By Donnas Ojok (PfAL4)

Ahead of the unveiling of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015, LSE’s Donnas Ojok analyses the development projections of The Gates Foundation.

Every year, Bill and Melinda Gates, the world’s richest couple and co-chairs of the world’s biggest philanthropic organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation produce an annual report. The 2015 Annual Report is a unique one because the couple makes a second big bet after their first bet in the year 2000 which focused on health and education. Their bet concludes, “This new century brings with it exciting advances in health and learning. We all share the responsibility of ensuring that these opportunities are not out of reach for the people who need them the most”. That same year, world leaders made a pledge at the Millennium Summit in New York and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were birthed. In the year of their second bet, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be also come into being.

For the full article, please visit the Africa at LSE blog.

By Donnas Ojok (PfAL4, Uganda)

Social entrepreneurship now takes centre stage at global forums, like at the recent meeting of the World Economic Forum. From big European cities to small African villages, social enterprises are springing up and daring to address some of the most daunting challenges of our time. Indeed, “It is now becoming cool to make a difference,” noted Tim O’Reilly.

Its proponents argue that social entrepreneurship presents a plethora of opportunities which, when exploited, will lift millions of people out of the so-called poverty trap. Critics, however, point out that the unavailability of appropriate market incentives, which is a common characteristic of most social enterprises, might actually limit their potential to sustainably solve development challenges.

Regardless of which side one takes, these debates provide insights into the social enterprise concept in general, as well the search for solutions to Africa’s poverty challenge in particular.

Read the full article on the LSE Entrepreneurship blog. 

By Martin Namasaka (PfAL@LSE, 2014-15, candidate)

In a remote corner of south eastern Guinea, the lush green highlands of Simandou are at the centre of a transformation being felt all over Africa after the discovery of one of the world’s richest and most coveted repositories of iron ore, the core ingredient of making steel. Today multinational companies are competing for a stake in Simandou’s ore, with billions of dollars of investment in prospect.

Together with recent landmark discoveries of natural resources in Ghana, Uganda, DR Congo, Kenya (now ranked Africa’s fastest growing economy), Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania and many more, Africa is standing on the edge of an enormous opportunity in the global economy. But historically, these resources have often been more of a curse than a blessing leading to a variety of explanations for the failure to convert their natural resources into development assets.

Read the full article in the Africa at LSE blog.

By Cleto Manjova (PfAL4, Zimbabwe)

It is a reality. Climate change is here!

Despite the grand arguments by climate change denialists, the time is coming when their views will no longer be able to stand. Though I am no skeptic, the grim consequences of climate change were made all the more plain during the Cumberland Lodge workshop in January 12-14, 2015, led by Professors Tim Dyson and Robert Wade. The weekend focused on Climate Change, Population, Disasters, and Grounds for Hope – a theme that was timely (right on the heels of the Copenhagen Conference in November 2014), interactive, eye-opening and highly enriching.

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by Donnas Ojok (PfAL4, Uganda)

The current debate about whether aid is good or bad for development has gained unprecedented momentum in the development and academic discourse. Aid enthusiasts like Jeffrey Sachs, Bill Gates, and Bono argue that the world is now a much better place because of aid. In his 2013 TED talk, entitled the “The Good News on Poverty”, Bono provides incredible stories of how aid has improved living standards in many African countries. On the other hand, critics like Dambisa Moyo argue that aid continues to increase dependency, widens indebtedness and promotes corruption.

Drawing on my personal experience while growing up in the Karamoja region in Uganda, and later working on humanitarian and development projects in the post-conflict region of Northern Uganda, I feel compelled to shed some light on these ongoing debates.

For the full article, please visit the Africa@LSE blog.

This poem was written by PfAL4 scholar Donnas Ojok for the PfAL@LSE launch on Monday, December 15, 2014.

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By Fiona Mungai (PfAL4, Kenya) and Yusuf Kiranda (PfAL4, Uganda)

The recent collapse of the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta does not come as a surprise. The turn of events was perhaps expected owing to the incessant failure of the Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, to gather crucial evidence against the President. Uhuru Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity after a wave of violence erupted following the 2008 elections. Besides this development setting precedence as the first trial to challenge the pertinence of the international courts in delivering justice to Africa, it raises fundamental questions regarding the future of the ICC.

For the full article, please visit the Africa@LSE blog.

By Michael Mbate (PfAL4, Kenya)

Economic growth in most African countries is on a positive trajectory, and the global perception of the continent has evolved to that of sheer optimism. The civil wars and conflicts that marred the continent have significantly declined. Concurrently, economic management is becoming prudent, a middle class is emerging, and social indicators are rapidly improving. No wonder the United Nations hailed the continent as a potential global growth pole. Other sentiments such as “Africa is rising” or “Lions on the move” are not hard to come by. While this turnaround solicits some degree of accolade, the key challenge is to ensure that this growth is sustainable, inclusive and translates into equitable improved standards of living.

For the full article, visit the Africa@LSE blog.