On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Mary-Ann Etiebet, executive director at MSD for Mothers, shared with Devex that the private sector’s role in development work should move beyond financing to also include “the innovation that the private sector can bring.”
Etiebet also underlined some of her main takeaways from the event “Sustainable models for development: How is the private sector bering integrated?” — co-hosted by MSD for Mothers, Devex, the Global Financing Facility, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Aliko Dangote Foundation — including the need for more data on private sector engagement. Despite the recent attention given to private sector solutions and partnerships, she said there is still a lack of data on such engagements and their results.
“There’s no consensus on what we need to collect and if we don’t collect it we won’t be able to track our progress,” Etiebet said, adding that measuring outcomes is “critically important” to accelerating progress towards the SDGs and ensuring that private sector partners are held accountable.
Watch the full interview here.
About the author
Natalie Donback
Natalie Donback is a freelance journalist and editor based in Barcelona, where she covers climate change, global health, and the impact of technology on communities. Previously, she was an editor and reporter at Devex, covering aid and the humanitarian sector. She holds a bachelor’s degree in development studies from Lund University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Barcelona and Columbia Journalism School.
