Distribution by Region

Distribution by Organisation Type, Document Type, Region and Year

Private sector occurs mostly in documents published in Europe, followed by Asia, North America, Africa and MENA with comparatively smaller contributions. Overall, the top five contributors in terms of occurrences are IGO, State, NGO, NGO_Fed and Net organisations.

IGO documents provide the greatest number of occurrences, primarily from general documents published in Europe. Occurrences from State, NGO, NGO_Fed and Net were mostly obtained from activity reports published in Europe.

The private sector ...

• is a

  • key force for

• • partner, stakeholder

  • actor

• includes entities that are

  • individual

• • collective

• engages in humanitarian activities

• is differentiated from

  • government, the public sector

  • other sectors (humanitarian)

  • civil society

  • academia

• has roles

• has main areas of activity

• has responsibilities

• shares challenges w/ humanitarians

• managing uncertainty & risk

• finding balances

• lack of progress

• has key concerns w/ humanitarians

• can benefit from & contribute to solutions

  • disaster preparedness

• • development

• • empowerment

• • technology

• • generally

• participates in public private partnerships (PPPs), which

  • include a variety of approaches

  • often focus on infrastructure in developing countries

  • can improve results through collaboration

  • are disputed as an effective method

  • can worsen local conditions

The private sector is the effective driver of growth, and while better organised dialogue and strengthened partnerships between governments and the private sector have proven to be effective, these partnerships are still insufficient tools for sustainable development.

These non-state actors include the commercial private sector (such as developers/real estate agents and banking/finance institutions) and, more importantly for the urban poor, NGOs, community-based and other socio-civic organizations, as well as small-scale producers in the informal sector.

Creating almost 90% of jobs in developing countries, the private sector is a driving force for poverty reduction. However, young jobseeker often do not match the skills required by the private sector. With one billion new job-seekers expected to enter the global labour market until 2020, mainly in urban centres, the problem of access to employment will become even more pertinent.

• key/driver/driving force/major force/motor/engine/catalyst for

  • economic growth/development

    • in developing countries

    • in rural development

  • poverty reduction

  • employment

  • increasing donor engagement

  • recovery

  • shaping urban life

  • reducing vulnerability and social inequality

• partner/stakeholder/community stakeholder

  • along with religious groups, traditional marriage counselors

• actor

  • non-governmental/non-state actor (along with NGOs, socio-civic organisations, informal sector)

  • external actor (along with media)

  • social actor/sphere (along with civil society)

• role

  • private sector partner

  • private sector actor

  • private sector donor

  • private sector stakeholder

  • private sector client

  • private sector investor

  • private sector operator

  • private sector party

  • private sector employer

• individual entity

  • private sector company

  • private sector organisation

  • private sector business

  • private sector corporation

  • private sector firm

  • private sector enterprise

  • private sector institution

• collective entity

  • private sector network

  • private sector alliance

  • private sector group

  • private sector association

• private sector development

• private sector engagement

• private sector partnership

• private sector involvement

• private sector support

• private sector collaboration

• private sector operation

• private sector activity

• private sector project

• private sector initiative

• private sector investment
  (fundraising, loan, funding, financing, contribution)

• private sector assessment

The objective for the private sector development is to support job creation and entrepreneurship in various ways. In 2009 that meant hosting an Entrepreneurship Development Conference in Brussels, to discuss entrepreneurship in developing countries, and continued capacity building in the South East European Business Start-Up Centers.

Post-conflict countries or territories and fragile states are increasingly recognised as areas with their own specific context characterised by a high level of complexity and risk. Such a context requires a level of specialisation, experience and expertise.
• Private sector development is increasingly seen as essential for development and stability in post-conflict areas.

To encourage private sector development and job creation, DFID programmes have helped simplify business and tax regulation, provided business advice and access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual entrepreneurs (including women), contributing directly to poverty reduction.

Private sector cooperation is an important component of our integrated approach to development cooperation. We differentiate between: private sector engagement to achieve development goals and private sector development with ICCO Cooperation as a financial supporter.

Private sector development is essential for sustained and higher growth in the Pacific, but a shortage of investors, weak capacity, and limited resources represent a challenge.

Private sector engagement is defined as: "An activity that aims to engage the private sector for development results, which involve the active participation of the private sector.

Private sector engagement – the private sector has a critical role to play in reducing poverty. We engage with companies to improve the impact of their activities on poor people, ensure financial inclusion, develop innovative partnerships and challenge market systems to be more inclusive so that real opportunities are created for poor people.

Both the Financing for Development and the World Humanitarian Summit processes are dedicating attention to the changing and potential role of the private sector in meeting development and humanitarian needs – and financial donorship is just one part of this. The scope of private sector engagement has also expanded to include riskfinancing models, logistical and legal services, technology, in-kind goods and personnel.

Humanitarians now generally recognise that the real potential of commercial partners is not as prospective major donors, but rather as a resource for technical expertise, particularly in preparedness and new technologies relevant to the aid enterprise (Zyck and Kent, 2014). However, though individual examples of such private-sector engagement are not difficult to find (at least in natural disaster scenarios) they do not add up to any significant shift in burdensharing at scale.

In our review (Hoddinott et al. forthcoming), we bring structure to the discussion by clarifying different models of private-sector engagement (such as contractual/noncontractual, input-based/ results-based) and different roles of actors (financiers, implementers, beneficiaries). The literature is awash with case studies that are little more than company publicity.

Utilizing the private sector for the provision of public services, PPP is a method of implementing programs through the coordination of the public and private sectors. It includes a wide range of schemes which are tailored to the level of participation of the private business, ranging from a simple consignment of a project to buildoperate-transfer (BOT) and full privatization.

As suggested above, PPPs have held an important place in the USAID strategy since 2001. On a global level private sector participation in infrastructure projects has been on the rise since at least 1991. Following a decline in 1997, this trend rose sharply again in 2003. In the succeeding ten years (2003-2013), the monetary value of this participation increased from US$182 million to US$322 million. Despite various complexities in generalizing about PPPs and the need for further studies, general trends have emerged in terms of the operation of PPPs in less-developed countries, with similarities between issues identified by PPP critics in the Philippines, and other situations in the world.

PPP is a form of public-private cooperation in which governmental ODA projects are conducted in collaboration with private investment projects. Input from private companies is incorporated from the stage of ODA project formation. For example, roles are divided between the public and private sectors so that basic infrastructure is covered with ODA, while investment and operation, maintenance and manage- ment are conducted by the private sector. The technologies, knowledge, experience, and funds of the private sector are then used in an effort to implement more efficient and effective projects as well as to improve development efficiency. Areas for PPP: Water and sewerage systems, airport construction, motorways, railways, etc.)

Civil society: A term used to describe a wide range of organizations, networks, associations, groups and movements that are independent from government and that sometimes come together to advance their common interests through collective action.

Civil society organisation: A broad term covering any non-governmental, non-profit organisation working to bring about change in a particular area.

The chart below represents the distribution of private sector between 2005 and 2019 in terms of the number of occurrences and relative frequency of occurrences. It also allows you to view the distribution across Regions, Organisations and Document types.

• area of activity

  • development

  • corporate social responsibility

  • poverty reduction

  • equitable growth

  • preparedness

  • financial crime

  • nutrition and food systems

• responsibility

  • compensate for public sector

  • provide expertise, methodologies

  • innovate

  • cooperate

  • be responsible, transparent, accountable

  • transfer skills

  • empower groups

  • take a leadership role

  • stay involved

  • collaborate

  • increase access to technology

  • financial support

We believe that a responsible and accountable private sector can be a major driver to reduce poverty, in the same way that weak, or poorly enforced, business regulation and irresponsible business practices can keep poor people locked in a cycle of poverty.

The private sector and various businesses can now make a difference in the non-profit world: not just through funding, but also through a transfer of skills and through the empowerment of local private and professional outlets in a way that promotes synergy rather than opposition.

For business to do good while doing no harm, the private sector must be held to the same international transparency and accountability standards as all other actors. Business and government have complementary roles to play in implementing, promoting and enabling responsible business conduct. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises help to optimise their contributions, supporting the development of responsible and accountable business practice to ensure that investment quantity is matched by business quality to produce social, economic and environmental benefits.

As enthusiasm for the enhanced role of companies in advancing peace has grown, so too has confusion and questionable claims about what private sector actors can accomplish in conflict contexts.

There is general consensus that the private sector should be included in the post-2015 framework. But the question remains: how to harness business as an engine for development? Business leaders may be unsure how best to support development outcomes, and development practitioners may be unsure how best to work with the private sector.

In recent years the balance of private and public sector involvement in water has been vigourously debated. Some argue that increased private sector involvement is an automatic route to more and better services per dollar, along with greater accountability and transparency. Others claim that water is an essential public good and that the human right to water is fundamentally at odds with market principles.

The major challenge for private sector organizations in developing countries is to reorient their strategies to long-term market development, rather than short-term profitability.

Given the general consensus that migration is good for business, it is surprising that the private sector does not engage more proactively. A business round-table discussion convened in preparation for the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Athens in 2009 identified a number of reasons why, including a concern on the part of business leaders that they might experience a public backlash for supporting migration, in particular they might lack influence among policymakers, and why policymakers might be unwilling to countenance their recommendations, especially with regard to lowering obstacles to migration. An initial step would be for the private sector to better articulate its needs to policymakers. At the same time, it is important to recognize the diversity of private sector actors: their needs may not always align.

Neither the formal nor the informal private construction sector has any housing solution for the 20-30 per cent of the population with the lowest incomes. The private sector is also ineffective in crisis or emergency conditions.

In some parts of the region there is a largely unregulated private sector, a major problem with fake and substandard antimalarial treatments and rapid development of resistance to most new antimalarials.

Companies realise that delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals makes business sense, because it contributes to the long-term sustainability of their operations. Some, such as Unilever, Microsoft and Vodafone, already mention the MDGs in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. But there is, to date, no clear picture of what private-sector engagement in a post-MDG framework would look like.

For partnerships to be successful and sustainable, private sector contributions must be part of a larger corporate benefit. As more private sector actors become involved in humanitarian work, many noted the need for stricter policies around data protection and privacy. In addition, as social media companies have more influence on the actions of people affected by crisis, they must acknowledge the significant responsibility that comes with this power.

While the immense resources of the private sector can be a welcome contribution in emergencies, when these are mobilized separately from the rest of the humanitarian system, the risk is high for friction, duplication, and interference. That is why a shift toward greater coordination is now urgently needed to capitalize on our complementary sets of skills and expertise. Collaboration will foster the exchange of ideas and best practices, build preparedness and capacity, as well as ensure a more streamlined roll-out of joint interventions. Above all, the needs of vulnerable populations surviving a catastrophe must be the driver of any partnership between an NGO and corporate entity.

New and updated data management and information systems may be needed to capture the totality of private sector engagements effectively, including allocations, results and leverage. Tracking private sector engagements can be particularly challenging. Partnerships can involve a variety of mechanisms, such as specific funding windows, and a variety of partners. For partnerships involving civil society or knowledge partners, funding is not channelled to the private sector partners, but to the implementing partners. It is also important to adapt results frameworks to meet the needs of all partners in private sector engagements. Private companies often seek specific results through partnerships. Moreover, they often do their own rigorous evaluations or have the capacity to do so. The same is also true for government and other partners. While flexibility is needed in establishing results frameworks to meet partners’ needs, where possible developing shared results indicators across private sector engagements is helpful for aggregating and communicating results.

• disaster management

  • preparedness

  • resilience

  • local vs. international engagement

  • building the evidence on the value of investing in preparedness

  • market readiness assessments, regulatory analyses

  • sponsor preparedness activities in school/community

• technology

  • shared actor databases

  • improve ICT access to affected populations

• empowerment

  • establish non-competitive forum for payments industry

  • proactive employment policies, women, ICT, access, rights, gender-based violence, exploitation

  • supply-side interventions, bicycle use, microcrediting for women

  • collaborative activities to fight human trafficking

• development

  • increase returns, development impact bonds

  • support mechanisms for social business

  • emerging recommendations for poverty reduction

  • sustainable development

  • financial & technical support for MSMEs

  • collaboration, dialogue

  • beyond financier/beneficiary duality, MSME, guidelines

  • agribusiness recommendations, policy advancements

  • investing in emerging markets

• general strategies

  • regional/non-political partnership platforms/entities

  • clear incentives, understanding cross-sector relationships, systematic sharing & learning

  • direct transfer of funds to individual beneficiaries

  • increasing partnership, engagement

  • risk assessment

  • innovation

In 2011, Interpeace and Mirabaud & Cie, banquiers privés, a Geneva-based private bank, launched a partnership which gives people an opportunity to invest in emerging markets, all the while supporting peacebuilding work in conflictaffected countries. The partnership is a compelling example of how the private sector can play a role in making the world a safer place.

Participants expressed a desire to have a database that would connect all actors in the region, including private sector actors, and that would provide information on resources, skills, services, presence, and activities to help mobilize nearby and available actors with their resources and services.

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS: Private sector and media should support humanitarian action in conflict contexts by enabling affected communities to have access to ICT infrastructure to facilitate communication of their needs in a principled manner.

Sometimes described as Public-Private- People Partnerships (Zhang and Kumaraswamy, 2012), early indicators suggest that private sector engagement in collaborative efforts to build resilience may be strengthened by:

ensuring clarity around private sector incentives for partnering – concern about private sector engagement in partnership can better be addressed if there is clear understanding of the nature of private sector partners, their incentives for collaborating and the benefits that they hope to gain from these connections

promoting holistic approaches – careful consideration of the relationship between private sector partners and their value chains, including employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which they operate

balancing innovation with accountability – providing space for private sector partners to promote innovative solutions while also ensuring clarity around partnership systems, structures, roles and responsibilities so that accountability to recipients of aid and governance systems is reinforced

integrating innovations into structures and systems – working closely with the public sector to integrate new solutions and business models into disaster risk management systems with, where appropriate, private sector involvement in the development of normative frameworks and technical standards for this. While private sector partnerships clearly have a role to play in building resilience and promoting sustainable development, it is important to acknowledge that they are not a cure-all. In order to fully understand their potential, more systematic ways of sharing and learning from experiences of working in this way are essential.

There is a growing body of research looking at the impacts that private sector engagement through development co-operation is having on MSMEs in the developing world. This research considers how the private sector can help to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and promote sustainable development by investing in MSMEs. Some emerging, context-specific recommendations include:

• Support should help connect small and micro-enterprises to investors [....]

• The private sector can help build the capacity of small and micro-enterprises [....]

• Private investors and MSMEs should engage in genuine partnerships [....]

• MSMEs should be represented in dialogue forums [....]

The discourse needs to move beyond dealing with the private sector simply as financiers (investors) or beneficiaries (especially the MSMEs on the receiving end), and instead should see enterprises as leaders and partners. This will be the first step towards creating a convincing, collective narrative on effective partnering for sustainable development. Reaching those left behind through private sector engagement requires clear principles and guidelines In this context, the development community would benefit from agreed guidelines that underpin the effective delivery of private sector engagement, especially those activities geared towards supporting MSMEs and, within this bracket, micro-entrepreneurs.

Humanitarian organizations should engage the private sector on issues related to due diligence processes, and make efforts to better capture the value of private sector contributions to humanitarian response, including goods and services provided in-kind, rather than just financial flows. The private sector was also encouraged to invest more in preparedness work in addition to response. Rising out of the discussion on the role of the private sector and diaspora, it was suggested that there should be more focus on how to channel funds directly from individual contributors to individual beneficiaries, including through wire transfers and money orders.

PPP pursues higher efficiency and better quality by dividing the responsibilities of the public and private sectors while applying privatesector technologies, know-how, and capital.

Public-private partnership (PPP) models have proved essential for the development of innovative actions in the sector, and were the main issue tackled during the first peer-to-peer dialogue for local authorities organised by the UfM in 2018.

Reports demonstrated that PPP concessionaires reaped huge benefits from the public subsidization of their private business activity while services declined.

Civil society has also strongly criticized PPPs as a modality from a country ownership perspective.

In the report 'A Dangerous Diversion', Oxfam and the Consumer Protection Association of Lesotho argue that the IFC must be held to account for its poor quality advice to the Government of Lesotho and for marketing this type of PPP as an international success, despite evidence of unsustainable costs.

The assessment revealed that local government is in urgent need of training on how to manage PPPs within a sound legal framework and on how to boost private sector investment.

All participants agreed on the need to increase technical assistance to LAs with regard to PPPs, as well as the need for central authorities to simplify procedures and to attract financing.