Business elites and the political economy of philanthropy in West and Central Africa

Abstract This article analyses the philanthropic practices of wealthy businessmen in West and Central Africa and how they are rooted in different political economies. Current debates on African philanthropy focus on horizontal gifting as a form of solidarity. Drawing on observations, interviews and original data on the activities of corporations and foundations, we identify three types of philanthropic practices that support different forms of economic accumulation and social reproduction. They also promote new forms of governance and transnational networks. First, gifts to parties and governments contribute to neo-patrimonial dynamics. Second, in the wake of democratisation processes, some business elites started to use grants and partnerships with civil societies and international organisations to promote the rule of law and constrain prebendalism. A third type of practices comprise venture philanthropy, seed funding and incubators claims to ‘Africanise’ capital flows. It positions finance professionals as intermediaries between the offshore world and the new leaders they support.