Development Report

China’s Zero-Tariff Policy: Can Ghana Compete Beyond Cocoa? "Cocoa has long occupied a central place in Ghana’s economy. It supports rural livelihoods, contributes significantly to export revenues and remains an important source of foreign exchange. Its economic and social importance should therefore not be underestimated. However, Ghana’s continued dependence on cocoa, gold and a limited number of other primary commodities also exposes the economy to considerable risk. Changes in global commodity prices can sharply affect export earnings, while climate change, disease and declining soil productivity threaten agricultural output. Exporting raw or minimally processed products also means that Ghana captures only a limited share of the final value generated along global supply chains. This weakens industrial employment creation and contributes to recurring foreign-exchange pressures whenever export receipts decline. The policy objective should not be to move away from cocoa. Rather, Ghana must extract greater value from it through processing, branding and finished products, while simultaneously developing new export sectors in agriculture, agro-processing and light manufacturing." Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dpejj4VD Paul Frimpong ( 保罗·弗里姆庞。) Africa-China Centre for Policy & Advisory #ZeroTariff #BeyondCocoa #GhanaChinaTrade #ValueAddition #ExportDiversification #24HourEconomy #MadeInGhana #SMEsMatter #GhanaExports #AfCFTA

The Next Billion-Dollar Investment Should Be in Civil Society Infrastructure "When governments want to grow their economies, they invest in infrastructure. They build roads so people can travel. They build bridges so communities can connect. They invest in electricity so businesses can operate. They improve water systems, schools and hospitals because they understand that without strong infrastructure, development cannot happen. Yet there is another kind of infrastructure that receives far less attention. It cannot always be seen, but its absence is quickly felt. It is civil society infrastructure. These are the organisations, networks, institutions, leadership systems, digital platforms and community relationships that help societies respond to crises, defend human rights, strengthen democracy, support vulnerable communities and hold those in power accountable. Without this infrastructure, communities become less resilient. Governments become less accountable. Citizens become less connected. Development becomes harder to sustain. If we are serious about building a better future, perhaps the next billion-dollar investment should not be in another project. Perhaps it should be in the infrastructure that allows civil society itself to thrive." Charles Kojo Vandyck Read more: https://lnkd.in/dGksgzJV #CivilSociety #Infrastructure #Development #InvestInCivilSociety #CivilSocietyInfrastructure #NextBillionDollarInvestment #DemocracyMatters #SocialImpact #CivicLeadership

Behind the Galamsey Judgment: When a Company Can No Longer Hide Its Owner "The recent High Court judgment involving Akonta Mining Company Limited and its owner, Bernard Antwi Boasiako (popularly known as Wontumi), is about much more than one illegal mining case. It raises important questions about accountability, corporate governance, environmental responsibility and the rule of law in Ghana. For many Ghanaians, galamsey has become one of the country’s greatest environmental challenges. Rivers have been polluted, forests destroyed and farming communities disrupted. Successive governments have promised to tackle the problem, yet illegal mining has continued to thrive." Charles Kojo Vandyck Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eTNi_Wa8 #Galamsey #FightAgainstIllegalMining #Development #Ghana #Leadership #Governance #EnvironmentalStewardship #Accountability

Will Your Non-profit Still Matter in 2046? The development sector is already experiencing one of the most significant transitions in its history. Aid budgets are shrinking. Donors are becoming more cautious. Citizens are demanding greater accountability. Technology is changing how people organise themselves. Communities increasingly expect to lead their own development rather than have solutions designed for them. The traditional non-profit model, built around projects, donor contracts, annual funding cycles and hierarchical decision-making, is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Many organisations are trapped in what Humentum described so aptly, the starvation cycle. They spend enormous amounts of time chasing grants that barely cover their real costs, adapting their priorities to donor interests, and constantly reinventing themselves to fit the latest funding trend. This model was never designed to create resilient organisations. By 2046, the organisations that thrive will have escaped this cycle. Insightful article by Charles Kojo Vandyck Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dmiyJaMY #Aid #NonProfit #Development #Citizens #CivilSociety #NGOs #INGOs

Africa’s development journey is advancing with renewed urgency and purpose. Across the continent, bold policy decisions, innovation, and citizen-driven conversations are reshaping the future. In the 5th Edition of the Development Report Magazine, we capture details of the Government's Free Primary Healthcare Policy with other insightful articles from Academia, Civil Society, and Development Experts within the sector. Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/d4wUmud4 #Healthcare #FreePrimaryHealthcare #Health #UniversalHealth #Development #HealthPolicy #Magazine

Today is World Youth Skills Day. And we join Charles Kojo Vandyck to celebrate the day with this insightful article on How Civil Society Can Reverse Youth Underdevelopment in West Africa "Every year on 15 July, the world marks World Youth Skills Day, a United Nations observance that highlights the importance of equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and opportunities they need for decent work, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning. In West Africa, however, this day should be more than a moment of celebration. It should be an opportunity to reflect on one of the region’s most urgent development challenges, youth underdevelopment." Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dqWAWfBk United Nations UNDP Ghana #CivilSociety #Underdevelopment #WorldYouthSkillsDay #WestAfrica #YouthDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #DevelopmentReport

"The continent is building sophisticated sustainable finance frameworks. However, they are not sufficiently designed to serve small businesses, the backbone of African economies. African countries are moving fast on green finance taxonomies. South Africa published its Green Finance Taxonomy in 2022. Rwanda’s Cabinet approved its own in April 2025. Zambia launched one in December 2025. Kenya became the first African country to set a mandatory adoption timeline. The African Development Bank validated a continental framework designed, in its own words, “by Africans, for Africa.” On paper, this is remarkable progress. In practice, there is a structural problem that no African taxonomy has yet solved; the gap it leaves behind falls most heavily on the enterprises that form the backbone of African economies. The Design Gap of Current Taxonomies Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for over 90% of businesses in most African countries and employ the majority of the workforce. Yet the Alliance for Financial Inclusion found that 79% of member regulators have still not categorised the sustainable economic activities that MSMEs can participate in. Rwanda’s taxonomy sets emissions thresholds for cement manufacturing aligned with 1.5°C decarbonisation pathways. Zambia’s covers eight priority sectors with detailed ISIC codes. They are both serious and technically rigorous instruments. Nonetheless, they omit MSMEs from their screening criteria. This design choice has real consequences. The taxonomies, as built, cannot recognise or reward small businesses with functional green activities. South Africa’s experience should be a warning. A 2024 study based on 44 expert interviews found that one year after publication, the GFT had hardly been adopted in practice. No institution reported implementing taxonomy assessments in its working procedures. Voluntary adoption without regulatory embedding and without clear incentives for smaller market participants produces non-use. The sophistication and the restrictive eligibility of the document make it irrelevant if no one applies it." Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dSaKeQdU Insight by Ismail Sidqui Africa-China Centre for Policy & Advisory Paul Frimpong ( 保罗·弗里姆庞。) #MSMEs #SustainableFinance #Africa #GreenTaxonomies #Europe #Asia

Beyond the Road Inspection- What a Conversation at Home Revealed About Ghana’s Public Service "Sometimes the most important conversations do not happen in boardrooms or conferences. They happen at the dinner table. A few evenings ago, my wife and I were watching the news. The Minister for Roads and Highways was visiting road construction sites, inspecting the quality of work and checking the progress of projects across the country. As we watched, I turned to her and asked a simple question. “Why does a whole Minister have to inspect roads? Aren’t there engineers and civil servants employed to do exactly this?” That question led us into a much deeper conversation, not just about roads, but about the quality of Ghana’s public service, the recurring floods in our cities, illegal buildings on waterways, and the growing feeling that too many public institutions only work when political leaders are physically present. Our discussion soon moved beyond roads. We realised we were really talking about systems. When Leaders Become Inspectors I have great respect for Ministers who take the time to visit project sites. Leadership requires visibility, and citizens want to know that those entrusted with public office care about results. At the same time, I found myself wondering whether this is the best use of a Minister’s time. A Minister should be setting policy, providing strategic direction, removing bottlenecks and ensuring accountability across an entire sector. A Minister should not have to confirm whether concrete has been mixed correctly, whether drainage has been properly constructed, or whether a contractor is following engineering specifications. That is why we have engineers. That is why we have project managers. That is why we have regional and district officers. That is why we have an entire public service. When a Minister repeatedly finds himself performing functions that should ordinarily be carried out by technical officers, perhaps the issue is not the Minister. Perhaps the issue is the system." Insight by Charles Kojo Vandyck Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dVS2mrJM #RoadInspection #MinistryofRoadsandHighways #Development #Ghana #PublicService #Engineers #CivilServants #RoadConstruction #MinisterOfRoads

"As China marks the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), founded in 1921, the occasion provides an opportunity to reflect on one of the most significant modernization journeys of the modern era. While perspectives on China’s political system may differ, there is broad recognition that the country’s transformation has reshaped global trade, manufacturing, technology and development. Over the past several decades, China has achieved remarkable progress in poverty reduction, infrastructure, industrialization and innovation. For Africa, the significance of this milestone lies not in replicating China’s development path, but in examining which aspects of its experience—particularly long-term planning, industrial upgrading and policy implementation—may offer useful insights for countries pursuing their own modernization." Insights by Paul Frimpong ( 保罗·弗里姆庞。) Read more: https://lnkd.in/dUpbaN9R #China #Africa #Development #Modernization

For many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) across Africa, Asia, Latin America and other parts of the Global Majority, funding conversations often begin and end with grants. While grants remain essential, the reality is that they are no longer sufficient to address the scale and complexity of today’s social, environmental and economic challenges. At the same time, governments are facing growing fiscal pressures. International aid budgets are shrinking. Competition for philanthropic resources is becoming more intense. Yet the demand for locally led solutions has never been greater. This changing landscape requires CSOs to rethink how they finance their work. One of the most promising opportunities is blended finance. Although the term may sound technical, the principle is quite simple. Blended finance combines grants or concessional funding with commercial investment to finance projects that deliver both social impact and financial returns. It uses public or philanthropic resources to reduce risk and encourage private investors to support initiatives they might otherwise consider too risky. For CSOs in the Global Majority, blended finance is not simply another funding source. It represents an opportunity to move from surviving project to project towards building stronger, more sustainable institutions. Insights by Charles Kojo Vandyck Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d85SCxhY #BlendedFinance #CivilSociety #ImpactInvesting #DevelopmentFinance #FinancialSustainability #DevelopmentReport #FinanceForGood