Paper short abstract:

The political dimensions of partnerships are articulated within the parameters of the neo-liberal market economy. This paper questions partnerships between philanthropists, NGOs, and private corporations and their motivations for engaging in poverty reduction..

Paper long abstract:

New forms of philanthropy have appeared on the back of neo-liberal economic globalization which has strengthened wealth concentration in the hands of a few 'super-rich' individuals and families emanating from both the Global South and the Global North . The political motivation for this emerging 'philanthro-capitalism' is embedded in the assumption that competitive principles can apply to the world of civil society, in other words that what works for the market should work for citizen action too. This approach is driving partnerships between philanthropists, the private sector and NGOs, as demonstrated in a case study from Kenya.

This paper focuses on a partnership between the multinational Coca Cola, TechnoServe (a US-based NGO that promotes 'business solutions to poverty') and the Gates Foundation. Coca Cola and the Gates Foundation have both invested in Project Nurture, a project aimed at integrating 51,000 mango and passion fruit small-holding farmers into Coca Cola's supply chain. As a key delivery partner, TechnoServe acts to build the value chain through strengthening farmers' business skills and training farmers to use new technology, and to build institutional capacity by organizing small-holding farmers into business groups to access inputs, such as high-yielding variety seeds and finance, and to establish market links. The objective is to expand the neo-liberal market economy in rural areas on the basis that the development of capitalism in sub-Saharan Africa is 'incomplete' and requires interventions to facilitate the commodification process through value chains. The paper argues that linking small farmers to the global value chain binds production to the 'commands of corporate boardrooms'.