andreasw | The Pope and the CEO

The Church in Africa: Pioneers of Prosperity

Installment 6 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 Pioneers of Prosperity 5 Minute Overview Video (w/ text slate) from Jeff Zimbalist on Vimeo. The Pioneers of Prosperity Awards Program is based on SEVEN’s experience that great companies exist in even the most challenging business environments. We believe that greater prosperity can be achieved in emerging markets if these existing models of success are better understood and effectively replicated. Showcasing local success stories, focusing on small to medium size firms, will help to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs that can serve as the engine of increased growth and prosperity for their country. Pioneers of Prosperity will award winners with up to US $100,000 to invest in technical infrastructure and training for their companies, and connect them to networks of technical expertise, potential investors, and other cutting-edge entrepreneurs on the local, regional, and global level.
The Church in Africa: The most effective poverty fighters are entrepreneurs.

Installment 5 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 Development, or the lack of it is a complex issue – culture, aid, economics, politics all play a role. But I find that a key reason is because local entrepreneurs are not encouraged by their own people, are ignored by the economic development groups and don’t have proper access to the financial system to grow their firms. That’s a pity – because I believe that the best way to fight poverty is through investment, not aid. The most effective poverty fighters are entrepreneurs. People who build local companies that employ 20-500 people. They bring about long-term employment. They create the middle class. They enable the local community to flourish. They enable our local churches to function. But they are very normal people like you and me. What they have is a special gift. A special talent. I realized this as I first came to Africa to advise companies on business strategy. I worked with some of the best entrepreneurs in the USA and was blessed with a wonderful career. I learned a lot from these entrepreneurs and was now applying it to companies in emerging… Read more
The Church in Africa: 60% of all foreign aid stays within donor countries

Installment 4 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 Why is it that all this aid money had so little effect? Why hasn’t more progress been made? The reasons are many and complex, but a few simple points stick out to me: The World Bank has estimated that 60% of all foreign aid stays within donor countries, and is used to pay for consultants to purchase nationally produced goods and for transportation costs. And as in any industry, the basic truth applies: if poverty is your business, more poverty means more business… And the other 40% of foreign aid that stays here in Africa to help build the local economy is far outweighed by corruption and the anti-competitive impositions put on African business: Farm subsidies in the EU, the US and Canada, and the US steel tariffs total over $300bn per year, are larger than the combined national income of sub-Saharan Africa, and dwarf the $50bn given in aid a year. Europe subsidizes its agriculture to the tune of some $35-40 billion per year, even while it demands other nations to liberalize their markets to foreign competition. Dairy subsidy in the EU is $2.50… Read more
The Church in Africa: The world gives Africa a lot of aid, but does not do business with Africa.

Installment 3 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 The world gives Africa a lot of aid, but does not do business with Africa. Here are some numbers that illustrate what I mean: The population of Africa makes up 12% or 1/8th of the world’s population. According to William Easterly, since 1949 US $ 2.3 Trillion in aid was given by donor countries to the developing world. In the last 50 years, Africa has received around US$ 1 Trillion, roughly $5000 per African living today. 29% of all the aid is given to a continent with 1.8th of all people. That’s over 1/3rd. On the other hand, foreign direct investment into Africa only amounts to 1.4% of worldwide activity. The world gives Africa a lot of aid, but does not do business with Africa.
The Church in Africa: Differentiating between humanitarian aid and economic development

Installment 2 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 Nine years ago, I became the CEO of a business strategy-consulting firm. The company was founded by business professors from Harvard University and we focused on private sector business strategy in uncertain environments, specifically in developing markets. I was exposed to the aid sector and its effort to foster economic growth. Drawing from my business expertise and my Catholic faith, I increasingly began to disagree with aid strategy. Much of the current aid strategy does not work from a business strategy perspective, and is deeply dehumanizing, violating the dignity of the very people we are trying to help. Most people think of development as humanitarian aid – or disaster relief. A Christian Non-Negotiable: Natural reaction to disaster … Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Haiti, Darfur, etc. Churches have a proud and effective tradition in administering charitable aid. The charitable NGO and philanthropic sector in the USA alone is an annual $240bn industry. But few people differentiate between humanitarian and economic development Once the most urgent issues are resolved, life returns to some form of normalcy. The immediate danger of dying is over, and people… Read more
The Church in Africa: If you wait for the West to fix your economy for you, you will further slide into poverty

Installment 1 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010 Economic development does not come from abroad. You will slide further into poverty if you wait for the West to fix your economy for you. Economic development does not come from the World Bank or foreign governments. It is created out of self-reliance and local communities linked into networks of productivity, what Pope John Paul II called “circles of exchange.” Business investment and business loans are needed, not government to government grants and aid. Economic development and prosperity come from within your society itself. To ignite prosperity, we have to enable our local small and medium sized companies (SMEs). These are the companies that can provide high growth with good and stable jobs, local tax revenues, and locally generated philanthropic activity, which means that African churches and charities do not need to go abroad to find donations. I want to propose to you a specific way of thinking about entrepreneurship and ministry to business leaders in your diocese. Develop a program that would provide spiritual formation, business training, and collateral funds to gain access to bank loans for the best entrepreneurs in your diocese.