makingit_14_pp42-45_policybrief_print 16/10/2013 17:19 Page 42
POLICY BRIEF
Opportunities and challenges for business engagement in the post-2015 development agenda
The past twenty years have witnessed a significant increase in business partnerships, with governments and civil society in the pursuit of various aspects of the sustainable development agenda. As the international community engages in widespread dialogue on the framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals, the energy, innovation and resources of the private sector are increasingly recognized to be one of the core drivers of the agenda for economic empowerment, and to redress the current mismatch between aspirations, capabilities and opportunities many countries – particularly, but certainly not exclusively, African ones – are confronted with. This involves a much more comprehensive engagement by the private sector than ‘simply’ that of successfully running businesses. Having had the honour to serve on the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, we had the opportunity to closely interact with many entrepreneurs and managers that are actively engaged in the search for strategies
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“It is time for business to set higher standards for its operations and move beyond the current understanding of corporate social responsibility into a new socially and environmentally sensitive business model.” Photo: US Mission Geneva
By BETTY MAINA, CEO of the Kenyan Association of Manufacturers, and STEFANO PRATO, the Managing Director of the Society for International Development and Maina’s adviser on the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.