IGD launched Development Partners in fall 2011 and has since hosted a number of successful events between business leaders and U.S. government officials. The network is hitting the ground running in 2012 with several opportunities for companies to engage with senior Administration and Congressional officials as well as with their business peers to align and leverage company strategies with U.S. government development initiatives, identify and promote new models for private sector-led development, and showcase and learn about successful corporate models that integrate development into core business.

Upcoming events

• • On January 24, IGD is co-sponsoring a forum to provide business input on the MCC’s second Ghana Compact with the MCC, the Government of Ghana and the Corporate Council on Africa. This meeting is the first in a series of conversations with potential corporate partners and will focus on opportunities related to the lack of adequate and reliable electrical power in Ghana.
• • Members will join MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes and the MCC executive management team in February in the first of a series of quarterly conversations to identify potential areas of collaboration between existing corporate strategies and current MCC project priorities. The intimate discussion with MCC will also provide companies with the chance to provide feedback on specific finance tools that would be most useful in helping mitigate the risk of potential partners, as well as significant barriers to investment around identified development priorities.

Aligning business strategies and development priorities

Companies are increasingly interested in leveraging U.S. government resources and initiatives to enhance the developmental impact of their operations. IGD is working with companies to write a set of specific recommendations for the Administration and Congress on concrete steps development agencies can take to work more strategically with these companies. The recommendations will be the basis of a broader advocacy effort to align core corporate business strategies with U.S. government development priorities, so that development initiatives are implemented sustainably and used strategically to attract private capital and investment. Development Partners is planning a number of events this spring with business and government leaders to help advance this agenda. This year promises to be exciting as both companies and U.S. agencies look toward more sustainable, commercially viable solutions to development problems.

Posted in Development Partners and tagged Daniel Yohannes, Ghana, MCC.