From 28th November to 1st December, the Global Effective Partnership for Development Cooperation (GPEDC) holds its second High Level Meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya. On the 29th of November, TPI is collaborating with Business Call to Action, Global Compact Local Network Kenya, ICC, KEPSA and the UN Global Compact, to convene a day-long multi-sector event around the role of Business as a partner in Development.
The Busan meeting in 2011, and the GPEDC that arose out of it, shifted the traditional Aid Effectiveness Agenda towards a more holistic, more systemic concept of development effectiveness and appreciated the role of all societal sectors to achieve it. In particular, for the first time the Busan meeting recognised the private sector as both a key development actor and a key cooperation partner in delivering sustainable development.
Business doing business, as long as it is sustainable, responsible and inclusive, is the most significant contribution business can make as a development actor. Business becomes a partner in development when it looks beyond immediate short-term financial gain towards building longer-term business and societal value: by aligning its investments and core business activities with a country’s development priorities; or by investing resources of all kinds to support the development of the social, economic and environmental fabric in which it operates. In both cases, business does this to ensure its own long-term prosperity, while simultaneously building societal value.
The Business Forum is open to all HLM2 participants, and will create a vibrant, interactive space to demonstrate, explore, and discuss critical issues around the role of business as an essential partner in delivering the SDGs, and provide an opportunity for networking across sectors.
Discussion topics covered during the day include:
- Collective action against corruption
- Engaging business as a partner in development
- Business and development cooperation principles
- How can governments encourage and support inclusive business to scale and contribute to the SDGs? and
- How can the GPEDC become more relevant to the private sector?
The event will include speakers from: DAC, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, The Partnering Initiative, Business Call to Action, UNCTAD, Kenya Manufacturers Association, Safaricom Kenya, Kenya Climate Innovation Center, Global Compact Network India, UN Global Compact, Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Diageo, Government of Sweden, UK Department for International Development (DfID), OECD, Ipsos MORI, AfricAqua, Jacaranda Health, EEA, Novartis, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
Download the full agenda.
The Business Forum is supported by UK Aid and Diageo.
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