{{Kigali }} – {Over 150 business leaders and development professionals are invited to a reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador Erica J. BarksRuggles to explore how the private sector can partner with the U.S. government to help advance development goals in Rwanda. }
The gathering is part of an outreach initiative to promote Global Development Alliances, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) public private partnership model.
Global Development Alliances are collaborative partnerships between USAID and private companies that leverage market based solutions to realize development outcomes. These projects are jointly designed, funded, and managed, and they are intended to have a significant positive impact that is important to both the host country’s development objectives and the private sector’s business drivers.
“By bringing the private sector to the table, we expand the pool of skills, funds, and creativity that are available to address development challenges,” explained Ambassador BarksRuggles.
USAID is seeking private sector partners of any size, domestic and international, who are interested in applying their experience and resources to Rwanda’s development goals.
One example of a recent Global Development Alliance in Rwanda is the partnership between USAID and SC Johnson, a global manufacturer of household cleaning and pest control products. Starting in 2009, the two collaborated to help Rwandan farmers harvest and process chrysanthemum flowers into pyrethrum, a highly effective insecticide that is used in SC Johnson’s products. The project, which recently concluded, significantly developed the pyrethrum sector in Rwanda over six years, nearly quadrupling production of pyrethrum in the country and nearly tripling its value to farmers.
Common goals and jointlydefined, sustainable solutions to development challenges are defining characteristics of Global Development Alliances. In addition, USAID and the private sector partner must contribute equally to the funding of the project. “Both partners share in the costs and risks of a Global Development Alliance,” said Peter A. Malnak, Mission Director of USAID/Rwanda, “but we also share the results of the project.”
Since 2001, USAID has formed more than 1,500 publicprivate partnerships around the world with over 3,500 private partners and an estimated value of more than $20 billion (14 trillion RwF) in public and private funds.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the foreign assistance agency of the United States Government. USAID supports $150 million (105 billion RwF) of development assistance annually to Rwanda, with programs in health, economic development, education, and democracy and governance.
Leave a Reply