What made this recent investigation into a $9.5 billion health supply chain development project that hadn’t “gone according to plan” particularly difficult to read was knowing that regardless of how that project went, its funders and implementers — staff at USAID and Chemonics — would be fine. But those for whom the project was designed, people living in low-income countries with limited access to quality health care products and services, would not.
So as I read the joint investigation by Devex and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, I couldn’t help but ask: How could the people involved in designing and executing this project prevent this from happening in the future? More broadly, what can players in other sectors learn from this experience?
It is tempting to attribute the project’s struggles primarily to Chemonics, the private international development firm in charge of executing the project, due to their apparent supply chain inexperience. A former employee of the firm is quoted as saying, “I think the biggest problem was, well, Chemonics not knowing supply chain.” Unfortunately, that assessment doesn’t tell the full story.
About the author
Efosa Ojomo
Efosa Ojomo is the director of the global prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, an innovation-focused think tank based in Boston, United States. Efosa is also on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he teaches the course, “Entrepreneurship and Market Creation in Emerging Markets.”
