The Non-Profit Sector in the Context of Law in Development in Africa

The non-profit agency typifies the organizational form for civil society activity and this very fact recommends it as a medium for development processes. This article applies the non-profit organization model to the study of law in development, by identifying ways in which non-profit associations of civil society serve as useful channels for development and describing how the law can enhance their contribution. By combining multidisciplinary perspectives on the role of the non-profit sector with selected law in development approaches, the article also constructs an analytical framework for the study of the legal environment of the non-profit sector in Africa. Furthermore, using illustrations from Africa, it draws out nuanced aspects of non-profit sector activity in the developing world, an exercise which is critical to any effort to redefine law in development scholarship in Africa to include its non-profit sector ally.