Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
16 June 2021
Post No. 200
The Week’s Contents
• Game of the Not-for-profit Developers
• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus for Week Beginning 14/06/2021: Creations and Innovations to Counteract Future Shocks and Disasters
• Coming this Summer 2021: FACS Issue no. 72 to be entitled as Investing in the Not-for-profit Organisations within the African Continental Free Trade Area
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Game of the Not-for-profit Developers (GN4PDs)
Game of the Not-for-profit Developers (or the Game of the African Not-for-profit Organisations in the African Continental Free Trade Area) is an investigative project that continues our search or investigation with Africa-based Sister Organisations about the gains that the African Not-for-profit Organisations (AN4POs) can realise by being actively and fully engaged in the process and the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
It is an investigative project because through this project, we shall carry out a thorough and detailed examination of the benefits of being deeply involved in the game of trade integration of the AfCFTA. In doing so, the project will try to expose both the advantages and disadvantages from the AfCFTA, from the perspective of the not-for-profit development. In this respect, the Game of the Not-for-Profit Developers is a form of gamification of the elements of game playing (such as the rules of game in the marketplace) to the area of poverty reduction.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided a summary of project proposals relating to this project.
• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus for Week Beginning 14/06/2021: Creations and Innovations to Counteract Future Shocks and Disasters
Our month of Creative Economic Development continues as we have started looking at creations and innovations that could help us to nullify or reduce the adverse impacts of future socks and disasters. Future shocks and disasters may not be known since we are in the territory of futurology and uncertainty. However, this does not stop us to make preparation in counteracting these shocks and disasters if they happen. To prepare ourselves, we are going to work on creations and innovations to counteract imminent risks as well as those may happen in Africa.
• • Creations and Innovations to counteract imminent risks
Regarding the kinds of future shocks and disasters that may surprise us or one may encounter, there are those ones listed as risks in the 16th edition of the World Economic Forum’s annual analysis – the Global Risks Report 2021 (1). In its report, the Forum categorises risks into the following types: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological ones. On the page 12 of this report, there are 10 top risks that are likely to happen and 10 top risks that may impact over the course of the next ten years.
Additionally, it is indicated in this report that further to the survey respondents’ results, the 10 top global risks by likelihood (from unlikely to very likely to occur over the course of the next ten years) are:
(1) extreme weather (2) climate action failure (3) human environmental damage (4) infectious diseases (5) biodiversity loss (6) digital power concentration (7) digital inequality (8) interstate relations fracture (9) cyber-security failure (10) livelihood crises
For the same survey respondents’ results, the 10 top global risks by impact (from minimal to catastrophic impact to occur over the course of the next ten years) are:
(1) infectious diseases (2) climate action failure (3) weapons of mass destruction (4) biodiversity loss (5) natural resource crisis (6) human environmental damage (7) livelihood crises (8) extreme weather (9) debt crisis (10) IT infrastructure breakdown
It is possible to create and innovate to counteract any of these risks if they happen.
For instance, one can create and innovate to counteract the damaging effects of extreme weather which is the top global risk by likelihood according to the World Economic Forum’s report. Likewise, one can create and innovate to counteract the life threatening and destroying effects of infectious diseases which are the first top global risk by impact. And the coronavirus as an infectious disease has so far historically and adversely impacted the humanity. Should we created and innovated more, we could have sensibly reduced or avoided the harmful impact of the coronavirus which is still not shown any sign of giving up.
• • Creations and innovations to counteract shocks and disasters in Africa
Every year, there are events (such as civil conflicts, civil insecurity, floods, torrential rains, etc.) that lead to population displacements, food insecurity and other socio-economic impacts to people, especially the poorest ones. This is let alone the coronavirus that has led to containment measures.
For example, in their recent joint Global Report on Internal Displacement, the International Displacement Monitoring Centre and the Norway Refugee Council (2) have noticed the following:
6,780,000 (almost 27.4%) people were displaced by conflicts and violence, and 4,299,000 were displaced by disasters in 2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa. (p. 8)
Drawn-out conflicts and violence (in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, etc.) and natural disasters (like intense cyclones, torrential rains and floods) have involuntarily and internally displaced many people. The recent eruption of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo is yet another illustration of these natural disasters and their consequences on human lives.
It is possible for Africans to create and innovate to counteract the detrimental effects and impacts of these events. It is also possible to create and innovate to stop women and children to bear the brunt of future shocks and disasters.
However, creating and innovating to prepare against, prevent and counteract future shocks and disasters require investments. One can hope that with the funding programmes going on to eradicate the coronavirus, there would be also financial schemes to help counteract future shocks and disasters, at least for that are likely to happen in the near future.
To support the Creative Economic Development Month, please contact CENFACS. To share your creations and innovations to counteract future shocks and disasters, please also contact CENFACS.
• Coming this Summer 2021: FACS Issue no. 72 to be entitled as
Investing in the Not-for-profit African Organisations in Africa –
How to reduce more poverty in the African Continental Free Trade Area
As the momentum about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) keeps growing, many would call on investors to pour in their capital. However, given the size of poverty in Africa, would not be better for investors motivated by other motives than profit to move to those areas of AfCFTA or African market that are not-for-profit making, but that take poverty reduction as their core mission?
The need for the distribution of investments and penetration of investors to deprived areas is even greater now as the coronavirus has wiped out hard-won outcomes (for many decades) about poverty reduction in Africa. For example, when navigating the impact of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa, the International Monetary Fund (3) argues that
“In Sub-Saharan Africa, estimated employment fell by about 8½ per cent in 2020, more than 32 million people were thrown into poverty…” (p. 11)
This estimated number of poor people has to be added to the pre-pandemic poor. If there are so many people living in poverty, it makes sense to appeal to not-for-profit investors to chip in.
The 72nd Issue of FACS will examine how not-for-profit driven investors can support not-for-profit organisations and development in the AfCFTA. Especially, this Issue will look at the climate and conditions in which this could bring more and better poverty reduction outcomes in Africa.
Through this Issue, we are going to discuss a new direction or re-orientation of investments in Africa with a mission to lift more people from poverty and hardships. This will help to add value to poverty reduction compared to the classic route or channel of investments in Africa.
The 72nd Issue is a journey with those in need in a new area of trade integration in Africa with new types of investors to meet their needs and build forward better from the COVID-19 induced poverty and hardships. Amongst those investors are social ones.
As Muhammad Yunus with Karl Weber (4) put it in the introduction to their book:
“In a social business, an investor aims to help others without making any financial gain himself” (p. xvii)
They also argue in the same introduction the following:
“No doubt humans are selfish beings, but they are selfless beings, too. Both these qualities coexist in all human beings” (p. xv)
It is this selfless motivation or dimension driven by investors that will be about in the 72nd Issue of FACS in order to lift more people out of poverty.
Further details about this Issue will be released in due course. However, for those who would like to reserve a copy they are welcome to contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Spring Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus: Only 1 Week to Go!
The Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus aims at reducing poverty, particularly sanitation poverty, in the process of building back better from the damaging effects of the coronavirus pandemic while fighting it where it is still claiming its victims during this season in Africa.
This project has two key objectives which are:
(a) Rebuild resilient critical infrastructures, facilities and livelihoods required for the functioning of COVID-19 stricken people and communities
(b) Restore basic life-sustaining health, economic and environmental assets, systems and activities of COVID-19 affected people and communities as well as align them to greenhouse gas emissions goals and targets
You can support it to make helpful difference for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa.
To support, contact CENFACS at: Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)
• Arts and Design Project
e-Workshop 2: Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card to Support World Desertification and Drought Day 2021 on 17 June
The 17th of June 2021 is the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is an event to promote awareness of the desertification of Earth dry lands and supports efforts to combat this. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (5) says that message of Desertification and Drought Day 2021 is
“Investing in activities that protect and restore natural ecosystems will boost the recovery from COVID-19 for communities, countries and economies worldwide”
One can seize this occasion to construct and post a p-card (paper card) and/or e-card (electronic card) as expressions or ways of sustainably managing land to resonate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on 17/06/2021. One can follow the card design criteria we published last week for Arts and Design e-workshop 1, and design their p-card or e-card.
So, those who wish and want can design and post an e-card or e-object to feature the theme and focus of Desertification and Drought Day 2021.
To support and or enquire about Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development, please contact CENFACS.
To find out more about Desertification and Drought Day 2021, please go to: Media advisory: Press Kit for Desertification and Drought Day 2021 | UNCCD
• Ways through which CENFACS is creating and innovating to build forward better together
As part of building CENFACS forward better, we would like to share with the community and stakeholders the following means of creation and innovation:
Stories
We use stories (through our All in Development Stories Telling and Sharing Programme) to track users’ and the community’s experiences.
E-advice Services
To counteract the handicaps brought by the coronavirus and accidental damages caused by the containment measures (e.g. social distancing, lockdowns and border control), we have now innovative e-advisory services on a range of matters.
E-workshops
In order to get more people involved in our activities, services, projects and programmes; we are running e-workshops.
Skill Data Bank
To stay connected with the community and match skills and needs, we have maintained a searchable database where people can register their skills at any time.
CENFACS Website and Twitter account
We use our website and twitter account to map out or simply check the community engagement.
Nature-based and circular economic solutions
We often refer to green and sustainable ways of solving problems in our work.
These creative and innovative initiatives will help us to build forward better together with the community and Africa-based Sister Organisations.
For those who would like to find out more about CENFACS‘ creative and innovative initiatives, they are welcome to contact us.
Main Development
• Game of the Not-for-profit Developers (GN4PDs)
• • What is GN4PDs?
The Game of the Not-for-profit Developers (or the Game of the African Not-for-profit Organisations in the African Continental Free Trade Area) is an investigative project that aims to help African Not-for-profit Organisations to get the best of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) so that they can expand their outcomes in terms of poverty reduction, and in doing so help lift more people out of poverty in Africa or in this area.
The project, which is not a sum of recreational activities, is a model of decision-making process that analyses the threats and risks deriving from the trading space provided by the AfCFTA while identifying the opportunities that can be reaped of the same space. The investigative project takes into account the local needs as well as the conflicting interests of the other game players and their choices.
• • Project components/activities
The following are the project activities:
√ Negotiation and bidding in international capital markets to secure funds for poverty reduction
√ Development of cross-border services and their delivery to users of various countries
√ Promotion of indigenous and local technologies and inward-looking services
√ Attraction of not-for-profit foreign direct investments
√ Capacity building and development support to provide cross-border services or not-for-profit services to other countries in the context of AfCFTA
√ Building forward better infrastructures, capacities and structures
√ Exploration, search and creation of market niches and opportunities within the AfCFTA
√ Formation and development of poverty-reduction alliances
√ Development of value chains and of pan-African service creating effects for poverty reduction
√ Techniques to engage with poverty reduction work in the game of free trade or economic integration
√ Creation of scale economies of poverty reduction
√ Inward-looking poverty reduction services
√ Outward-looking services to meet demand and needs beyond borders
√ Help to win market niches, opportunities and contracts
Etc.
• • Project outcomes
One can anticipate the following changes and effects may happen:
√ Project beneficiaries will become empowered and better negotiators on the international trade and capital markets
√ Increase and improvement of cross-border services provision and delivery of poverty reduction
√ Amelioration of capacity to provide cross-border services in the context of the AfCFTA
√ Adapted infrastructures, capacities and structures to cope with the demand and requirement of an integrated and continental free trade area
√ More discoveries of market niches and opportunities for poverty reduction
√ Increase in the number and quality of allied organisations working on similar poverty reduction issues and poverty reduction services/products
√ Enhancement of value chains of poverty reduction within and across the not-for-profit organisations
√ More and better beneficial effects on poverty reduction across Africa
√ Better coverage of poverty reduction services across Africa
√ Reduction of cost of producing poverty reduction services per unit
√ Upping of access to finances relating to poverty reduction work
√ Increase in networking and self-reliance
√ Security of not-for-profit investments and better opportunity for organisations to develop and thrive
Etc.
• • Project indicators
The following indicators will help to measure the performance of the project:
√ Number of people lifted out of poverty
√ Number of jobs created in poor areas of the AfCFTA
√ Saving achieved in terms of production/service costs
√ Number of branches or outlets opened in deprived areas of the AfCFTA
√ Amount of not-for-profit investments and investors secured
√ The percentage of increase in the size of users’ base
√ Number of supporters gained as a result of continental free trade integration
√ Number of people who become members or join the organisation because of its activities in the AfCFTA
√ Number of negotiated contracts won or acquired as a result of active involvement in the AfCFTA
√ Inventory of skills and abilities gained as part of trade integration
√ Number of networkers and partners got following full participation in the life of the AfCFTA
Etc.
The above indicators should not be measured in isolation. One should undertake a comparative approach by checking their performance against similar indicators related to other players or gamers operating in the AfCFTA and market.
• • Project beneficiaries
Generally, the beneficiaries of this project will be the African organisations that would like take active part in the AfCFTA.
Although we speak about organisations, in reality the GN4PDs will benefit individuals who are and will be the users or project beneficiaries of these organisations. This is because the main aim in being in the AfCFTA is to help reduce poverty in large scale within the AfCFTA, in different countries making the game of AfCFTA.
• • Project funding status
So far, this project is unfunded. This means we are open to any credible funding proposals or proposition from potential funders or donors. It is known that the coronavirus pandemic has put a toll on everybody. However, those who would like to support this project will be more than welcome.
To fully or partly fund this project, please contact CENFACS.
• • Impact monitoring and evaluation
As part of impact monitoring, there will be routine and systematic gathering of information on all aspects of the project. In other words, we will systematically collect and analyse information to keep regular checks and balances on the project.
Likewise, we shall assess what the project will achieve in relation to the overall aim it was set up. This is to say that evaluation will be conducted regarding the efforts spent on this project to find out whether or not these efforts are value for poverty reduction in the context of continental free trade integration and area.
In proceeding in this manner, we will be able to measure the impact or at least the outcomes from this project.
As said above, it is known that this time of the coronavirus pandemic and continuing lockdowns is a challenging one. The health and economic crisis instigated by the coronavirus pandemic has perhaps negatively impacted people’s pockets and bank accounts.
However, for those who would like to build forward better Africa without poverty or with less poverty, this project is an opportunity to direct efforts to a new journey, a creative and innovative way expressed by the not-for-profit development. Those who would like to join us in this journey or may be interested in this project, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
For details including full project proposals and budget for the Game of the Not-for-profit Developers, please contact CENFACS.
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References
(1) World Economic Forum (2021), The Global Risks Report 2021, 16th Edition, Insight report
https://www.weforum.org/global-risks
(2) International Displacement Monitoring Centre & Norway Refugee Council (2021), Global Report on Internal Displacement, May 2021
(3) International Monetary Fund (2021), Regional economic outlook. Sub-Saharan Africa: navigating a long pandemic, World Economic and Financial Surveys, April 2021, Washington, D.C.
(4) Muhammad Yunus with Karl Weber (2011), Building social business: the new kind of capitalism that serves humanity’s most pressing needs, Public Affairs, New York
(5) Media advisory: Press Kit for Desertification and Drought Day 2021 | UNCCD (accessed June 2021)
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Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
