Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Australia’s Market Development Facility outline business case for inc

What role does the private sector have in bringing about inclusive growth and human development? This was a key question explored during the joint workshop hosted by Sri Lanka’s apex business body, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), and Market Development Facility (MDF), a private sector development program, an initiative of the Australian aid program and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs. 

Despite CSR and community outreach finding a place in the global and local business lexicon, corporates both big and small continue to find it difficult to embed inclusivity into their core business. This is not necessarily due to reluctance, but also due to insufficient foresight into the real business gains that can be achieved by adopting more inclusive business models.

MDF Country Representative Shahroz Jalil emphasised that, “Sri Lanka faces a number of development challenges, which have traditionally been addressed by government intervention and aid. But there is much that the private sector can do to bridge the gap as well – and there is a strong business case for it.”

Human development requires economic growth that benefits all, including those that are often ‘left behind’ in the race for growth – the rural poor, women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, to name a few. The private sector can be leveraged to achieve both developmental and economic impact. This can take the form of for example, inclusion in supply chains, factory work, new business developments or IT-based solutions, or even through diversifying business beyond urban centres.

Charlotte Blundell, Counsellor for Development Cooperation at the Australian High Commission, offered a perspective from a development partner point of view. The Australian aid program is devoted to solving complex development challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, in frontier and emerging markets including Sri Lanka. In 2014, Australia’s Foreign Minister provided a clear mandate for the High Commission to engage with the private sector in all of its aid activities in Sri Lanka. This mandate recognises that greater private investment and trade is essential to increasing growth and reducing poverty and vulnerability.  “We know that businesses in Sri Lanka who understand the link between their financial returns and their creation of social benefits are more likely to contribute to targeted and sustained poverty reduction. We are partnering with these businesses, not on CSR initiatives, but to deliver ‘shared value’ outcomes, by which I mean commercially sustainable solutions to development problems,” remarked Blundell.

Rajendra Theagarajah, CCC Chairman and Joint Deputy Chairperson of Cargills Bank, brought in the view of a private sector veteran, touching on the huge business potential available to the private sector in terms of locally sourced value chains, skills development and access to finance. 

The forum wrapped up with a panel discussion calling in views from a wide spectrum. The participants included Shahroz Jalil, Charlotte Blundell, Rajendra Theagarajah, Dr. Tim De Jager (Managing Director, Divron Bioventures) and Merrilene Peramune (Development Consultant). The participants offered examples of the viability of this model and its use in a developing country context and also discussed the economic and social challenges of adopting this approach.