How can we best leverage the private sector in development?

Event date: Jan. 16, 2024

In developing countries, the private sector’s role in development has traditionally been limited to driving economic growth, employment creation, technological innovation, and expanding or improving infrastructure. Over the past three decades, this has started to change. Growing numbers of private sector stakeholders – from corporate social responsibility arms to private foundations to impact investors – are contributing to national development plans and global development goals. And many governments are increasingly leveraging private sector resources and know-how in national development plans, forging new collaborations such as so-called public-private partnerships to combine the strengths of the various actors.

At the same time, the evolution of corporate sustainability practices is seeing more and more corporations embedding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into their core business strategies. Private sector actors are increasingly being held accountable for their developmental footprint, with growing expectations of their role in championing big causes and advancing structural transformation.

So, what is the best way to leverage private sector resources towards solving complex development challenges and structural inequalities? And can a corporation practice both philanthropy and corporate sustainability, or do the demands of the bottom line erase the small, incremental change that philanthropic work commits to?

We bring together a panel of experts to discuss the important role of private sector and philanthropy in development, partnerships, and collaboration. The panel looks at the various ways the private sector is stepping up to make socially responsible contributions to development, as well as the challenges of balancing philanthropic activities and corporate sustainability with the need to turn a profit.

Speakers:
-Myrna Atalla, Executive Director, Alfanar
-Khaled Hegazy, Chief Strategy & Regulatory Officer, e& International
-Dina Abdel Fattah, Chair & Assistant Professor, Department of Economics at the School of Business at the American University in Cairo
-Paolo Comoglio, General Director, COSV