Africa Wants Opportunities, Not Handouts

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"The current aid situation creates a bias against supporting African business growth, which in turn is killing the entrepreneurial spirit that is so critical to creating African enterprises that can access new markets and operate on a global level."

If Africa is to sustain wealth creation, improve infrastructure, employ its own, and fully participate in the global economy, it is going to require a dynamic combination of public and private sector involvement. We must innovate at that intersection. Large global enterprises will have to work in new ways with governments, universities, NGOs, and local businesses to cultivate the skills, the funding—and the hope—needed to launch and run businesses with growth potential.

For example, we heard the idea of aid that is actually designed to be loaned, at realistic interest rates, to the small and medium-sized businesses that right now fall between the microfinance and commercial lending strata: the so-called mesofinance gap. That would create real business incentives and accountability, and would encourage many informal businesses to enter the formal economy and begin paying taxes.

Learning the Language of Business

There is also ample opportunity for more public-private partnerships. For instance, IBM is initiating a mentorship program in conjunction with African universities, matching leading technologists with college students who expressed the urgent need for more private sector involvement in their curriculum. And IBM joined with the South African government to launch a $44 million integrated delivery center in Johannesburg. When it opened three years ago it had no employees. Today, with 250 clients, that center has grown to train and employ more than 1,250 Africans from all over the continent.

There are indeed many mixed messages surrounding Africa. But the message coming from Africans themselves is not the least bit ambivalent. They are desperate for opportunity, not aid. And they are eager to speak the same language as the rest of the world: the language of business.

For other articles on this topic, check out BusinessWeek on the fight over how best to deliver mosquito nets to prevent malaria (BusinessWeek.com, 1/2/08) and our cover story, Can Greed Save Africa? (BusinessWeek,com 11/29/07).

Nicholas M. Donofrio is the executive vice-president, innovation and technology, for IBM. He is a champion for innovation across IBM and its global ecosystem, and is the leader of the company's global technology strategy. In his 40 years with IBM, Donofrio began working on integrated circuits and went on to lead businesses including storage, personal computers, and servers. He holds a BSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University, and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards from around the world.