About AGI

Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (“AGI”) pioneers a new way of working with African countries, equipping visionary African leaders with the capacity to deliver on their reform agendas, tackle poverty and attract sustainable investment.

"Without progress on governance...all other reforms will have limited impact"
-- Commission for Africa

The initiative is underpinned by two key principles:

• First, that without progress on governance – and in particular the development of effective government systems and visionary political leadership – all other reforms will have limited effect in reducing poverty across the continent

• Second, that developing a thriving private sector through investment and reform is the only way to creating sustainable development that will move Africa “beyond aid”

"Donor support is vital as a means of helping a country get to a point where it doesn't need donors... the next step is to encourage a thriving private sector to generate income"
 -- Tony Blair, June 2008

AGI has created a unique model of development, combining Mr. Blair’s unparalleled experience with expert on-the-ground teams working full-time alongside government counterparts. We work with countries - currently Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Liberia – that are at potential turning-points, where a tragic past has left a lack of capacity and deep poverty, but where there is clear potential and a leader with the vision and political will to achieve progress.

Africa’s underdevelopment has long attracted external support and aid to address chronic issues of poverty and human development. AGI complements existing efforts by working with African governments themselves at the highest levels, building the capacity for effective governance that will allow those governments to drive their own development agendas, whilst at the same time helping them to generate sustainable private sector development that can develop and grow their economies away from aid dependence.