About the Project
In the recent years, the BRICS countries have emerged as not only major recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) but also as important outward investors. Although Africa receives only four percent of BRICS FDI outflow, BRICS countries rank among the top investors in Africa.
As a part of the BRICS group, India has emerged as an economic power in the past two decades and this growth has been accompanied by an increase in demand for goods and resulted in a subsequent increase in investment towards African countries in sectors such as agriculture, minerals & mining, oil. The bulk of research that has been undertaken on Indo-African ties has focused on the nature of this bilateral engagement at a macroeconomic level however it has become quite evident in the past few years that there is a need to analyse the impact of foreign investments on local communities in order to further fine-tune investment policies of African nations to align them with interests of local communities.
Against this backdrop, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS-International) with support from Heinrich Boll Stiftung Foundation is carrying out a project entitled The Critical Dimensions of Indian Investments in Africa (IIA), from 1 December 2013 to 31 October 2014. The project will attempt to analyse the impact of Indian investors in selected African countries making use of the nine principles of the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs) as well as other applicable rules and regulations.
Objective
This project will seek to:
a. Analyze the impact that current Indian investments have had on the sustainability of local communities, as a lesson for future policymaking and implementation at the national levels in select ‘host’ African countries.
b. Initiate civil dialogue on investment issues by actively engaging with local stakeholders at various stages of the report development including in the dissemination of results.
