Alastair Stewart chairing our event in City Hall. © CARE / Matthew Stewart.Forces from business, the government, leading NGOs and academia converged to put business firmly on the agenda for international development at the City Hall panel event hosted by CARE.
Business was deemed to be at a ‘critical juncture’ of engagement, as leading voices debated on how to move beyond ‘PR and corporate and social responsibility box ticking’ to meaningful action and partnerships – capable of making lasting positive change for those living in poverty around the world.
The lively event was chaired by ITN newscaster Alastair Stewart OBE – who led a panel that included representation from Kraft Foods, the Department for International Development (DFID) and leading academic Dr Stephanie Ware Barrientos.
There was little dissent from UN Secretary General’s recent assertion that “business plays an integral role in delivering economic and social progress’ – but what that role looks like was up for debate.
Mark Lowcock, an executive on the DFID Management Board echoed the Government’s focus on wealth creation. He made a passionate plea to galvanize business to take up their role in developing countries, saying: “Much of Africa has been growing at an enviable rate of six per cent for years. Now is the moment to make your fortune for the future, don’t miss the boat, it is leaving now.”
Alison Ward, from Kraft Foods revealed that the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership had undergone the scrutiny of the new owners and had been deemed to “make good business sense”. The ‘business case’ was backed by representatives from Barclays and Vodafone.
Former multi-national corporation marketing man, turned social entrepreneur Craig Hardie of Malawi Mangoes offered a more critical analysis. “Profit and short-term returns remain the driving impetus for business, there is a lot of empty hot air and corporate and social responsibility box ticking. I think companies will see good returns but only if they commit to a long term investment.”
Poverty is complex and private sector engagement alone will not be the silver bullet that can eliminate the suffering of those living in poverty. But it does have a role to play and as an international development organisation CARE International UK believes it has a responsibility to find ways of maximising the positive impact the private sector has on poverty.
Josephine Ulimwengu, Assistant Country Director of CARE Rwanda said: “Wealth creation does not equal poverty reduction. The gap between the rich and poor is increasing and there is a fundamental need to address the underlying causes of poverty.”
