Place Based Economic Development with Simon White

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Should the Post-MDG Framework contain an indicator for business environment reform?

As 2015 draws closer, the international community is assessing the extent to which the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been achieved. The MDGs have been remarkably successful in focusing attention and mobilising resources to address the major gaps in human development. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) suggests a “defining feature

My presentation on business advocacy in fragile and conflict-affected states

Last month I was asked to be a key note speaker at a “Expert Meeting” in The Hague on Entrepreneurship Development for Stability in Conflict Affected Regions, which was organised by Spark. This meeting focused on ‘Business Environment Reforms and the Role of Advocacy’. My presentation can be downloaded from

European Support for the Private Sector in Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Developing Countries

The month, the European Commission submitted a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions on its support to the private sector in developing countries, The report, entitled A Stronger Role of the Private Sector in Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable

Arguments on Africa de-industrialisation

It’s been interesting to observe the range of arguments surrounding the topic of “Africa’s de-industralisation”. These range from whether or not Africa is indeed de-industralising, to how best to re-industrialise. Within these discussions there are interesting debates on the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the importance

Creating public-private partnerships in Agriculture

Today, I met with the senior management team of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) in Johannesburg, South Africa. This non-for-profit organisation facilitates linkages between private and public actors to build markets in the agriculture sector –– specifically in fertilisers. It does this so that African smallholder farmers can grow

Ethnic power sharing in Africa

In a new paper titled, “How Is Power Shared In Africa?”, Patrick Francois, Ilia Rainer, and Francesco Trebbi examine the role of ethnic elites. They investigate the ethnicity of cabinet ministers since independence (Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of

Second Global Seminar on Results Measurement

Last month, the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) held its second Global Seminar on Results Measurement in Bangkok. The seminar featured the experiences of ten field programmes that have used the DCED Standard for Results Measurement. It also looked at cross-cutting themes, such as what we have learned to