On 20 September, the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) formally launched  its Business Leaders Caucus (BLC). The BLC is a senior-level advisory group that will provide strategic advice and policy guidance to the GPEDC on how the development co-operation community can more effectively work with the private sector for better country-level results. 

The private sector – a vital driver of growth in its own right – increasingly perceives sustainability as a long-term business opportunity and engages more and more in a new generation of partnerships for sustainable development. With the SDGs requiring support from governments, civil society and private sector alike, multinational corporations, domestic firms, cooperatives, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises are all in the spotlight to help deliver both development results and business profit.

During its first meeting on 20 September, the BLC discussed three key issue areas emerging from country-level analytical work conducted by the GPEDC:

  • unleashing the comparative advantages of development co-operation,
  • making private sector engagement (PSE) work in country-level programmes, and
  • achieving sustainable results, impact and accountability in PSE projects.

The group also examined how existing business practices, such as impact investments, cooperatives and other purpose-driven businesses, already focus on delivering development results while generating financial profits.

Going forward, the BLC will help the GPEDC and its constituencies fine-tune these issue areas and shape inclusive policy guidelines for effective private sector engagement through development co-operation. The group will meet again in October in the margins of the G20 Compact with Africa, which will take place in Berlin, Germany.

The BLC is composed of 12 high-caliber business leaders from multi-national companies, large domestic firms and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) from various regions and fields including in technology, energy and the financial sector. BLC members were nominated by members of the GPEDC’s multi-stakeholder Steering Committee, with a view to achieving balance across regions, gender and business typology.

In addition to the members below, the BLC includes two additional associated members, Ms Paola Simonetti of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Mr Andrew Wilson from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), who represent trade unions and the private sector respectively on the GPEDC’s Steering Committee.

Members of the BLC include:

Africa: 
Ms Jasandra Nyker (BioTherm Energy)
Ms Carole Kariuki (Kenya Private Sector Alliance)

Asia-Pacific: 
Ms Bing Sibal-Limjoco (Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Francorp Philippines)
HE Mr Saber Chowdhury (Member of Parliament, Bangladesh)
Ms Helen Hai (Made in Africa Initiative)

Europe:
Mr Thomas Duveau (Mobisol GmbH)
Mr Iñígo Albizuri (Mondragon Corporation)
Ms Christiane Laibach (KFW DEG, Germany)

North America: 
Ms Janet Longmore (Digital Opportunity Trust)
Mr John Simon (Total Impact Capital)