Common Futures

survey
be initiated. For example, the Pan-African e-Network was a very successful
project on a Continental level contributing to e-learning and e-medicine.
Weakness in the implementation of the projects under LOC’s has been
taken care of to a certain extent by the establishment of the Development
Partnership Administration (DPA) in the MEA with greater autonomy and
the single focus of project implementation. However, there is a lot of scope
for improvement.
Since economic engagement will be primarily driven by the Indian private
sector, Indian companies have to gear up to the task. A deeper knowledge
about Africa is needed and hence African Studies have to be encouraged.
The Indian private sector should also be conscious of its Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) when it ventures into Africa.
Since Africa is not a monolith, one should avoid a “one-size fits-all” approach
in cooperation. Projects have to be fine-tuned to suit the country and the
region. Special efforts are needed for Francophone and Lusophone countries.
The Team-9 initiative started around 2000 needs a new push with new
ideas.
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