The sustainability of Social Enterprise Sector in Nigeria, depends largely, on partnership among the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), said speakers during Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation maiden breakfast dialogue on Friday in Lagos.
Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the chairman of Coronation Capital Mauritius Ltd., and the keynote speaker at the session called on the NGOs to strive to change the world positively.
Aig-Imoukhuede who spoke on the on the theme ''Connecting The Dots: Partnerships That Work'', said that there must be measurable impacts of the change brought forward by the organisations, as it would attract investors.
He said that NGOs were social enterprises are organisations or individuals who want to make an impact on humanity.
“Social enterprises want to do good. Some may call it charity, some may call it not for profit, but the common trend among them is that they want to do good. There is need to stimulate people's ability to do good,'' Aig-Imoukhuede said, adding that the size of giving in the United States was two per cent of the annual GDP.
According to him, in order words, in 2015, the Americans give well over $300 billion dollars to charitable organisations for the purpose of doing good.
He said that two per cent of GDP in Nigeria on an annual basis was over $10 billion. Aig-Imoukhuede called on government and well meaning Nigerians to support the NGOs, towards adding value to the society.
On his part, Mr Tunde Folawiyo, the Chairman of ACT Foundation, said that the NGOs in the country are focused on almost the same missions and targets hence the call for improved collaboration among them to impact the society better.
He said that partnership was the bedrock for greater support and sustainability in the third sector. According to him, what is most important is the value the NGOs get from working in affiliations.
“Partnership is a collaborative relationship between entities working towards a shared goal, through a mutually agreed work plan. Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation seeks to create partnership amongst the public, private and social sectors.
“Through partnerships, we, the non-profit organisations are invariably inviting influential players to buy into our dreams and vision, thereby making our goals more achievable.
“We all know the popular adage; united we stand, divided we fall, this is also applicable in the third sector. We need to connect, build and strengthen our relationship with players in the public and private sector,'' he said.
Folawiyo said that as the NGOs connect the dots with players in the public, private and social sectors, they were creating a partnership which would avail them various opportunities.
He said that such opportunities included funding, support, capacity building, favourable policies that will out-live founders of the organisations.
According to him, the opportunities will help to achieve unified success, which is what the country and the world need.
“As an organisation that is passionate about creating positive social impact in our world, we realised that the change must first come from us, who work in this noble field, as well as our partners.
“ACT Foundation is a grantmaking non-profits organisation, established to support local, national and regional non-profit organisations working to address challenges and associated vulnerabilities in the African continent.
“Health intervention is at the heart of our foundation's work, as we focus on malaria, cancer (breast, cervical and prostrate), in addition to maternal and and child health, with special focus on infants and young child feeding.
“We pay keen attention to the sustainability of our environment and this is visible through our environmental focus, which we implement through campaigning for proper waste management,'' he said.
The chairman said that the high level of unemployment in the continent propelled ACT Foundation to prioritise entrepreneurship, especially in the areas of vocational education and skill acquisition.
He said that the entrepreneurship focus had provided individuals with hands-on expertise.
Folawiyo said that the foundation also drove the need for financial literacy and inclusion and leadership.
Also speaking, Ms Osayi Alile, the chief executive officer of ACT Foundation, said that there was the need for the NGOs to come together to discuss issues in the third sector.
Alile said the discuss would profer solutions on ways to handle the issues. “This is just the beginning of the conversations. We want to ensure that the sector prosper the way it should be,'' she said.
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