Outside view Partnerships in action: SNV and DSM in Kenya Milk is big business in Kenya. With more than 4.5 million tonnes of milk consumed every year in the country, SNV and partners Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the Kenya Dairy Board and multinational nutritional supplement producer DSM saw the perfect opportunity to combine social impact and commercial opportunity by pioneering the production and sale of fortified milk products for low-income consumers. Working with local dairy producer Kinangop, the PPP partners are aiming to kickstart the fortified dairy product market in Kenya. With DSM bringing their expertise in fortified nutrition, SNV working to improve the dairy supply chain and the Kenya Dairy Board (under the Ministry of Agriculture) focusing on regulatory issues – including a potential reduced VAT rate for fortified products – the project plans to improve nutrition for 1.5 million Kenyans in the next three years. Today, many new tools exist to help partners in development-oriented PPPs attain these goals. A host of internet clearinghouses – such as those of the World Bank and UNDP – provide guidance on building transparent partnerships. Likewise, new funding mechanisms, such as The Currency Exchange and the Dutch government’s Good Growth Fund, ease risk by insulating investors from financial fluctuations over time. A balancing act To ensure success, PPPs with a development focus must serve the interests and respect the goals of multiple constituencies, including civil society. But as the profit motive assumes a greater role in development, it becomes more important for NGO culture to accept the validity of corporate partners’ basic raison d’etre. “Even if the CEO of a company is committed to CSR, the company is still owned by the shareholders,” SNV USA Executive Director Neil Ghosh says. “We cannot ignore them.” NGO partners can play a variety of critical roles to ensure sustainability and inclusion. As Ghosh explains, NGOs may contribute recommendations on governance, identify business opportunities, broker relationships, provide technical assistance, develop capacity, optimise programme design and contribute to implementation and research. 20 CONNECT #2 JULY 2013 But beyond its health benefits, locally produced fortified dairy has the potential to become a whole new market segment in Kenya, one that benefits the country’s low-income population at every step of the value chain – as producers, processors, retailers and consumers. “Working with a company like DSM makes this a really exciting inclusive business model,” SNV’s Kenya Country Director Harm Duiker says. “These fortified products have the potential to reach an enormous amount of people and if we are successful in triggering the market in Kenya and motivating other producers to get involved it will be a great success – both socially and commercially!” “The benefits NGOs bring to PPPs are threefold,” he explains. “Companies gain new markets and distribution channels, governments see economic growth on new investments, and locals gain new skills and more sustainable wages.” Acharya sees each PPP as unique, with social outcomes to match. “A true partnership requires input from all partners, with benefits accruing to further joint goals,” she says, underlining that above all it is the common thread of shared “foundational values” and the overlap of goals amongst partners that is essential to PPP success. • Pagina 19
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