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The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) held its 12th General Assembly from 19 to 22 November 2023 at the Nigeria Christian Centre in Abuja, Nigeria. The assembly brought together 700 participants from over 200 churches and Church Related Organisations (CROs). Globethics, in collaboration with AACC, was privileged to organise and lead a side event on 21 November 2023 on the theme of Ethical Investment and Church Assets Management which featured discussions promoting strong accountability and transparency in the management of Church assets and resources. 70 participants from different Churches and CROs across the globe were present.

The event was an opportunity to engage with participants on a ten-year journey of the African Church Assets Programme (ACAP), implemented by Globethics, in partnership with AACC and with the support of Bread for the World, following a resolution of the 10th AACC General Assembly held in 2013 in Kampala, Uganda. The rationale for the programme stems from the fact that Churches and church-related organisations in Africa often find it difficult to manage their assets transparently and responsibly and invest them in a sustainable and, above all, ethical way. Weaknesses in the proper registration of non-fixed and fixed assets, inadequately clarified responsibilities in investment management, as well as inadequate maintenance, for example in the area of real estate and the inefficient use of land, mean that these resources are often insufficient to strengthen their institutional sustainability, despite the sometimes considerable investment and the many social services provided. As a matter of fact, with funds from traditional international funding providers becoming increasingly scarce, church-related institutions are coming under increasing pressure to diversify their funding sources and strengthen their own funding capacities.

The panellists at the event included Christoph Stückelberger, the President and Founder of Globethics, who gave the history and genesis of the ACAP, which started in 2005 with a social audit commissioned by the AACC secretariat in Nairobi. Herbert Makinda, Globethics Eastern Africa Centre Manager then took the participants through the journey of the ACAP which has seen five phases from 2015 to date, covering asset mapping and management, ethical investment, and development of guidelines on ethical investment. Oliver Kisaka, Managing Director of CORAT Africa and Nigussu Legesse, Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) shared experiences on ACAP from Kenya and Ethiopia respectively. William Ogara, Consultant and Trainer in ACAP, also shared with the participants the key learnings based on the learning review study conducted. Finally, Gibson Lesmore, Director of Programmes at All Africa Conference of Churches, wrapped up the session with the way forward.

A session moderated by Lucy Howe Lopez, Deputy Executive Director of Globethics, produced resolutions that were adopted the following day 22nd November 2023 at the Plenary. Find the resolutions here.

We welcome all Churches, CROs, CSOs, Government Institutions and all people to be part of the process of championing ethical investment. For more information on ACAP, please visit www.globethics.net/ACAP.