Social Enterprise Profile: Getembe High Vision Youth Group

Getembe High Vision Youth Group based in Nyamira County in Kenya was formed in January 2006 as a merry-go-round youth club. It was later registered as a farming youth organization. Due to the high rates of poverty, food scarcity and unemployment, the members were stimulated to initiate this project to address food insecurity, the poor health status of children resulting from under nourishment, juvenile delinquency, child labor abuse and youth unemployment.

Read our interview with Jones Oyugi, Secretary of Getembe High Vision Youth Group »»

Farm Africa Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund – Call for Concept Papers

Farm Africa’s Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund (MAEF) is seeking concept notes for its newly launched Competitive Value Chain Fund. MAEF aims to increase agricultural productivity in East Africa sustainably, generate income and lift rural households out of poverty and food insecurity.

For more information, visit  http://bit.ly/nGiEdn

Business of the living or the dead?

A fascinating article by Kofi Akosah-Sarpong titled ‘Archbishop Palmer-Buckle’s “Funeral Oration”’, published in The African Executive this week describes the growing custom among Ghanaians of spending vast amounts of money on funerals. In fact according to Akosah-Sarpong, these ‘bling’ laden funerals often leave the living in debt.

However what we found more intriguing is that the funeral business has also spurred on various related enterprises. Akosah-Sarpong writes:

“Kweku Akosah, one of the leading funeral services proprietors in Ghana, owns the Owners Funeral Services. Owners Funeral Services, driven by Ghanaians sheer obsession with the dead has grown so much that it has branches in most parts of Ghana. Akosah employs over 100 people with varied professionals – wailers, criers, dancers, praise-singers, decorators of the dead, coffin makers, musicians, tailors and seamstresses, promoters, food makers and servers among others.”

In fact death has become so commoditised in Ghana that funeral service owners like Kweku Akosah also offer further incentives to use their services such as financing.

All this in a country where the living still struggle day to day for basic living needs such as food, shelter and education.

Has death been commoditised in your country?

Are bottom of the pyramid social enterprises sustainable?

A post published at the end of September on the Good Intentions are not Enough blog, questioned the viability of introduction of new bottom of the pyramid innovations such as the cook stoves hailed by Hillary Clinton during the recently ended MDG summit.

The gist of the post is that as benevolent a gesture the stoves are for the 1.2 billion people considered to live in poverty worldwide who will use them, the durability of the stoves is not as assured. This raises the question of whether the stoves and similar social innovations are in and of themselves a sustainable alternative to what is already being used.

Included in the Good Intentions post is also a quote from a vice president of the UN Foundation saying apart from distributing the stoves, “You’ll need a supply chain and business model that delivers them, not on a one-time basis, but as a continuing enterprise.”

And without such a supply chain, after the 2 to 5 years and without a steady supply channel, won’t the target beneficiaries just revert to the traditional kerosene and wood?

This is the oft neglected side of social enterprise. The question of how sustainable must the social entrepreneur’s efforts be? And does it mean that just because an enterprise is for profit that business effectiveness and value for money aside from other financial variables take second place to social impact?

The impetus to scrutinise the value of such socially-oriented innovative solutions has become more topical with the aid versus trade debate. Proponents for trade such as William Easterly have argued for business, being recently quoted in the Financial Times that: “current experience and history both speak loudly that the only real engine of growth out of poverty is private business ...”

And with such voices coupled with austerity measures among traditional donor countries (though the UK unexpectedly increased international aid), social business initiatives to mitigate government and market failures in developing countries are sure to claim the limelight.

Social entrepreneurship must include a strategy for achieving financial sustainability, and that includes ensuring that aside from the sentimental value of providing solar lighting, water pumps and eco-friendly stoves amongst other new technologies, that the nitty gritty business essentials such as supply chains and customer care are included in the package, from the outset.

Let’s remember that without the business model there can’t be a lasting and durable social impact.

Poverty tourism’s demand-side

Last year when we wrote on slum tourism (slum safari’s) we focused on the emergence of this niche sector as well as the incentives for young entrepreneurs in terms of low barriers to entry.

In essence the slum safari article discussed he supply-side for slum tourism. Structural factors such as rapid urbanisation leading to the growth of slums. Indeed for every urban dweller living in the developed world, two exist in the developing world; and it has been projected that this ratio will increase to three by 2025.

However comments to an article published earlier this month in the New York Times on Slumdog Tourism by Kennedy Odede who grew up in Kibera raises demand-side factors for why slum tourism is here to stay. Graphically, Odede describes his own observations as one of the tour attractions. One alarming anecdote is of a group of tourists being taken to visit a woman having a baby at home. As one commentor to the article says:

“This is the kind of story that makes me ashamed to be part of the developed world. But it has an curious angle, and it's that the onlookers, while judging, gawking, and pitying, are in fact there for their own sake. They are seeking the authenticity and reality they lack in their own lives ... We are bored, fat, and out of touch with the earth and our neighbors in it. So we pay to stare at them.”

That’s an interesting take for sure on uneven development, In this case one where poverty stricken countries have the upper hand. If only the money to assuage the feelings quoted above could trickle down to those such as the pregnant woman Odede speaks of.

But then again, if basic services such as maternal care, adequate housing, sanitation and jobs provided to the youth are provided, what then is there to show these novelty-seeking, intrepid travelers? How much does one’s dignity cost, anyway?

Only innovation makes the leap from poverty to prosperity

A fascinating post on The Curious Capitalist blog, titled “Escaping the middle-income trap” offers valuable advice to government policy makers when planning for economic development. Kenya’s Vision 2030 proposes to make the economy a middle income country; but what happens when that is attained and the time comes to make the leap to a truly world class high-income economy?

Taking the example of Malaysia and comparing it with South Korea, the writer posits that only innovation will enable a country to break out of the trap and make the big leap to high per capita economy. In fact the writer goes so far as to say that it is easier for a country to make it to the middle income level than it is to transition into the big high income league:

"The concept behind the “middle-income trap” is quite simple: It's easier to rise from a low-income to a middle-income economy than it is to jump from a middle-income to a high-income economy. That's because when you're really poor, you can use your poverty to your advantage. Cheap wages makes a low-income economy competitive in labor-intensive manufacturing (apparel, shoes and toys, for example). Factories sprout up, creating jobs and increasing income ..."

However akin to an engine running on its own momentum, this model of high growth starts to plateau with competitiveness rising as well as labour costs of the highly educated and skilled workforce. Thus the “trap.”

And apart from lowering the entry barriers into business, it is more vital that economies begin to innovate. So not only should technocrats focus on consolidating business licences, reducing taxes and other barriers to enterprise; innovation should be actively promoted. At YIPE we call this the W.A.R factor:

• Promoting Willingness: a scenario where financial institutions recognise the value of new technologies and entrepreneurs are willing to take risks in order to innovate;
• Promoting the entrepreneur’s Ability: by providing a platform where entrepreneurs can grow their social capital by networking amongst other institutional challenges; and
• Facilitating Resource transfer: by lowering the information asymmetry faced in access to credit and technical knowledge.

Read Escaping the middle-income trap here >>>>

Where nobody needs to work or study hard anymore

An article published in this week's Pambazuka raises issues about policies to promote economic development.

The article, “South Africa’s ‘bling’ culture is a disgrace” by William Gumede tells of a growing new-money class, living a Hollywood-esque life in the midst of poverty.

He writes that this bling lifestyle of parties and fast flashy cars amongst South Africa’s elite, is encouraging others to look for the fast buck, rather working hard or studying.

Even the leaders have joined this new life, with no less than President Zuma’s party the ANC launching a fashion line of leather jackets; the cheapest costing US$ 217.

All this social pressure to live the bling life has for some compromised their integrity and ethical business behaviour because of links to sugar daddy’s, senior politicians and even crime bosses.

Gumede faults South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme as having contributed to this state of affairs. Because one does not have to build a business brick and mortar, entrepreneurial drive has been culled. 

And even for those that have slogged to build their enterprises, corruption in the big business market of public procurement has only benefited a few well connected entrepreneurs.

And Gumede warns that “this ‘bling’ culture will break down South Africa’s productive capacity. We are ‘eating’, but we are not building any new factories or plants that can create jobs …”

Lamentably for the young aspiring entrepreneur, it seems that it may be more worthwhile to try and connect with a blinged elite patron, than to put pen to paper and write their business plan.

Read South Africa’s ‘bling’ culture is a disgrace here >>

African youth declare that governments must foster entrepreneurship to eradicate poverty

The 1st World Youth Meeting at Bari, Italy ended yesterday where African delegates released a Declaration that recognised the challenges African youth face including unemployment, corruption,  poverty, lack of access to meaningful education, climate change effects, and civil wars among others.

The Declaration further demanded that African youth be included in decision making and that poverty eradication approaches focus on entrepreneurship development, specifically through the creation of youth funds.

Read the Declaration here

Entrepreneurship - Kenya's Economic Saviour

By Jeconia Omondi Olonde

The current economic condition for Kenya is on a down hill while the population growth rate is quite high. This implies there is an increase in unemployment as the new jobs created cannot match the increase in population. A situation is created where the youth are finishing university, college and secondary school expecting to be employed yet the economy cannot accommodate them. This will in the end bring social instability especially with the high cost of education.

But what can the government and the private sectors do to help alleviate the situation that may bring the country to its knees? An initiative such as the Kazi Kwa Vijana was started by the government and has ended as a failure, taking the country back to the maze. The Kazi Kwa Vijana could not have been sustained as we can say the jobs given to them “do not add value” to the economy and the government is spending a huge amount of money in paying recurrent expenses. Also some of the jobs given may seem demeaning to some of the unemployed graduates. Telling an engineering graduate to clean trenches shows that the government has no plans for its citizens who are meant to be assets.
 

Further, unemployment situations in Kenya have been increased by the high requirements by employers in order to get jobs. Requirement of years of professional experience for jobs in Kenya has made it difficult for the fresh graduates to get jobs and their Kenyan dream of finding that dream job after years of education.
 

For the country to be able to create employment, the government and the private sector should highly consider embracing entrepreneurship as a source of expanding the economy and reducing poverty. With the shift towards technology, the government can use the youth to enhance and come up with new technologies which will help accelerate growth and achieve Vision 2030.
 

Some of the ways in which the government can do to help youth embrace entrepreneurship are:

• Providing financial assistance and guidance. Many youth have good business ideas but translating these to actual jobs is hindered by lack of knowledge of transforming ideas into feasible and tangible work. Also financial guidance on how to spend the initial finance is necessary as the projected financial statements are is not enough, for example, purchasing of essential assets, marketing and branding, establishing of internal business controls, and book keeping.
• Providing mentors to the youth who come up with good business ideas or proposals. The mentors are used to guide the youth especially through the tough times as they have been in the business before and they know what to do best in such situations.
• Introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in schools so that the students are able to know early enough how to start their own businesses and succeed. Mentality of students has to be changed from them expecting employment for them to create employment. This should be done for both students in professional courses and those in vocational training. In the earlier years, it was preached in radio stations and songs that at the end of education one will get a good job and this mentality has stuck in the mind of the population. We should therefore start changing the minds of people with regards to this.
• Providing tax incentives for young entrepreneurs who provide employment to others. There are difficulties involved with business start ups and therefore the government should recognize this effort by giving the youth tax incentives. This has been done to Export Processing Zones (EPZs) to attract foreign direct investments. Local investments should also be considered important as this brings more stimulus to growth as there are no profit flights.
• Patenting of special business ideas created by the young people. This may reduce the chances of the ideas being stolen by other capable individuals or by corporations. Good ideas are known to have been submitted to “wrong” organizations which take advantage of the weak protection laws of ideas. These weak laws demoralize the young people with brilliant ideas who may opt to stay with the ideas for long until they are able to finance themselves. Developed countries are known to have proper laws protecting ideas created by its citizens and developing countries should follow suit.
  

These are only some of the things the government should take into consideration if it has to help the country become entrepreneurial. The effect of citizens creating job opportunities in the economy cannot be over emphasized and the government has to act fast to improve the livelihood of its citizens.

Doing Business but Suffering in Silence

According to the World Health Organisation, gender-based violence is a major public health and human rights problem throughout the world. Though the assault is carried on in the privacy of the home, the violation is widely seen as a "private" family affair, and for some - a normal part of life.

In Kenya, an estimated 49% of married women were physically abused by their husbands (Borwankar et. al, 2008). Though violence against women mainly occurs in the form of physical and sexual assault; it takes many forms including emotional abuse, verbal abuse, and economic abuse.

Economic abuse includes the controlling of finances; not allowing one's partner to venture into enterprise; taking a partner's money without her permission; denying access to, or knowledge of finances as well as using a partner's finances or credit for personal gain.

Socialisation of the girl child

Women entrepreneurs fall victim in part to economic abuse due to familial socialization from the time of birth. From a tender age, socialization which is the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies differentiates girls from boys. As boys grow up, they learn to be the head of their future homes as well as being the main (if not only) breadwinners. Girls in turn are socialized to be the home makers and caregivers.

In some settings, a girl’s day starts early. She wakes up to go fetch water and ensure breakfast is ready before she sets off to school. Her brother on the other hand has the luxury of sleeping in. Between the two, the chances of attaining higher grades are in favour of the boy. Then there is the practice of early marriage that dooms young women to lives where they never have the opportunity to actualise their aspirations.

Though education is one way in which women can emancipate themselves from the grip of the culture of male domination, the education system has only served to perpetuate the proposition that women should be more “arts” oriented than their science oriented brothers. Women are under-represented in tertiary institutions where they would have had the opportunity and facilities to hone their entrepreneurial skills. This in turn adversely affects their business growth potential.

McDowell and Pringle (1992) have argued that women are not only constantly defined in relation to men, but are defined as dependent and subordinate to them as well. This has been manifested in the low numbers of women entrepreneurs in “manly” sectors such as manufacturing. Women tend to operate micro service oriented enterprises with low possibilities for growth. The International Finance Corporation in Kenya has found that despite their potential, women-owned businesses which predominate in trade and service sectors, are smaller and less likely to grow.

And, all their early experiences and nurtured perceptions result in some established women entrepreneurs being disempowered when it comes to making independent decisions about how to spend their business profits as well as the direction for their businesses’ growth. Moreover, though many women empowerment programes focus on entrepreneurship development as a means to empower women, they neglect to design and implement ways to address gender based violence towards so-called “empowered” women.

WHO Controls The Purse Strings?

Then there is the issue of who actually “wears the trousers”, or has control of the household or business budget. Though single-motherhood and female headed households are becoming more common, these homes tend to be poorer than male headed homes.  According to the International Fund for Agriculture & Development (IFAD), the reasons are that female headed households tend to have a higher dependency ratio in spite of their smaller average size, and also have less access to resources.

An unfortunate trend has also been recognized where there is the self-perpetuating cycle of these women heads of household also causing their daughters to assume the same roles of unpaid house-help and caregivers, whilst their sons are urged to study so they can in future pull the family out of poverty.

Thus the question for development experts is: what is the use of trying to improve women’s livelihoods while such male dominating norms and perceptions continue to thrive?

Ending the silence

Through the emergence of micro-finance pioneered by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, financial institutions and policy makers have come to acknowledge the challenges women entrepreneurs face, not least in accessing loans. However once credit is given, who is to say that the beneficiary can keep to the loan agreement if her partner insists on having if not a share then all of the money?

Lack of access to education and opportunity, and low status are correlated to violence against women. Long term socialisation and inaction has meant that many women do not seek help or report abuse when it occurs. Cultural norms, lack of awareness, community pressure and widespread insensitivity of officials have also contributed to the fact that the majority of women who are abused suffer in silence.

Though the educational system needs to take into consideration the inequalities of the girl child when they enroll in school, it is ultimately most vital that there is a committed move to strengthen policy and legal frameworks to recognize economic abuse and outlaw all forms of gender based violence.

Watch USAID Kenya Adressing Violence Against Women

What's Your Poverty Footprint?

A recently published report titled "Oxfam Poverty Footprint: Understanding Business Contribution to Development" poses serious questions - even for youth entrepreneurs operating micro-businesses. In fact, we would go so far as to say that the nascent stage of business, is exactly the right moment to think about the question: What is my enterprises' footprint on society?

The report which is a prequel to a second outlining the actual methodology for undertaking a footprint survey outlines the reasons why it is important for entrepreneurs to consider their business impact. The report posits that an awareness of the effects of a business on society and people living in poverty can help a business to improve it's operations, understand risks and present new opportunities. 

Specific areas of focus include assessing value chains, how the business affects  the wider society's standard of living and the social implications of environmental practices. And though Oxfam stipulate that such a footprint survey should be undertaken by independent researchers, ultimately it remains the responsibility of business owners to ensure that their enterprises leave a lasting and positive legacy.

Read Oxfam Poverty Footprint: Understanding Business Contribution to Development Report

Slum Safari’s: Tourists pay for the squalor and stench of poverty, not development

There was uproar on twitter this morning regarding Kibera Tours, a website advertising slum tours in Africa’s largest slum. Indeed Kibera Tours is not the first nor will it be the last outfit trying to make money out of poverty. Tourists seeking such experiences can go to Dharavi in Mumbai - the biggest slum in Asia, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, South Africa’s townships or even Mexico City’s garbage dumps.

Such escapades have been made even more popular by celebrities who sometime go by the title “Ambassadors” such as Angelina Jolie and Chris Rock, who after a tour of the ramshackle huts, having had to hold their breath while passing the open sewers, ducking the flying toilets while walking the narrow footpaths and in front of a trash heap, maybe surrounded by big bellied snot nosed children, express outrage at the poverty and make impassioned pleas for more money to assist the people. Even the Oscar award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire put comedy into the scenario.

The ironic thing is that Kibera has the most number of NGOs, INGOs, CSOs, FBOs, CBOs, students on their gap year or whatever name they go by per square foot compared to the rest of Kenya. Yet, poverty persists, maybe a prime example of the economic law of diminishing returns.

Recently at Yipe.org we met a youth group from Kibera who told us they were into “eco tourism”. When we delved into their enterprise further, there was nothing eco friendly about their business. It was slum tourism pure and simple. However the lead entrepreneur was un-phased and said why care what it’s called or what it’s about when you make US$ 20 on a bad day! – this in a place where the majority live on less than US$ 2 per day.

Reading the customer testimonials on the Kibera Tour website makes one wonder whether the inhabitants have been dehumanised. Among the customer reviews posted on the site a few stood out:

“This is what our guests said after joining about our tour, our organisation and about Kibera: ‘It feels safe’ … ‘Very interesting to see. Unique experience! Friendly people! Solidarity and happiness. Impressive!’ … ‘Impressive to see how strong the people are’ … ‘I thought first it was very dangerous, but now I think every one was friendly and helping each other'….” And the list goes on …

So what is on display: the people or the slum environment?

The reviews above teeter dangerously close to the environmental determinism movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that got away with saying things such as people that live in the tropics are lazy, slothful and riddled with venereal diseases amongst other slurs. To objectify the “people” of Kibera in such a way is even worse because they don’t receive the cash for the tours; the tour companies do.

Further, objectification of the people comes on the advice posted on the Kibera Tours site to the tourists:

“Please don't hand out anything during the tour. So don't hand out money, sweets, pens, balloons and so on. This can create chaos and quickly may establish the assumption that tourists equal gifts”.

So, how come slum tourism seems to be the hottest business idea around, judging by the number of people involved? Well, it’s really simple. For an entrepreneur seeking to venture into such an industry the entry barriers are low; so low they are almost negligible. Kibera is an informal settlement which means it officially doesn’t exist. The sprawling slum has a reputation of being dangerous, so even police or local authority presence is low – so you can pretty much do anything without too much interference.

The startup costs are also minimal – the slum is already there and with rural-urban migration it continues to grow. No need to invest in infrastructure on that score. The “people” are also there for the tourist’s viewing, and with high fertility rates coupled with high unemployment levels (which would otherwise take them out of the slum) the total package is there.

What about attracting customers? With internet access getting cheaper one can within no time set up a slum-safari site and get interest from eager do-gooders from afar. Without much government regulation the dollars, yen, euros or whatever other currency goes direct into your pockets. In fact you don’t even need to share it with the “people”.

Demand is also inelastic, it would take a great calamity for a do-gooder’s heart to change (demand) and poverty (supply) will remain and even grow – making a perfect equilibrium point. Finally there are no sunk costs; indeed it is in the interests of such entrepreneurs that the slum stays just the way it is. Slum upgrading initiatives are thus the only threat for the business. Tourists won’t pay to tour high rise concrete apartments equipped with basic living facilities even if the people living there are the “people”. Tourists pay for the squalor and the stench of impoverishment, not development – that they do by donating money to aid agencies.

But what to do when even the larger travel companies are joining the fray? Victoria Safari’s which operates throughout East Africa has a package called “Africa Slums Tours” calling it “pro poor tourism”. From its website pro poor tourism is described:

“the concept of pro poor tourism in Africa is not new as it has been and is being practiced in South Africa. Soweto and Shanty tours in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively are not new tours but have been ongoing slum safaris that are changing the face of South Africa's Slum areas. Kibera Slum dwellers in Nairobi - Kenya are gradually beginning to reap the benefits of Kibera Slum Tours just as other Kenya Slums dwellers, courtesy of Victoria Safaris.”

If slum dwellers have been benefiting then wouldn’t that mean there would be no more slums to visit? Besides that, there is also the worrying aspect of the logo of Eco Tourism Kenya at the bottom of the Africa Slums Tours web page. Ecotourism Kenya is a civil society organization that was founded in 1996 to promote ecotourism and sustainable tourism practices in Kenya. Is slum tourism then sustainable tourism?

So will slum tourism continue to thrive? Of course as long as the barriers to entry remain low, and the government does its best to do nothing to uplift the lives of the millions of Kenyans living in informal settlements. And it is doing that job very well!

Transcript of President Obama’s Video Message to the AGOA Forum in Nairobi

Hello everyone. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you in person. But please know that for me and for my family, the memories from our recent trip to Ghana are still fresh — we will always remember the warmth of the Ghanaian people and the promise of Africa’s potential.

I hope you’re enjoying Kenya — and the hospitality of the Kenyan people — as much as I always have. When I first came in 1987, it was to discover the story of my father, who had grown up herding goats in the tiny village of Alego. When I visited as a Senator, I promised to work for a U.S. foreign policy that gives hope and opportunity to the people of this great continent.

Today, it is my privilege to address you as President. And I want to repeat what I said three weeks ago in Accra. I do not see the countries and the peoples of Africa as a world apart. I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world. In our global economy, our economic fortunes are shared. And history shows that economic growth is among the greatest forces for progress in lifting people out of poverty.

That’s why the African Growth and Opportunity Act is so important. That’s why the AGOA Forum is so critical. By breaking down old barriers and opening new markets, we not only increase trade between our countries. We create powerful incentives for African entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, to create jobs and build a brighter tomorrow for their children. That is what AGOA is all about.

So I thank President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga for hosting this Forum. And I pledge to you the full support and partnership of the United States. That is why my Administration is represented there today by outstanding members of my Cabinet.

Over the last decade, AGOA has transformed the U.S.-African trade relationship. Opening America’s doors to your exports has been good for Africa — creating African jobs, bringing millions of dollars of investment to sub-Saharan Africa and sparking new trade across the continent. And it’s been good for America — with African exporters seeking U.S. expertise, investments and joint-ventures. And today, we’re your single largest trade partner.

At the same time, it’s clear that U.S.-African trade has yet to realize its full potential. And if the current recession teaches us anything, it’s that in a global economy not only the opportunities are shared. So are the risks. So there’s so much more we can do together to plant the seeds of our economic recovery, and to achieve lasting prosperity.

Only Africans can unlock Africa’s potential. It will take your entrepreneurship. Your innovation. And only Africans can ensure the good governance and strong institutions upon which development depends. Open markets alone are not enough. Development requires the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and an atmosphere that welcomes investment. And I encourage every country to set concrete goals for overcoming the obstacles to economic growth.

And to all Africans who are pursuing a future of hope and opportunity, know this: you have a partner and a friend in the United States. That’s why we’ll work with you to develop strong institutions, clear legal frameworks and the regulations and infrastructure that help bring new products to market. That’s why we’ll work together to harness Africa’s vast natural resources to generate clean, renewable energy for export. That’s why I’ve pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance — not simply to help people scrape by, but to unleash transformational change. And that’s why we’ve joined with our international partners to promote food security by investing $20 billion in agricultural development — not simply to hand out American food, but to promote African self-sufficiency.

These are the things we can do together to unleash the skills and talents of our people. And to ensure our common prosperity in the 21st century. And if we do, I’m confident that Africans can live their dreams from Nairobi to Accra, from Lagos to Kigali, from Kinshasa to Cape Town.

Thank you for your work at this important Forum. Enjoy Nairobi.

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