Civil Society and Private Sector Partnerships: Exploring Opportunities for Engagement in West Africa

The socio-political context in West Africa is undergoing significant changes. The region’s turbulent past of authoritarian regimes, political instability, civil wars and debilitating developmental challenges have brought a realisation that the future of the region lies in the capacity of states, inter-governmental and civil society institutions to develop functional and responsive governance systems.  

These systems require a shift in the previous conceptualisation of governance as the preserve of government to inclusive governance that incorporates the contributions of civil society and the private sector. To achieve this, each sector in the governance structure has to be well organised particularly civil society, which as a defined sector is still in its infancy. Civil society is a complex and evolving sector. It consists of all the organisations and associations that exist outside the state including political parties and the market. Civil society is better structured as civil society organisations (CSOs). CSOs encompass Community Based Organisations (CBOs), National Organisations and International Organisations. In West Africa, these may include Women’s Organisations, Traditional Rulers, Queen Mother’s Associations, Youth Organisations, Faith Based Organisations (FBOs), Trade Unions, the Media and Academia.

CSOs have become an integral part of policy making and service delivery. They have contributed immensely to socio-economic development by critiquing poorly conceived regional and national policy initiatives, exposing ineptitude in the public service and providing understanding of the governance challenges facing our democracies.Despite these significant achievements, and having thoroughly proven their worth in supporting the growth of democracy in the sub region, there are still no guarantees of financial support for civil society organisations in West Africa. The pre-democratic governance era of funding for many is well and truly over. The past decade has witnessed a spectacular decline averaging between 40% and 50% in funding mainly from international donor agencies.

The shrinking donor support has aroused the need for civil society in West Africa to build long-term partnerships with a non-traditional partner, the private sector. The private sector through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programming, and its support for social enterprise initiatives offers boundless opportunities for civil society to take advantage of.CSR, on a collective scale, is not the only sign that the private sector is becoming more socially responsible. Social entrepreneurship is also on the rise. Social enterprises are increasingly performing their profit-making activities while rendering valuable social services to their clients. These trends reflect a rise in partnerships between the profit and non-profit sectors.

The principal characteristic of a well functioning state is the synergy between the private sector, government and civil society. All three are essential for sustaining social, economic and political development. The state creates an enabling environment; the private sector contributes in generating jobs and income, while civil society facilitates better delivery of goods and services as well as social interaction by mobilising groups to participate in economic, social and political activities.Over the years, civil society has emerged as a key stakeholder in development processes. It continues to play a critical role in supporting poverty reduction and promoting sustainable development, by enabling citizens to empower themselves and actively seek effective performance and accountability from the state and the private sector. At community, national and regional levels, CSOs in West Africa are recognised as a vital force in strengthening governance processes.

In West Africa, the private sector covers an enormous constituency including peasant farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises, large indigenous and multinational companies. It ranges from companies driven by the motive to maximise profits to social enterprises that employ market-based approaches with clear social objectives.

The sector consists of associations, knowledge sharing networks, producer cooperatives and strategic business coalitions. The significant contributions these private enterprises make to development include generating jobs and income, delivering essential products and services, building physical and communications infrastructure, leveraging science and technology, mobilising financial resources, investing in human capital and workforce development and disseminating international norms and standards.The development process is complex and requires comprehensive strategies involving all sectors in society including government, the private sector and CSOs. The idea of key stakeholders working together to resolve commonly held concerns is not new in West Africa. However, implementing civil society-private sector partnerships in an effective and mutually beneficial manner has been a shadow in its existence.

Currently, private sector associations and alliances with CSOs are usually identified as part of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. CSR implies a continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of workers and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large. A CSR strategy is either a general response to a recognised social issue that attempts to strengthen the company’s business operations or its competitive position. It is important for CSOs to be aware of existing CSR strategies, identify avenues for collaboration with the private sector and maximize these opportunities.

In West Africa, the era where the private sector existed merely to maximise shareholders' profits is no longer a convincing proposition. The private sector’s impact on its stakeholders is an emerging benchmark of corporate performance. Today, stakeholders seek to know what companies can do for communities, not what communities can do for companies. Investors are increasingly interested in the risk factors associated with reputation.An enhanced public image through association with a CSO can increase corporate brand reputation. For example, in 2008, private sector organisations such as Procter and Gamble West Africa and Nokia Foundation approached WACSI to ascertain potential avenues for CSO engagement. This illustrates that there exist an interactive platform which both parties can utilise to supportively stretch their common agenda to attain their respective full potentials.

Partnerships between the private sector and civil society have significant potential. There are a growing number of innovative and exciting new models and partnerships between companies and civil society that promote mutual benefits. However, it takes time to change perceptions and adapt to the potential of partnerships. Therefore, there is a role for academia, researchers and practitioners in analysing the growing number of examples of successful long-term business-CSO partnerships and capturing the lessons learned. The dissemination of best practices can support a broader change in attitudes and create a more conducive environment for effective private sector and civil society partnerships.Despite major differences between CSOs and the private sector in West Africa, their relationship is turning towards increased engagement. CSOs are beginning to see a place for business and marketplace strategies in development work. An increasing number of companies are becoming acutely aware that the success of a business is directly linked to improved socio-economic conditions within the communities where it operates. As a result, a growing number of businesses and CSOs are beginning to discover common ground.

They recognise that by working together to improve the lives of local citizens and the communities in which they reside, the possibility of achieving their respective strategic goals is greatly enhanced. Solving development challenges like poverty, education and health requires partnerships among all sectors. In West Africa, private business and CSOs are implementing partnerships and alliances, although to a limited scale, to achieve shared objectives on a community, national and regional level. Pressure from civil society has pushed the private sector towards more responsible socio-economic behaviour and the rising demand of CSR.

While the business enterprises are being confronted with social demands, the role of CSOs has also been changing. Their influence and power on global political, social and business platforms has increased in recent years. This demonstrates that no kind of organisation is independent of its environment and that all require resources to survive.

The following table illustrates the advantages each sector attracts in a structured long-term partnership.

An entity within the private sector may seek to tap the expertise of CSOs to deliver grants through direct contributions. In some situations, the corporate body concern may provide core funds to a CSO, while in others it may want to be a more active player.Therefore, CSOs seek to collaborate with the private sector to take advantage of corporate social responsibility funding to facilitate the achievement of their initiatives. The challenge for CSOs is to approach companies with proposals that detail an efficient and effective way to ensure that the latters’ support makes a difference and expand their market.

It is imperative for every CSO to publicise its initiatives and thus seek public relations opportunities in order to raise their visibility in their sphere of influence and among potential donors. For example, the Vodafone Ghana Foundation facilitates the provision of volunteers to strengthen the managerial structures and systems for CBOs in Ghana. The organisations that benefit from these institutional strengthening services are provided the platform to publicise their work and the value they are adding to society. It has become clear that CSOs have depended so much on traditional donors. A recurrent challenge faced by civil society is the lack of financial and in most cases non-financial resources to undertake their work. In West Africa, this situation is exacerbated by dwindling donor support, a situation popularly referred to as donor fatigue. Increasingly, there is the need to look toward the private sector for mutually beneficial partnerships. It is increasingly recognised that the CSO community has much to learn from the private sector. The challenge for CSO’s is to adapt a business approach to its operations.

It is vital that for-profit organisations and civil society work together to build partnerships that produce effectual development outcomes. A continuous interaction and collaboration will define the norms that will govern their future relations and behaviour.

A structured mechanism for building partnerships could create the following sustainable engagement opportunities:

 1. Co-creation of markets through novel business models to attract low income customers and social entrepreneurs;
2. Task-oriented partnerships rather than policy driven dialogues;
3. Provision of localised/indigenous solutions for development challenges taking into cognisance global standards in order to create value;
4. Collaborative interventions that seek to satisfy private sector interests and clearly show developmental benefits;
5. Strengthened collaboration between private interests and CSOs which will attract legitimacy from society if their proposals have credible economic, social, and environmental benefits; and
6. Pressure from community citizens for CSOs and private businesses to advocate common policy positions and jointly develop co-regulatory schemes.

It is becoming clear that in West Africa, the private sector has never played a more influential role in international economic development than it does today. While 25 years ago the public sector delivered the majority of foreign assistance, today we are faced with a very different reality. Individual remittances, CSOs and business play an instrumental and important role in how aid models function.

* The Author, Charles Kojo Vandyck is WACSI’s Capacity Building Officer