CALL FOR LOCALLY LED DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS ON BUILDING EFFECTIVE, RELIABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE PRIVATE SECTOR ASSOCIATIONS IN WEST AFRICA

Research indicates the use of local solutions is critical for promoting sustainability of U.S. investments in partner countries. USAID is now focused on working with new and underutilized partners, especially the private sector and local actors, to support and help finance the journey to self-reliance via direct assistance. Over the past decade, USAID/WA has worked to establish or support several private sector associations organized around specific sectors, commodities or issue areas. One area that has not been sufficiently prioritized has been organizational capacity and management for these associations to be member-driven and financially self-reliant to sustain their core operations. With the typical grants/training interventions, USAID and other donors have caused these organizations to shift their priorities to attract donor funding versus appropriately representing the evolving needs of their membership. Many of these associations have become project implementers for donors, establishing new positions and compensation policies. Often these expenses cannot be supported through locally mobilized resources such as member dues or fees for goods and services. USAID-initiated and donor-funded organizations have also often been developed with ineffective governance and management structures. Rather than focusing on sustainable strategies to support member driven needs through smart growth, donor-funded organizations make decisions based on the expectation of continued donor funding. USAID/WA has identified the following priority issue areas facing associations in the region: access to finance, input supply, marketing, production and technology, and capacity strengthening. This Local Works activity will look to pilot activities that address the above issues with the goal of increased sustainability and commercial viability of private sector associations. Activities may include any locally owned solution that has the potential to increase an association’s commercial viability, long-term sustainability, or ability to meet the evolving needs of its members. This requires the development and implementation of a learning agenda that captures the continuous learning and adaptation that will happen over the course of the activity in order to build a knowledge base on building sustainable private sector associations in West Africa is required.