Think the Private Sector Can’t Contribute to International Development? Read these 4 Trends
Why It Matters
International development can’t happen in a bubble. The complexity of problems is only matched by the complexity of approaches. Janet Longmore, Canada’s representative on the Business Leaders Caucus and a senior level advisory group to the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, has a few thoughts on the matter.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about how we can engage the private sector more fully and effectively in international development, particularly in Canada with our competitive advantages.
Four trends underpin my thinking.
ONE: COMMON GOALS
The Sustainable Development Goals, agreed upon by world leaders in 2015, call on businesses to engage as partners in development, as engines of growth and sources of knowledge generation and innovation. Many businesses have demonstrated their power in bringing solutions to scale and creating real change around monumental global problems.
TWO: EMERGING MARKETS
In developing countries, businesses provide, on average, 60 percent of gross domestic product, as well as 80 percent of capital flows, and 90 percent of jobs. This, combined with the rapid advance and adoption of technology in these regions,
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