Commitment through the IB/IGB strategy and action plan
The IB/IGB initiative is a private sector-led, government-owned, and development partners supported program to create a better enabling environment for companies to transforming into IB/IGB firms that provide innovative, scaled up, systemic and relevant solutions for the poor and low-income people and the environment.
While discussing a possible support program for IB/IGB transformation going forward from 2025 onwards, the consultants found strong support so far for the proposed IB/IGB initiative and the strategic recommendations in the proposed program, including:
- Establishing a dedicated strategic commitment endorsed by government and private sector (not policy).
- The proposed multi-stakeholder institutional framework: with an oversight Board, an accreditation committee, a joint secretariat in a government agency and a business association, an IDR-BCM committee, and investment committee, focal points in various institutions, regular IB/IGB champions meetings).
- IB/IGB awareness raising work through business associations and other stakeholders (including workshops seminars and fora, knowledge papers, leaflets, radio features, video, IB/IGB website, newsletter, regular social media features, among others).
- IB/IGB accreditation jointly done by government and business associations. This is based on a composite rating tool with transparent criteria and benchmarks, and documentation of companies (maybe 20-30 per year) done through third party interviews.
- Business coaching under an impact-drives-return focus (IDR-BCM) and certification and follow up training of experts doing this.
- Targeting IB/IGB in SME promotion programs with concrete commitments from multiple stakeholders.
- Establishing smart and budget neutral incentives (still in discussion) or including IB as dedicated features in existing tax, procurement, trade and other investment incentives.
- Creating a regional risk reduction fund for impact investors (RRSIF) , eventually championed by VCTF and under West Africa regional perspective.
- Facilitating impact monitoring and reporting at company, thematic and cross-sectoral, as well as program levels. And
- Institutionalizing an annual Africa-wide regional exchange on IB/IGB and its promotion, also through linkages top major business and impact investors summits (such as the Africa CEO summit, Africa Sankalp events, and Impact Investing meetings).
Endorsement: he 10 strategic recommendations were principally endorsed on 22 October 2024 through a letter by the three parties representing the private sector led, government owned and development partners supported initiative, i.e. AGI as representative of the private sector, MoTI as focal point on the government side, and GIZ as focal point for the involvement of development partners.
The IB/IGB initiative will be implemented by multiple stakeholders . An implementation action plan developed by January 2025 will solicit possible contributions from those actors by integrating IB/IGB features in their existing programs, and extra contributions from private and public funders, development partners (public and private) including GIZ.