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Visible Hand To Mediate Corporate-Community Partnerships in The Democratic Republic of Congo

Visible Hand To Mediate Corporate-Community Partnerships in The Democratic Republic of Congo

Published 08-02-04

Submitted by Visible Hand

Visible Hand, Inc. (VH), a San Francisco-based firm specializing in the design and implementation of corporate-backed partnerships for international development, has been awarded a two-year contract to create a broad-based information exchange linking multinational corporations and foundations with grassroots organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In addition to detailed information on local development actors, VH offers complimentary partnership-broking services to organizations wishing to build market share and/or effectively manage grant-making programs in DRC.

Overall, the $5M Congo Livelihood Improvement and Food Security Initiative (CLIFS) aims to generate a sustainable increase in agricultural production, to promote the use of appropriate technologies, to create more efficient private sector markets, and to build capacity among organizations that support the active participation of women in economic affairs. CLIFS was designed by Innovative Resources Management, Inc., and is underwritten by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In the CLIFS context, VH tracks the activities of a wide range of local and international development actors in the areas of agribusiness and agricultural technology, road-building, export promotion, eco-tourism, and micro-credit. We distribute this information in print and electronic format to international corporations and private funding agencies with potential interest in DRC.

In addition to collecting, screening, and managing information relevant to the creation of corporate-community partnerships, we have been working since with local organizations to build capacity in the area of accounting, financial management and fundraising/networking. Since January 2004, local aid organizations and small business have full access to our databases and, through local organizational sponsors, a web-based networking tool called the "Collaborative Vetting Application", which may be used to verify credentials--including financial histories and staff qualifications--and to make prospective partners aware of their activities. Visible Hand is working to create Congo MBACorps, which matches MBA students from top-tier schools with relevant industry expertise to CLIFS-related internships in "corporate outreach".

DRC is widely recognized for the extent of its mineral resources, which include coltan (used in the manufacture of cell phones), petroleum, diamonds, copper, coal, and bauxite. Multinationals will continue to invest in these high-profit, high-risk industries; the challenge will be to engage their human and financial capital to support the growth of those thousands of smaller initiatives that form the 'sustainable base' of the DRC economy. Grassroots development underlies national cohesiveness and security.

If you would like to learn more about investment and grant-making opportunities in DRC, or CongoMBA Corps, Visible Hand can be reached by email at info@visiblehand.info, or on the web at www.visiblehand.info. For information on Visible Hand partners Innovative Resources Management and the Vetiver Network, please see www.irmgt.com, and www.vetiver.com. To access Visible Hand's public DRC development organization database, click on "CLIFS" logo, located on the Visible Hand homepage.

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