By Enyonam Nanevie, founder and CEO at Building Community Bridges, providing communities in West Africa with access to basic needs and economic opportunities.
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Building Community Bridges, Inc. (BCB), our nonprofit organization, was piloting a project to help reduce poverty for local farmers and generate economic activity through the cultivation of rice in the Adaklu-Anfoe region of Ho, Ghana. Our social enterprise's aim is to develop this region into a rice processing hub.
However, my team and I encountered a recent setback with our partner community in this region. As a Togolese American born to Ghanaian parents, I was especially disheartened, as I have been an ardent and longtime advocate for the Diaspora to return to help develop the African continent. Thirty acres of our locally grown and nutritious rice soon disappeared, along with $8,000 dollars of bootstrapped funds and $11,000 in expected profit.
The chief who was responsible for the land in Ghana and our team lead, who had been nationally awarded and recognized by the Ghanaian government as one of the expert farmers in this region, claimed our fields were burned by fires, even though it was obvious that the crops were cut or harvested prior to being burned. We later learned this chief, among many others, had a reputation for corruption.
We tend to hear more about corruption at the government and bureaucratic levels than we do in civil society, especially in Africa, where glaringly entrenched, corrupt practices such as bribery permeate.
For example, in an effort to attract international funding to develop the agricultural sector in Ghana, some local chiefs and government authorities are quietly pressuring their communities to enter into nonlucrative partnerships with foreign multinational players with no regard or protection for the community’s interest or the environment. These local chiefs and government officials have been bribed.
Acquisition of rich and fertile land by all means necessary through the “leasing” process is now recognized as its own pandemic of sorts. Different nonprofit organizations in the region, including my own, are fighting this. But corruption as a whole is a systemic problem impacting the entire economy of Ghana and other areas of Africa.
BCB’s recent experience raises questions for our organization that are relevant to the broader community of entrepreneurs in Africa. For one, how can emerging entrepreneurs deal with these obstacles and practices? Furthermore, how can we safeguard the hard work of people who may be risking everything they have to build their dreams and innovations into successful companies that provide immeasurable value to civil societies?
Entrepreneurs and investors know the inherent risk involved in building any enterprise. Compound that with a lack of strong regulatory institutional systems to protect our work and investments, and it can be devastating.
Entrepreneurism is not new to Africa. The informal sectors in Africa are made up of entrepreneurs. The stereotypical postcard of Africa showing a woman with a child on her back selling 50 tomatoes on the side of the road is an entrepreneur. The only difference is that if she does not sell her tomatoes, her and her baby's survival might be at risk. The entrepreneurial capacity and skills of Africans place them in an incredible position for great transformation.
Many entrepreneurs and business leaders today have likely participated in bribery in some capacity. The fact that we don't talk about it often or shine glaring spotlights on it further proves the depth of its entrenchment in our societies. We, the up-and-coming entrepreneurs of today, are the ones who can destroy corruption, because our generation knows and has suffered the consequences of the societal destruction that it causes.
Most of Africa’s socio-economic and development issues are caused by external influences and forces. But are we Africans being truly honest and introspective? We can rightfully attribute blame to slavery, colonization and the carnage perpetrated by the international regulatory systems that prey on Africa’s resources. However, there has to be room to acknowledge our own acquiescence and passive participation in our own demise.
Nothing can fundamentally change until we find a way to change the mindset of corruption, greed and bribery that continues to devastate the continent.
The technological and entrepreneurial opportunities presented to the African populace in this new climate — especially with the emphasis on the development of women and girls — provide us with a new beginning, not only for ourselves but for future generations. Africa is on the brink of a golden age; a renaissance is undeniable. I hope we have learned our lesson from the destructive mindsets that have held us back at other pivotal points in history, such as the independence era of most African countries.
I firmly believe this new wave of younger African entrepreneurs can lead the way for a complete paradigm shift, displacing the corrupt status quo that our society has accepted. I call on African entrepreneurs from all corners of the continent to use their business platforms to challenge corrupt practices that threaten our livelihood and our continent. Isn’t it time for a new beginning?
We can do this by starting to dialogue and engage in national and local community discussions around the perpetually destructive and dangerous impact of these practices. We can also use our platforms and products to help educate the population and prevent future generations from the same fate.
Let's seize this moment. Let’s design our tomorrow.
