Graham Baxter, International Business Leaders Forum: "Business and international development objectives are no longer mutually exclusive"

[Business Fights Poverty]

The 2009 event series from ODI, DFID and Business Action for Africa is one of a growing number of examples of how discussion about the role of business in international development is now entering the mainstream, which is to be welcomed.

The contribution of business to development is a subject that the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) has been championing for the past 20 years and some of our latest thinking on the subject is covered in the publication: “Business and the MDGs – A Framework for Action”, authored by Jane Nelson and Dave Prescott.

Those who think that business’ interest in development is driven more by efforts to enhance reputation, rather than to make a meaningful impact on poverty alleviation, fail to grasp the point that there is an increasingly strong business case being made for aligning business and development goals. A growing number of companies are actively engaging with development challenges to manage costs and risks, to help create a sound business environment, and to develop new business opportunities. And it is not just about business benefits. Many companies also engage in development because it is the right thing to do.

Although the focus is shifting to delivering sustainable impacts through core business operations and value chains, we should not underestimate the importance of social investment programmes and public advocacy and policy dialogues in achieving development goals. On the latter, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a good example of a private sector-led initiative to increase transparency and reduce corruption in the extractives sector.

The Business Action for Improving Customs Administration in Africa (BAFICAA) programme, is another business-led initiative to help increase intra-Africa trade by helping to deliver measurable and meaningful progress in customs reform in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania). This and EITI are just two examples of how companies use their core competencies, processes and international networks to make things happen.

Corporate social investment programmes also often provide the initial stimulus for development initiatives to gain scale and momentum. For example, private sector-led work on managing HIV / AIDS in the workplace in South Africa or delivering financial services to the unbanked through mobile phone technology often start as social investment programmes, which then develop in to more broad-based and sustained initiatives, once the model is tested and proven.

As this event series points out, it is through core business that companies have the opportunity to deliver large scale and sustained impact. There are a growing list of companies who are demonstrating the power of core business and that it is possible to combine business and social objectives: Syngenta (tropical Sugar Beet in India), Diageo (sorghum crops in Nigeria), ICICI Bank (Financial inclusion in India), Unilever (Shakti – harnessing rural women’s self-help groups to generate low-cost distribution) and Coca-Cola (Manual Distribution Centres in Tanzania) are just some examples.

What these examples show is that positive results are achieved when an innovative way to extend core business activity is identified. In this context, success can be defined as someone posing the question: “But isn’t this just an extension of your business?” “Yes!” should be the resounding response. Business engagement in international development often does not work when companies undertake forced and tokenistic extensions for the sake of a platform opportunity, or when commitments become disconnected from the business, or when businesses step beyond their core competencies.

As this important debate shifts from the “if” to the “how”, IBLF will continue to help shape the debate and put business at the heart of international development.

Post written for Business Fights Poverty by Graham Baxter, Director of Responsible Business Solutions, The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum

[Antonio]

Great,we are walking to the stronger worl if it walks on unit... bussines plus development, investigation plus innovation, spirituality plus reality... a new era starts