Connect and Learn for Sustainable Associations (CLOSA)
In sub-Saharan Africa USAID has supported several private sector associations, which play a critical role in helping business owners, service providers and practitioners overcome common challenges and obstacles. However, sufficient priority has not been given to organizational capacity and management to be member-driven and financially self-reliant to sustain their core operations. In addition, some private sector associations have shifted their priorities to attract donor funding versus appropriately representing the evolving needs of their membership.
The Connect and Learn for Sustainable Associations (CLOSA) project is a USAID funded locally led initiative that aims to (i) connect private sector associations in West Africa with peer associations and private sector experts and (ii) implement and scale up best practices to support and prepare private sector associations to become financially sustainable, commercially viable, and self-reliant.
With a focus on mentoring and coaching and strengthening connections between associations, CLOSA aims to support an adaptive learning process that leverages local and regional expertise and connections to test, adapt and apply evidence from a robust multi-country knowledge-base on building sustainable private sector associations in West Africa.
Journey Towards Sustainability (J2Su)
The Journey Towards Sustainability (J2Su) program is a local works award implemented by the West Africa Private Healthcare Federation (WAPHF) or Fédération Ouest Africaine du Secteur Privé de la Santé (FOASPS) to strengthen the organizational capacity and financial sustainability of country private healthcare federations and build a learning community of best practices to sustain private sector associations in West Africa. Under this grant, WAPHF/FOASPS will interact and collaborate with healthcare federations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Sierra-Leone and Niger. They will also strengthen their collaboration with regional health institutions notably, the West Africa Health Organisation - WAHO which is the technical arm of ECOWAS for healthcare with the objective of making contributions to healthcare delivery across the region and individual member countries. Through coaching, mentoring and sub-grant funds, WAPHF/FOASPS will provide guidance to its member federations to facilitate their progress along the pathway toward sustainability.
