[Kictanet] Press release... Bootstraps, slingshots and angels: Engaging the private sector in Africa - the CATIA experience

[alice at apc.org]

 Learning to working together:
> civil society, the private sector and ICT advocacy in Africa
>
> April 21, 2006
>
> For nearly three years the Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa programme
> (CATIA) has worked towards strengthening the context for the vibrant
> adoption and use of ICTs in Africa. The programme has been set up with 
> nine
> components, each with its particular advocacy aim, in countries as diverse
> as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Senegal. As components have found, the
> private sector is crucial to the success of their interventions.
>
> To document its experience in engaging the private sector, CATIA has
> produced Bootstraps, slingshots and angels, an article that looks at the
> successes and challenges the programme has had over the past 
> two-and-a-half
> years. The article is the result of interviews with CATIA participants 
> from
> both civil society and private sector backgrounds.
>
> Some of the key findings of the interviews are:
>
> * The private sector has been crucial to the success of a number of
> the CATIA advocacy drives. In countries such as Kenya, a multi-stakeholder
> approach, which has included the media, has had a startling impact,
> including playing a major role in the development of the country's ICT
> policy strategy;
>
> * In many instances, the relationship between civil society and the
> private sector is seen to be mutually beneficial. Working with the private
> sector means that collective expertise can be leveraged, and a common
> advocacy goal forged that neither sector could have developed on its own;
>
> * By collaborating with civil society, private sector activity begins
> to be formulated and articulated in the context of broader socio-economic
> issues, such as job creation, poverty eradication and consumer awareness;
>
> * Through its engagement with the private sector, civil society has
> learned to work more efficiently, and be more decisive in its advocacy
> strategies and actions. Collaboration with the private sector has, in some
> instances, made its work more acceptable to government, and therefore more
> influential in encouraging ICT policy change;
>
> * Winning the private sector's trust has been a major hurdle for many
> ICT advocates. This includes dealing with a natural sense of competition
> between private sector participants. Components have found that it is
> important to create a fora where each sector's needs can be understood and
> where disagreements can be expressed;
>
> * The best advocacy approach tends to depend on the balance of power
> between the private sector, civil society and the state. Often a 
> dependence
> on the government for contracts (as in Ethiopia) means that the private
> sector is reluctant to directly confront the state in an advocacy drive. 
> At
> the same time, an 'unofficial' relationship between some private sector
> players and the government can hamper advocacy initiatives. Businesses
> sometimes need to be encouraged to cut back on "personal political space";
>
> * While some multinational IT companies have been reluctant to be
> involved in ICT advocacy initiatives, those that have suggest that the
> relationship has been beneficial and in line with its own business aims.
>
> To read the full article, visit www.catia.ws.
>
> _________________________________________________
> Claire Sibthorpe
> Programme Manager
> Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA)
> Atos Consulting
> www.catia.ws
>
> Tel: +27 11 881 5910
> Mobile: +27 82 895 4603
> Fax: +27 11 881 5481
>
> Postal Address: P O Box 785553, Sandton, 2146, South Africa
> Physical Address: Nelson Mandela Square, 2nd Floor, West Tower, Sandown,
> 2196, South Africa
>
>
>


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