Last year, staff from our economy and peacebuilding and international institutions teams attended the conference ‘Business after conflict: Investing in the new Africa’ [4] in Nairobi, Kenya.
The purpose of the event was to discuss both opportunities and inherent challenges in investing in post-conflict countries. In particular, the sessions focused on the difference between perception and reality to do with the potential risks and rewards of doing business in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and South Sudan.
The event on 28 November was hosted by the Financial Times publication This is Africa [5] in association with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) [6] of the World Bank Group. Participants included the private sector, officials from various government and international financial institutions, industry research analysts as well as civil society representatives.
Zahed Yousuf from our economy and peacebuilding team spoke on the panel entitled ‘Sustainable business and the bottom line’, which discussed security-related business issues, conflict resource supply chains governance, and conflict-sensitive business and investment practice. Our presentation focused on three key areas:
- improving understanding of peacebuilding, the complexities of conflict and post-conflict areas
- improving understanding of the interaction between company operations and conflict dynamics
- improving understanding of how it can be in a company’s interest to promote peace through more effective risk mitigation strategies.
While the conference provided an important platform for sharing knowledge − and it is undeniable that there are a lot of opportunities within post-conflict countries that have yet to be explored − much more discussion and insight will need to be dedicated to the topic. A one-day event is not nearly enough time to discuss some of the key issues surrounding the changing investment landscape and the fact that there are still many pitfalls to investment and business practices that are not thoroughly considered from a conflict-sensitive perspective.
As a global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries, the IFC, as well as the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency [7], wants to enhance their understanding of conflict and fragility and how it impacts on their work. It is therefore important that we, as a peacebuilding organisation, continue to engage in the evolving debate to ensure that all economic stakeholders understand that there is real economic value in a conflict-sensitive approach which promotes sustainable peace.
Read a recent article by Zahed on conflict-sensitive business practices in Africa here. [8]
Photo © John Hogg/World Bank