Business Call to Action (BCTA)

The Zambia Business in Development Facility in conjunction with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Zambia and the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) will be hosting a high level Business Call to Action meeting on 15th April, 2016.

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Business Call to Action (BCTA)

In 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. The SDGs define global priorities and aspirations for 2030 providing a shared vision for governments, the private sector and the civil society to work towards. The SDGs cannot be achievement without joint action and efforts across sectors.

The Business Call to Action Alliance is a global joint advocacy platform providing public recognition for the private sector’s contribution to development. BCtA’s mission is to challenge companies to advance core business activities that are inclusive of low-income populations and thus contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Inclusive businesses, that provide goods, services and livelihoods on a commercially viable basis to people living at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) making them part of the value chain of companies’ core business as suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers, play a key role in sustainably contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. For companies, the opportunity to engage in inclusive business has never been stronger – technological innovation, new forms of financing, evolving consumer demands, changing regulation and the shared global development goals are creating new openings to tap into the Base of the Pyramid Market. For individual companies engaging in inclusive business offers new revenue streams and opportunities to strengthen competitive position and improve corporate reputation. On the supply side, inclusive business models can help lower operating costs, recruit and retain talent and mitigate supply an operating risks.

On April 15, 2016, the Business Call to Action (BCtA)together with the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) in collaboration with UNDP Zambia Country Office, Zambia Business in Development Facility (ZBiDF), The Partnering Initiative, the Inclusive Business Accelerator and Business Fights Poverty will host a high-level  meeting with business representatives to discuss how inclusive business can be leveraged for the SDGs in Zambia.It will bring together key stakeholders from public and private sector and pave the way for a longer-term engagement of the private sector in Zambia as a critical partner in the country’s efforts to achieve the Global Development Agenda.