund is results-based and if a recipient can’t
deliver, then, either solutions are found, either
the grant is lost. For the Malawi situation, we
argued that there was a structured coalition of
businesses involved in HIV. It included more
than thirty companies, working together on
the disease with clinics and trained personnel.
After two years, the coalition negotiated the
terms of delivery of a large part of the grant,
which enabled the government to actually
keep the grant. This shows that you can create large scale partnerships using the capacity,
additional financial and technical resources.
This example has become a very interesting
and useful model for future projects.
There are also very interesting initiatives regarding Malaria, like MOZAL, in South-Africa and Mozambique, developed for three
years now. Joint programmes between local
governments, the Global Fund and NGOs
have been implemented to distribute medicine
and treatments for malaria, which has brought
very significant and rapid results, on the workforce, as well as on their families and the local
communities. Also, the eco-system has benefited from these joint programmes and as a
result, tourism has grown. ■
making a personal donation of USD100,000
needs are assessed locally, and before impleto what he called the “war chest”.
mentation, all programme proposals submitToday, five years later, the Fund’s assets toted for financing are carefully evaluated from
tal USD 21 billion, of which 10 billion have
technical, quality and potential impact points
been committed to health programmes already
of view by an independent panel of techniapproved by the fund in 136 countries on 5
cal experts retained by the Global Fund. The
continents. Moreover: today the Fund’s proprocess of making funding decisions is a riggrammes target not only HIV/ AIDS, but also
orous one: roughly half of all proposals are
the two other major poverty-related pandemsuccessful. Results are also evaluated, makics: malaria and tuberculosis. At the present
ing it possible to confirm that almost 2 miltime, the Fund’s money accounts for 65% of
lion lives were saved since the establishment
available international resources in the fight
of the Fund. Results have been especially enagainst tuberculosis, 65% for malaria and 25%
couraging in Ruanda, Tanzania and Sri Lanka,
for HIV/AIDS. Within the Fund’s investment
among others.
portfolio in developing countries, spending is
almost evenly spread with 60% allocated to
“With regard to HIV/AIDS, one of the greatHIV/AIDS and 40% to malaria and tubercuest challenges is to tackle issues of cultural
losis combined. Contributors to the Fund instereotypes. An example often quoted is the
clude governments, institutions, foundations
belief in some countries that this disease can
and private individuals. A donation from the
be cured by having sex with a virgin! But there
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation totalled
are many other pre-conceived ideas and superUSD650 million.
stitions, based on traditional
‘The three pandemics are
cultural and social systems,
closely related and often ocor simply due to lack of educur together, with the same
cation. In short, education
devastating consequences,
is key”, says Moghalu, “esin particular for developing
pecially because, as yet, no
countries in Africa, Asia,
cure has been found for this
Latin America and the Cardisease.”
ibbean and also Eastern Eu“As for malaria, it needs to
rope. Of course these diseases
be arrested at the source.
exist globally. However: they
A strategic, environmental
are described as diseases of
approach should include a
poverty because, compared
combination of general sanito wealthy parts of the world,
tation, draining of swamps
their impact in developing Economic development starts with the where mosquitoes breed, use
eradication of “diseases of poverty”
countries is devastating. Not
of long lasting insecticide
only is there a lack of money for healthcare
treated bed nets and approved pesticides in ruitself, but the extent of the diseases in poor
ral and urban areas and, needless to add, and
countries poses a fundamental threat to develas with HIV/AIDS, universal access to mediopment, claiming 6 million lives every year.
cation and treatment.”
Clearly, social and economic development is
Until recently, it seemed that tuberculosis had
impossible where populations are decimated
been all but eradicated in developed countries.
by disease. Health is wealth. Therefore, the
Its recurrence in the form of dangerous new
situation needs to be met by what I consider
strains has become a global concern, requirto be a new approach to international health
ing global strategies. Overall, having successfinancing”, says Kinsley Moghalu, a former
fully mobilized USD21 billion over the past
corporate lawyer who is Head of Global Partsix years, another strategic challenge connerships of the Global Fund. This approach
fronting the Global Fund is that developing
aims to address health treatment not merely
countries need to scale up effective demand
by distributing medications, but on the mulfor the Fund’s money for more ambitious
tiple levels of prevention, treatment and care.
prevention, treatment and care programmes.
Never prescriptive, the Global Fund is man“Yes, the Fund has made an impact, but we
aged on a basis of a public partnership beare not resting on our ears. Defeating these
tween so-called developed and developing
pandemics requires much more work on the
countries. The policy is “bottom-up” to enable
part of developing countries and their internaeach country to take full ownership. Mechational partners, such as the Global Fund”, says
nisms for co-operation and co-ordination are
Moghalu. The Global Fund’s new approach to
in place for every individual project. Inputs
health financing proposes a multilevel philosoare received from local governments, civil sophy and quality of partnership that offers hope
ciety, NGO’s, associations and so forth. The
for the future.■
Quarterly -
Spring 2008 - EMRC’s Economic Missions:
Establishing new partnerships
between Africa and Israel
A
frica’s recent economic development
technologies as well as the world’s biggest deemphasises the continent’s potential for
salinisation centre can be found in the country.
nies and coordinates the
sustainable business partnerships. EMRC takes
A concrete initiative as outcome of one of EMproject development for the involved partners.
concrete actions to build new bridges between
RC’s Economic Missions to Israel has already
EMRC’s upcoming Economic Mission Afbusiness leaders from the North and South. In
been established in the Province of Katanga
rica-Israel will aim to create further successful
2007, EMRC has led two Senior Management
in DRC. Following the visit to Israel, H.E. Mr
partnerships in the field of agriculture and agroEconomic Missions for African business leadKatumbi, Governor of Katanga, invited EMRC
industry. The five day programme represents an
ers and government representatives to Israel.
to led a delegation of agricultural experts and
excellent opportunity for African business leadSeveral partnerships as result of these missions
business leaders from Israel to Katanga. This
ers to expand their business network and to gain
have prompted EMRC to organise a third Senworking visit enabled an in-depth analysis of
direct insight in latest agribusiness technology
ior Management Economic Mission Afdevelopments.
rica-Israel in 2008.
EMRC will guide participants to targeted
EMRC’s upcoming Economic
Scheduled to take place from 13 to 17
one-to-one business meetings as well as
Mission Africa-Israel will
April 2008, the third Economic Mission
to field visits to greenhouses, drip-irrigaaim to create further successful
Africa-Israel will provide participants
tion systems, solar energy plants, dairy
partnerships in the field of agriculture
with intensive exchange possibilities on
and poultry farms as well as aquaculture
and agro-industry
latest business developments and techsites and biotechnology applications in
nologies in agro-industry and agriculture. Israel
business opportunities as well as personal conagriculture. A concluding visit will be dedicated
is a worldwide leader in agricultural innovatacts to high-rank officials and private sector
to the Holy Sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
tion. Due to a long experience in these sectors,
business leaders. In a follow-up visit of officials
Africa’s private sector not only shows potential,
the country plays a major role in the worldwide
and entrepreneurs from Katanga to Israel, the
but also offers concrete business opportunities.
supply of innovative water and environmental
Israeli government decided to finance and exeEMRC’s targeted Economic Missions help to
technologies. Consequently, the most advanced
cute feasibility studies in Katanga’s fishing and
transform these opportunities in sustainable
irrigation, solar and water generating electricity
farming sectors. EMRC manages, accompasuccess stories. ■
EMRC’s Business Development Services:
Opening up new business opportunities
I
”
have clearly discovered new business opportunities for my producers in the European market”, says Mamadou Dijte, CEO
of the Senegalese fruits and vegetable trader
Agral-Export.
During a five-day trip to Spain, he has met major fruits and vegetable trading companies in
Barcelona and Valencia. In pre-arranged business meetings, Djite gained first-hand insight
in the European market conditions for Senegalese fruit and vegetables. “Even though I
have only spoken to trading companies based
in Spain”, explains Djite, “their international
outreach can also allow me to enter the Central and Eastern European market.” And the
prospects for getting into business are good:
Senegalese fruits and vegetables are an ideal
bridge during the season gap between the European and South American production.
EMRC has been the driving force behind these
business match-makings. As part of its Business Development Services for EMRC mem-
10 -
DIALOGUES
- EMRC
bers, the EMRC team analysed European fruits
and vegetable markets in order to identify the
best partners for Agral-Export to take a firm
step into the European market. In a second
stage, EMRC organised and guided the fiveday trip to Spain to enable a personal exchange
between Agral-Export and Spanish traders. The
success of these meetings can be measured by
several received partnership proposals. “To be
honest”, Djite confirms. “I have received too
many proposals to be able to keep up with all
of them.”
EMRC accompanies the development of these
partnership proposals and advices Agral-Export on market access regulations and certification procedures for its fruits and vegetables.
EMRC’s specific Business Development Services (BDS) provide members of the EMRC
network with networking activities, market
access analysis as well as lobbying, project
funding and public relations consultancy.
Agral-Export’s expanded business contacts
François Kacen from EMRC (centre), co-ordinating the
encounter with Mamadou Djite and Spanish traders
are one practical result of EMRC’s mission to
promote economic relations between business
leaders from Africa and the North.
“We will have to change some of our processes and produced varieties”, concludes Djite
after his discovery of business opportunities
in Europe’s fruits and vegetable market. “But
I can now see a big potential for my Senegalese producers in the European market.” ■
PRELIMINARY
Programme
Agri Business
FORUM
2008
The Agro-Food Industry
as Engine for Growth and
Wealth in Africa
18 - 20 June 2008 * FAO
Headquarters * Rome, Italy
1ST DAY – WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE 2008
■ Workshop: Innovation Strategy and Regional Innovation Systems. Presentation of Participants
■ Official Opening Session of the AgriBusiness Forum 2008
Pierre Mathijsen, President EMRC, former Director General at the European Commission
Top Management Representative of the FAO, Italy
Key Note Speaker: Dr Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development from 1995 to 2004 and Chairman
of the Ecosocial Forum Europe
■ Projects Incubator: Innovative Agro-Industry Projects from Africa. The best project will be rewarded with the EMRC Award
■ Networking place: One-to-One Sectoral Business Meetings
2ND DAY – THURSDAY 19TH JUNE 2008
■ Session I: PPP in Agriculture as a Platform for Growth and Wealth
Doyle Baker, Chief of Agricultural Management, Marketing & Financial Service - FAO, Italy
Ayisi Makatiani, Managing Director – AMSCO (African Management Services Co.), South Africa
Rustom Masalawala, Associate Director - The Earth Institute at Columbia University, USA
Nick Railston-Brown, Country Director - TechnoServe, Ghana
■ Session II: Investing and Financing African Agro-Food Industry
■ Part I: Responsible financing solutions to boost the agro-food industry in view of sustainable growth
Oscar Chemerinski, Director Agribusiness Department – IFC (Int’l Finance Corporation), USA
Bart-Jan Krouwel, Managing Director – CSR, Rabobank, The Netherlands
Daniel Kalabassou, General Director – Credit du Sahel, Cameroon
■ Part II: How can donors contribute to strengthen the agro-food sector?
Kevin Cleaver, Assistant President Prog. Mngmt Dev. – IFAD (Int’l Fund for Agric. Dev.), Italy
Maurits de Koning, Royal Tropical Institute – KIT, The Netherlands
Christoph Langenkamp, Task Leader Agriculture & Rural Policy - GDPRD (Global Donor Platform for Rural Dev.) and Ministry
of Economic Cooperation & Development, Germany
■ Parallel workshops: Innovative projects to boost the Agribusiness
■ Workshop I: Practical Research and Innovation for a sustainable growth in agriculture: practices and experiences learnt
Monty Jones, Executive Secretary – FARA (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa), Ghana
Mark Holderness, Executive Secretary – GFAR (Global Forum on Agricultural Research), Italy
Suresh K. Raina, Programme Leader – ICIPE (African Insect Science for Food & Health), Kenya
Ides De Willebois, Director Eastern & Southern Africa – IFAD, Italy ■ Workshop II: Enabling Rural Economy - using ICT and spatial data resources to build self-sustaining rural communities
Simon Ashby, Principal Consultant – Infoterra, UK
Walter Mayer, CEO – Progis Software, Austria
■ Session III: Adding value to the Agriculture
■ Part I: Making use of local raw material to replace imports and promote production of finished products in Africa – the Heineken case
Henk Knipscheer, Sr Managing Director – Global Operations, Winrock International, USA
Thomas de Man, President, Heineken Africa and the ME, The Netherlands
John Mbonu, General Manager, SLBL (Sierra Leone Brewery Ltd) – Heineken, Sierra Leone
■ Part II: Creating wealth and ensuring food security at the roots of the AgriBusiness sector in Africa - the Olam International case
Moochikal D. Ramesh, President & Regional Head S&E Africa – Olam International, South Africa
Chris Brett, Senior VP & Head of C.S.R. - Olam International, South Africa
■ Networking place: Gala Evening. Presentation of the EMRC AGRIBUSINESS AWARDS 2008
3RD DAY – FRIDAY 20TH JUNE 2008
■ Food Safeties, Health and Nutrition
■ Part I: Standards and certification for a better sanitary and food safety
Nigel Garbutt, Chairman - GlobalGAP, Germany
■ Part II: Fighting major health problems in the community through programmes led by food producers, which involve the local
farmers and international agencies
Michel Lavollay, Senior Advisor on Health (HIV-Malaria-TB), Belgium
Quarterly -
Spring 2008 - 11
Agri Business
FORUM
2008
Initiated and organised by:
In collaboration with:
Agro-Food Industry
as Engine for Growth and Wealth
18-20 J une , FAO H eadquarters , R ome , I taly
Finding Successful Partnerships.
Making Business Development Work.
Agribusiness is the key sector for Africa’s private
sector development. And the continent’s agriculture
and food industry clearly have potential. But how to
turn potential into sustainable growth and wealth?
Aimed at direct exchange and practical business
solutions, the three day programme will facilitate
North-South partnerships and identify latest business
opportunities. To follow up discussed case studies
and valuable contacts, EMRC offers participants
targeted Economic Missions and tailor-made Business
Development Services after the event.
The EMRC AgriBusiness Forum 2008 will discuss
latest trends, new technologies, best practises and
practical solutions. The event will be opened by
Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and
Rural Development 1995-2004, and offers:
• Top-level participants from four continents and
more than 25 countries
• Plenary sessions, workshops and targeted one-toone business meetings
• AgriBusiness Awards 2008 for outstanding leadership
and business successes
Sponsors:
You enter the Forum
and we build your business bridge.
For detailed programme & registration,
please contact Caterina Giuliano:
[email protected]
or [email protected]
Tel: +32 (0) 26 26 15 15
or visit www.emrc.be