The Power Of Partnerships Between Development Banks And Civil Society
Africa faces many problems, rooted in the development of lack of infrastructure. Zeph Nhleko wrote that these challenges can be addressed through the development of key partnerships between banks and trusted civil society organizations.
In trying to address pressing social challenges, it is important that public development banks, such as the Southern African Development Bank (DBSA), work with civil society to ensure that development results are impactful and meet targeted needs.
Africa faces many challenges, especially extreme poverty. More than one-third of her people live below the international poverty line of $2.15 per person. As of March last year, the figure was decided by the World Bank and based on research to determine its platform for poverty and inequality.
Unemployment levels, especially among young people – are problematic. The general unemployment rate across the continent is about 7% to 8%, while the unemployment rate in South Africa is more than 30%. The lack of access to relevant education and lack of access to healthcare is also a challenge for the continent as a whole. Other infrastructure challenges include the rapid urbanization, lack of housing, limited use of electricity, clean water and transportation networks, and insufficient sanitation facilities.
Add to that all of this challenge is climate change, as abnormal weather patterns wreak havoc on Africa’s ability to feed its own people, and almost half of them face food insecurity.
But these challenges are not insurmountable. Indeed, many of them provide development financial institutions with opportunities to work with civil society and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing issues in each country and then develop financial solutions for these barriers.
Infrastructure is the cornerstone of development, as these projects can develop into sustainability, not only from the perspective of helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Africa lags behind), but also promotes national solidarity and helps connect segregated areas . Connecting the region allows commitments to the African continent’s free trade zone agreement.
If Africa’s challenges were to be alleviated and her goals were achieved, the Development Bank could not operate in isolation. Working with civil society organizations, banks can leverage grassroots insights, as well as respected and trusted institutions with the same commitment to social development, seeking to address many development challenges on the continent. This collaboration will be successful. Causing developmental impacts, for example, we created more than 37,000 jobs in 2022, compared with only 300 jobs in 1994.
A key example of an influential partnership will be demonstrated financially at the Common Summit (FICS) 2025, co-hosted by the country’s Southern African Development Bank (DBSA), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Agence Françaised Deé de Devepent (AFD) ). This collaboration underscores the importance of global cooperation in addressing Africa’s most pressing development challenges, leveraging innovative financing models and keeping aligned efforts for sustainable solutions.
These victories allow us to identify and build key strategic partnerships to address challenges on the continent, including climate change, to impact the solution to development issues.
Through cooperation with civil society, development banks can fulfill their obligations to develop and implement responsive strategies in key driving forces for their development sustainability. Sustainable development can be achieved through the joint efforts of institutional financiers and community stakeholders.
