Meeting Africa’s Latest Dam Builders: The Indian ExIm Bank, ‘Entrepreneurial’ Companies and the Outcomes of South-South Cooperation

Author’s Abstract

India’s premier development cooperation scheme in Africa, the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Cooperation Scheme-Lines of Credit (IDEAS-LoCs), has launched the country as a dam builder on the continent. This paper examines the first decade of the Lines of Credit (LoC) between 2004 and 2015 and traces how its decision-making process translated into practices in individual projects. Detailed analysis of the LoCs’ policy making reveals that the Indian government chose against closely scrutinising each proposed LoC project and its developmental outcomes. Rather, the process to approve a line of credit squarely focused on the state-to-state relationship first, and feasibility of construction second. The rest was left to the recipient, who was also able to choose the contracted Indian construction company.

Post Description

  • Publication year: 2021
  • Content type: Working Paper
  • Form of cooperation: Lines of Credit
  • Cooperation context: Bilateral cooperation
  • Sector: Energy
  • Institution (publication): IUKDPF & FutureDAMS
  • Author: Barnaby Dye
  • Link: https://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/gdi/publications/workingpapers/futuredams/futuredams-working-paper-016-dye.pdf