Realities of localisation

Foreign aid may be “going local,” but much more needs to be done to create the right conditions for local partnerships to take hold and succeed in the long run.

That was one key takeaway from the first-ever Devex Partnerships Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, recently.

“We need local solutions for local problems for local communities,” said Mamadou Biteye, who oversees operations in Africa for the Rockefeller Foundation, the event’s lead sponsor.

The forum, Biteye noted, is an important start to what should become an ongoing conversation about localisation and how organisations — both local and international — can achieve sustainable results through partnership.

The need for this conversation is what prompted Devex to gather in Nairobi some of the industry’s leading thinkers and doers. All in all, the event brought together more than 200 representatives from 44 exhibiting organisations and 150 participants from African development organisations.

Local development has taken the front seat, said Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-chief of Devex, during his opening remarks. And development work has never been more challenging or more necessary, Biteye added.

“Innovation is no longer about going it alone,” Biteye said. “There is a good deal to learn, replicate, build from and scale. We will need to join our hands together to maximise our impact,” he added.
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