The private sector has long been seen as an engine for economic growth, but it has in recent years also increasingly been recognized as a crucial player and partner in international development. While the manner of business’ involvement is still under contention, some companies are beginning to join the shared value movement by transforming traditional corporate social responsibility activities to better respond to their possible new job description.
Heightened interest and optimism about business’ place in development have been triggered in large part by austerity measures that have forced many traditional donors and donor countries to tighten their belts on development aid. Unsurprisingly, mobilizing domestic resources and leveraging private finance for development objectives were among the hottest topics at the recently concluded third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
About the author
Liana Barcia
Liana is a Manila-based reporter at Devex focusing on education, development finance and public-private partnerships and contributing a wide range of content featured in the Development Insider, Money Matters and Doing Good newsletters. She draws from her experience in business reporting and advertising to generate coverage that is engaging, insightful and relevant to the Devex community.
