You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the work, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.
 - Woodrow Wilson

The Chamber’s goal in Africa is Sustainable Knowledge aligned with Sustainable Infrastructure Development Across All Sectors of the Economy

Sustainable knowledge is a keystone for Sustainable Development.

Without Sustainable Knowledge, financial results will be ineffective, projects will be inefficient and the full value of the development effort will not be realized.   The Capitol Region Black Chamber of Commerce (CRBCC) has the network and the vision to provide and integrate a sustainable development paradigm that includes financing, knowledge transfer and specialized technologies.

First, what is SUSTAINABLE KNOWLEDGE  ?

 Sustainable knowledge is a  “world class” awareness and understanding gained from experience and study of world-wide business, economics and technical methods and practices which is transferred to a developing economy. Sustainable knowledge becomes permanently resident in the developing economy and allows the developing economy to effectively manage and utilize the human and tangible assets and resources of the local economy in a global economy. Sustainable knowledge is a mandatory requirement to compete in the global economy and must be resident in the citizens of the developing country. Sustainable knowledge comes in a number of forms including business, managerial, technical and technological knowledge.

Sustainable Knowledge is the Keystone in Sustainable Development

What is required for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ?

One Definition of Sustainable Development

“Sustainable development does not define a particular path for development, but focuses on what would enhance the quality of life. It requires the capacity to adapt to constantly changing conditions, as well as the flexibility to work with uncertainty, and with differences in local conditions and in public expectations shaped by culture, values and experience. Above all, it is participatory, ensuring that local communities and individuals have substantive input into designing and implementing development programs and projects. Only when local people have a sense of ownership and personal investment in their own development will they have a stake in ensuring its long-term sustainability.” 

A Developing Economy -  The Basic Economic Development Parameters

The basic economic development elements include:

• Land/Raw Materials
• Labor
• Capital
• Management  
• Technologies
• Knowledge

Economic Contributions to a Developing Economy

Developing economies have limited depth in resources and experience. This deficiency inhibits the efficient and effective develop of projects and organizations, control of project cost and schedules, oversight of contractors, management of the project’s operations and maintenance.

A developing economy can contribute the  following economic elements to sustainable development:

• Land/Raw Materials
• Labor
• Inexperienced  Entrepreneurial Managers

Initially, economic elements that must come from world-class resources outside the developing economy are:

• Experienced Management
• Capital
• Technologies
• Knowledge

As the local economy develops, the world class management provides coaching and mentoring to the facility’s executive, managerial and technical staff. This strategy allows the country’s entrepreneurial managers to be trained in world class methods, coached and mentored as they apply their training to real world applications and to develop experience in the complex world markets and with international technologies.  Once proficient, the management is totally nationalized and management duties are “handed-off.” Then they can effectively manage their own destiny.

Ron Dunson
Kinshasa, DRC September, 2, 2005