Many development initiatives supporting African governments falter during execution. This occurs not because of a lack of need, but often because efforts are short-lived, externally driven, or disconnected from the realities of how government systems actually work.
The African Government Collaborative (AGC) approaches this challenge by emphasizing that lasting transformation depends on alignment, trust, and shared ownership. Rather than presenting a fixed model, AGC functions as a way of engaging that builds momentum from within public systems rather than around them.
Understanding the Landscape: Three Models of Government Engagement
1. The Transactional Approach
This model emphasizes short-term outputs and quick wins, often with minimal government buy-in. While expedient, projects end, reports are filed, and institutions return to business as usual, offering minimal lasting change.
2. The Collaborative Approach
These partnerships involve co-designed solutions and Memoranda of Understanding. However, when implementation sits outside government systems, results can fade once the external team exits, limiting institutional capacity development.
3. The Integrative Approach: AGC's Ideal Model
This methodology embeds partnership within government systems from the start through shared ownership, formal agreements, and deliberate capacity-building inside institutions. The objective involves aligning initiatives with national priorities, strengthening internal capabilities, and planning for transfer and long-term ownership from day one.
The AGC Solution: Design → Incubate → Transfer
The Design–Incubate–Transfer (DIT) model reflects the belief that durable change comes from co-creation, experimentation, and the gradual transfer of ownership.
- Design: Building trust and defining a shared vision through deep listening, aligning with national goals, and mapping institutions and political incentives.
- Incubate: Solutions are tested side by side with government teams, with hands-on support while investing in local capacity to adapt and improve.
- Transfer: Transferring responsibility, authority, and full capability to government systems by embedding skills, strengthening processes, and building institutional memory.
AGC in Action: Strengthening Tanzania's Livestock and Fisheries Sectors
In Tanzania, AGC supported creation of the Private Sector Desk (PSD) within the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries. Axum embedded a dedicated advisor providing technical assistance, investment advisory, and hands-on support.
Documented Impact:
- Engagement with over 15,000 private-sector actors through training and opportunity promotion
- Facilitation of approximately $80 million annually in loans for livestock and fish farmers
- Influence on tax reforms reducing producer costs
- Mobilization of over $32 million in new investments
AGC recently launched in Zanzibar, supporting government teams on priority delivery goals.