The Road to Economic Development

A partnership with the ComMark Trust took what could have been basic “tick-the-box” corporate social investment (CSI) and made it real development for real people in Mt. Frere, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

WBHO Construction won the bid to build a road in the Alfred Nzo District of the Eastern Cape. They approached ComMark because they were looking for a way to make CSI deliver returns to the community through specific economic development initiatives.

ComMark was an obvious choice. Since 2003 we’ve built a strong reputation for context-driven expertise and innovation for pro-poor development in Southern Africa. ComMark’s power to leverage buy-in, support linkages, and access public, private and nonprofit networks adds critical value. In the Eastern Cape, ComMark’s interventions in agribusiness and policy support and co-ordination demonstrate tangible community impacts and sustainable enterprise development.

Partnering with ComMark enables WBHO to contribute to viable, long-term market development, capacity building, and infrastructure that strategically targets economically poor communities in the Mt. Frere area. Moreover, WBHO gets more “bang for their buck” because ComMark’s experienced staff, diversified professional network, tested best practices and action research mean rapid feedback and dynamic intervention support and execution. This makes it more than just a “CSI project.” It makes it real economic and social development, a substantial intervention for pro-poor development.   

The official launch of the Umzimvubu Red Meat Project’s custom feeding programme took place at Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, on 25 June 2009. The project is jointly funded by DFID through ComMark and WBHO Construction (Pty) Ltd, who are building a major road in the area. The keynote address was given by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Honourable Sicelo Shiceka, who congratulated ComMark and WBHO on the programme’s innovation and foresight and issued a challenge for similar sorts of initiative to be rolled out across the country. While ComMark is already engaged in meeting this challenge, at the Minister’s invitation the two organizations are to meet with him on 13 July to discuss how best to work together to broaden and accelerate the process. Among those who also attended were the former Deputy-President of South Africa, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the President of the Congress of Traditional Leaders, Chief Pathekile Holomisa. The launch brought together over 300 people representing local, provincial and national government, retail business, regional business associations, and more than 250 local emerging and communal farmers.

The road to real economic development is long and hard. It is not built by importing outside solutions to underdevelopment and the lingering legacies of apartheid. It is built strategically and intentionally. The foundation of it relies on non-traditional approaches to development. The ComMark approach works with and builds on the knowledge of people in the communities where projects are implemented. It CATALYSES public and private sectors to achieve pro-poor outcomes by identifying and investing in profitable market opportunities that also boost job creation. It IMPROVES economically poor people’s access to markets, goods and services, and increased social capital. It INTERVENES in policy environments to encourage innovation and economic growth through small enterprise development.

This road to development in Southern Africa can be built. But it will require more than “tick-the- box” CSI. It will require strategic partnerships, contextual analysis and grassroots know-how. Sure, you can just “build a road and leave” or you can make markets work for the poor.  

ComMark is please to celebrate the road to development with WBHO Construction.   

To learn more about this specific project, see http://www.commark.org/project/eastern-cape-red-meat-project.