The Power of African Philanthropy: Accelerating Transformation through Strategic Engagement with Governments (By Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede)
Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede’s opinion editorial: Executive Vice Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation (www.aigimoukhuedefoundation.org).
Promote social change. Reduce poverty. Educate people to take charge of their lives while positively affecting those around them. Charity is essential to transforming life and livelihoods in Africa (apo-opa.co/3qczdqf), but their impact depends on establishing the right network of partners. Currently, more international donor organizations from the Multilateral Development Bank (apo-opa.co/3qgvcaw) to sovereign donors representing their national government (apo-opa.co/3QE28NM) – Bring international funding into initiatives designed to stimulate development in Africa. From small and medium-sized enterprise development (apo-opa.co/4121lbw) Establish a health care department (apo-opa.co/4hujurq)The partnerships of these donors have a huge impact throughout the continent. But Africa cannot rely solely on foreign aid to change Africa’s narrative. While with this international aid, local governments and African philanthropists must find new ways to collaborate and go beyond simple funding programs to close the gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
African Charity Forum 2024 Conference
By the end of 2024, I was invited to a panel discussion at the annual African Charity Forum meeting to unravel the ways that charities can accelerate transformation through strategic engagement with governments. In the discussion, the goal is to build innovative ways, from our perspective at the AIG-IMOUKHUEDE Foundation, the charitable sector on the continent can help build the African economy, transform public service capabilities, and create a new generation of informed, sympathetic public sectors from which to whom we are at the AIG-IMOUKHUEDE Foundation Officials driving changes.
Achieving this ambitious goal is born from collaboration, which is why public-private partnerships (PPPs) will be the key. By working together and leveraging their respective strengths, the public and private sectors can drive innovation, address complex challenges and promote sustainable progress for the benefit of African citizens. As a public sector-centered organization, we recognize at the AIG-MIMOUKHUEDE Foundation that promoting meaningful reforms in this area requires empowering governments to provide goods and services more effectively to citizens. At the heart of our work is building competency for civil servants and providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to lead and maintain reform plans. We take this approach because we know that for lasting change to happen, it is necessary to push the reform plan by the civil servants themselves and do it with a sense of ownership. Our role is to provide technical support and funding to ensure that these initiatives are not only impactful but also sustainable.
Although all PPPs are inherent strategic partnerships, many PPPs focus primarily on funding and execution. However, there are other ways in which strategic cooperation between the public and private sectors can promote economic and socio-economic growth. Although funding is critical, it is equally important to skills training, research and leadership development, which are key elements in improving the public sector’s capacity to achieve sustainable development.
The power of relationships in changing the civil service system in Nigeria
Building meaningful partnerships requires maintaining a strong working relationship, which is why the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation remains committed to continuing interaction with the Nigerian public sector to identify new opportunities for collaboration. We believe that the public sector must focus on improving efficiency (https://apo-opa.co/3cn4ixw) To enhance service delivery, especially as many African public sector offices struggle with outdated systems and personnel whose skills need to be updated.
This belief has been at the heart of our work with the Office of the Office of the Nigerian Federal Civil Service (OHCSF), which we have supported its digital transformation journey since 2020. Process, ISO 9001 certification and digitally enhance its employees, we have become their trusted partners. The results of our cooperation are excellent. Assessments conducted in 2022 and 2023 show that at least 61% of civil servants have significantly improved operational efficiency, reductions and improvements in job performance due to digitalization, workforce training and best practice adoption.
The success of our collaboration with the OHCSF has led to the development of a digital manual, which now guides the digitalization of all federal governments in Nigeria. In addition, we will support many ministries while on our digital journey. We have made progress simply because we have developed close working relationships with our visionary leaders and our civil servants. Change is as much as people and is related to the process, so a key part of our work involves fully understanding people and the environment we deal with and aligning our approach accordingly. Because we pay special attention to building relationships and stakeholder management, we are able to earn the trust of civil servants, which ensures their buy and commitment and facilitates our collaboration. It is through such engagement and maintaining such an important partnership that we can drive transformative change within the public sector.
Research and data-first approach: Enable accountability through data
Research and data analysis are crucial to our work at the AIG-IMOUKHUEDE Foundation. We have developed a powerful evidence-supporting approach that uses data to support our own capabilities and provide compelling insights on improving public service delivery. As the initiator of the upcoming Nigeria Public Service Performance Index developed in partnership with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, our goal is to provide leaders with impartial data-driven insights to help them build stronger and more effective government agencies. The index evaluates the performance of key sectors, departments and agencies, and evaluates key areas such as service delivery, citizen participation, partnerships, accountability and monitoring. Through a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of the public sector, the index will be a valuable tool for promoting meaningful reforms and enhancing governance in Nigeria.
Skilled leadership will change the public sector
Although research, funding and strong government partnerships are crucial, true change can only be achieved by leaders in the public sector that are capable, ethical and impact-driven leaders. Therefore, one of our strategic goals at the AIG-MIMOUKHUEDE Foundation is to build a large number of public sector leaders who have the skills, knowledge and tools needed to drive change in the public sector.
We have developed world-class leadership training with the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford and the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford, AIG Public Leadership Programfocusing on developing the leadership capabilities of future public sector leaders in Africa. To date, we have trained over 240 African civil servants and this number is added every year. Our other capacity-building programs include AIG scholarships, AIG scholarships, and customized training for civil servants. Informed leaders are catalysts for positive change. The core focus of our plan is to change our mindset. Leaders are encouraged to embrace change through advocacy, education and diplomacy.
Ultimately, by training, mentoring and mobilizing current and future public sector leaders, we can accelerate the transformation in Africa from within. If one thing I have shown to me at the African Charity Forum conference, it is that the charity sector in Africa has great power. But we must strategically leverage it to drive sustainable prosperity across the continent.
Distributed by Apo Group on behalf of the Aig-Mimukhuede Foundation.
