Washington DC - The SNV Global Forum in Washington September 17th attracted more than 140 participants from corporations, governments, foundations, investment firms, international financial institutions, NGOs and think tanks to discuss Inclusive Business models that generate new markets and profits for businesses while helping achieve Millennium Development Goals.
A global forum on “Inclusive and Sustainable Business Partnerships” was held at the Royal Netherlands Embassy, jointly organized by the Embassy and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. SNV also partnered with the World Bank Institute and the Business Civic Leadership Center of the US Chamber of Commerce for the event, which served as the pre-conference presentation of the Chamber’s 2008 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference.
The goal of the September 17th forum, moderated by Wall Street Journal International Economic Correspondent Robert Davis, was to consider new trends in business development and social investment that “do well by doing good” in emerging markets and underserved communities. These trends are rapidly moving from promise to practice, serving low-income peoplewho make up what developmental economists call the Base of the Pyramid, those living on less than $2 per day. They reflect new trends referred to as “Creative Capitalism” by Bill Gates at this year’s World Economic Forum. World Bank President Robert Zoellick has extolled the importance of inclusive and sustainable business models and the mainstreaming of Microfinance and Impact Investing by pioneers like Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Among the speakers were Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States, Renée Jones-Bos; Director of USAID’s Global Development Alliance, Kermit Moh; Chairman of the Board for SNV, Dirk Elsen; the head of SNV’s US Office, Neil Ghosh; President of the Western Union Foundation, Luella Chavez D’Angelo; Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Steven Puig; Vice President of Emerging Markets at Cisco Systems, Scott Blacklin; Senior Program Manager for Community Affairs for Microsoft, Tim Dubel; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, Mildred Callear; and Vice President of the Allstate Corporation, Sari Macrie.
“Inclusive Business is a way to address sustainable poverty alleviation through the involvement of the private sector. It is about improving the business climate across the world,” said Ambassador Jones-Bos.
SNV Chairman Elsen commented, “Through Inclusive Business poor communities can be involved in business not only as consumers, but also as employees, suppliers and small investors. Inclusive Business can strengthen their capacity to look after their own economic interests. This concept works.” Elsen gave several examples, including Toni Dairy in Ecuador, where small, local producers have been brought into the value chain of the national corporation.
SNV Regional Manager, Neil Ghosh said, “These trends are clear indications that economic growth is the key to poverty alleviation and business is the driver of economic growth. In our drive to create innovative solutions to address poverty in an effective, scalable and sustainable manner, we launched the Inclusive Business initiative nearly two years ago, in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). We place particular emphasis on engaging companies in entrepreneurial initiatives that, without losing the profit objective, contribute to the fight against poverty through the incorporation of lower-income citizens in the value chain.”
The discussion continued at the US Chamber of Commerce, Business Civic Leadership Center’s 2008 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference over the following two days. Over 300 business, government, and nonprofit leaders shared best practices and showcased the ways businesses are having a constructive impact on the communities where they operate. Speakers included representatives from Proctor & Gamble, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), US Council for International Business, Pan American Development Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Citi, and Kiva.
SNV Board Chairman Elsen spoke at the opening plenary session on “Shaping the Future of Public-Private Development Strategies for Emerging Markets.” Elsen’s fellow plenary speakers were the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Ambassador John Danilovich, and Robert Mallett, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliance Development, Philanthropy, and Corporate Responsibility at Pfizer.
For more information, please visit:
www.snvworld.org / www.snvla.org
Learn more about the SNV-WBCSD Alliance for Inclusive Business at: www.inclusivebusiness.org.