Is DFID open for business?

People from the AidWatch/Easterly school of thought must be very excited by Justine Greening's (UK's Secretary of State for International Development) speech yesterday at the London Stock Exchange. She is advocating a much more businesslike approach to international aid by DFID.

In our opinion this is absolutely fabulous stuff, and we are big fans of Justine Greening. Looking forward to seeing new PPP development programs emerge from DFID!

Here are a few snippets from her speech:

"I’ve said from the word go in this job that Britain’s investment in International Development isn’t just the right thing to do –but it’s the smart thing to do too. I've been clear that I want to see our investment in the right places, on the right things, spent in the right way. So, I've started driving better value for money within DFID, by strengthening Ministerial oversight of business cases and contracts, and improving our supplier procurement. But I also wanted to take a closer look not just at how we go about our development work, but what that work comprises. Today I want to talk about why I will be shifting DFID’s work to include a much stronger focus on economic development and the steps we are going to take to get that strategy in place."
Fourth Watch Response: We particularly love the first sentence in this quote. Most (all?) developed countries spent exponentially more on military than on international development. Is this the ideal approach to achieve peace for our citizenry? We think the balance off.


"So, there’s a lot to do but there's a lot we're already doing. DFID's work on technology investments has already helped to unlock smart business investment in developing countries. Look at Vodafone and the hugely successful M-PESA mobile banking phone service. DFID match-funded Vodafone's initial investment  and there are now 17m users in Kenya and a third of Kenyan GDP is expected to pass through the M-PESA system. A mobile bank account essentially for millions who otherwise wouldn't have one. One that they can do business and trade with."
Fourth Watch Response: We love the concept behind this kind of public-private partnership. This is an excellent way for governments to leverage public spending and tap into the capital, skills, and efficiency of private enterprise.


"If you ask people in developing countries what they want, they’ll give you one top priority – it’s a job. It doesn’t matter whether you ask men or women, they give the same answer. People, wherever they are, want the opportunity to be financially independent, and to have the dignity of being able to provide for themselves and their family."
Fourth Watch Response: This is the part where the AidWatch types get really excited. So do we. 

"Firstly, reducing overall barriers to trade and investment – whether regulatory, infrastructure, legal or institutional. Secondly, unlocking the ability of entrepreneurs and business people in developing countries to themselves drive economic growth through their own businesses being more and more successful. Thirdly and critically, I believe it also means greater investment by business, and I want to see UK companies joining the development push."
Fourth Watch Response: Yes, yes, and yes.

To read the full text of the speech, click here:
Justine Greening Speech at the London Stock Exchange, 11 March 2013