Keynote: The rise of poverty to the top of the corporate agenda as a key strategic challenge for business

The session will cover:

• Why the international development community is failing to lift the poor out of poverty.

• Why the role of the private sector in generating jobs and grassroots growth has been ignored as the path out of poverty.

•  Analysis of why poor countries will stay poor, regardless of how much aid and charity is dispensed, without an enterprise-friendly investment climate.

• Why the international development community has not created the conditions for millions of small enterprises to flourish and how business, in turn, knows an awful lot about running enterprises in difficult trading conditions.

•  Why business is not being asked to lend this knowledge and expertise to the development effort and how, instead, corporate social responsibility and external affairs experts fill the vacuum.

•  Why a new kind of development partnership is urgently required – one that sees business at the centre of efforts to create pro-poor employment.

•  How sustainable livelihoods, not handouts, will put an end to poverty.

Speaker:
Shell foundation, Kurt Hoffman, Director

Plenary Session: The challenges for business to define responsibilities in developing markets

• The emerging role of large corporations in the developing world.

• How to handle the growing expectation that business should contribute to community development.

• How far companies should go in addressing social issues.

• Whether there is a case for helping to make policy and enhance capacities and skills of the government and civil service in developing countries.

• How to avoid becoming a de facto government.

• How to consolidate competitive advantage from new market opportunities and sustainable sourcing in developing countries.

Speakers:
Anglo American, Edward Bickham, Executive Vice President, External Affairs
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Pierre Poret, Head Investment Division
Bristish Council, Mike Hardy, Director Indonesia

Coffee Break

Supply Chain:
Tackling Corruption

This session will consist of an analysis of how corruption can be tackled, highlighting some effective case studies and illustrating how to develop macro-focused strategies.

Speaker:
Afghanistan, Seema Ghani, Former Deputy Minister of Finance

HIV/Aids and Worker Health Strategies

Addressing the HIV/Aids epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is not only a humanitarian imperative but also a crucial means of preserving skills and human capital.

Anglo American now provides free anti-retroviral therapy to its South African employees infected with HIV/Aids.

The anticipated business benefits of this programme will be explored, along with investigation of the rigorous monitoring and evaluation criteria.

The education and prevention programme, designed to ensure the majority of Anglo American's employees remain HIV negative, will also be examined.

Speaker:
Anglo American, Edward Bickham, Executive Vice President, External Affairs

Moderator: Auckland University of Technology, Jem Bendell, Adjunct Professor

Worker Education

What happens when a business is faced with the need to close a plant? When it happened to Unilever in South Africa , the company launched a programme to help its retrenched workers not only retrain, but also to become entrepreneurs.

This incident demonstrates the importance of offering help with business planning and management, new business development, and ensuring access to financing.

As a result of the company's actions, several successful businesses were launched which now serve both Unilever and other international companies as customers.

The value of this is that it addresses both worker education and the increasingly difficult developing country challenge of retrenchment and post-closure sustainability.

Speaker:

DAI, Jonathan Berman, Director of the Business Advantage Practice

International Conflict and Terrorism

There are clear business benefits from a stable risk and security environment. This session focuses on how companies can actually help to create one.

A 3-Step Guide to Risk Assessment will be analysed, looking in particular at the role of the private sector in the following:

Conflict Assessment: How conflict will damage investment and what to do to protect it.

War and Peace, and Conflict Assessment: How there are occasions when an investment can actually lead to violence.

Post-Conflict Strategy : What gains there are by integrating your investment into a wider strategy for peace and reconstruction.

Speakers:
International Alert, Corene Crossin, Senior Programme Officer
Peacebuilding Issues Programme

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Pierre Poret, Head Investment Division

The Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO), Ian Saunders, Formerly Afghanistan Central Region Security Specialist

Accessing Water

Available clean water is a key public health issue in developing countries, but there can be conflict for companies when public supplies are near or on business premises.

In particular, what is the right balance for water rights on company land when businesses are often the first to lose supply in time of shortage?

Also, should there be a role for companies in making national or regional water policies, or would that mean over-reaching the appropriate sphere of influence?

The session will also examine the practical ways to join forces with the public sector processes of water management: including, dealing with river basin authorities, river commissions, water boards and catchment authorities.

There are sometimes accusations that businesses engaging with governments and the private sector are motivated mostly by a desire to get unfair water allocation benefits. The best methods of getting round such awkward situations will be discussed.

Finally, there are effective ways to lead the way with water recycling and re-use initiatives. But, what are the practicalities?

Speakers:
World Economic Forum, Andrei Iatsenia, Project Director
Water Initiative
Global Institute for Partnership and Governance

Alliance Water and Sanitation for the Urban poor (WSUP), Richard Sandbrook, Chairman

Coca-Cola, Dan Vermeer, Global Water Initiative, Director

Accessing Health

Businesses can effectively contribute to solving systemic problems such as the distribution of effective health care.

This session focuses on the Medicines for Malaria Venture, a non-profit organisation created to discover, develop and deliver new affordable anti-malarial drugs through effective public-private partnerships.

This programme is particularly vital in a number of ways.

•  Malaria kills up to two million people a year and most victims are pregnant women or under-five.

•  300–500 million new clinical cases are announced every year

•  90% of malaria cases are found in Sub-Saharan Africa

So, public, private and philanthropic sector partners are working together to fund and manage the discovery, development and registration of new medicines for the treatment and prevention of malaria in disease-endemic countries.

Speakers:

Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Dr Christopher Hentschel, Chief Executive Officer

BHP Billiton, André van der Bergh, Regional Adviser, Southern Africa, Health, Safety and Environment

Accessing Finance

Using the major Asian markets of India , Indonesia and Laos as examples, this session will examine how microfinance can help stimulate economies.

There will be a critique of how Allianz have secured a leadership niche in this growing industry – while also creating a new market opportunity for themselves.

The session also will focus on:

•  How microfinance is a lucrative opportunity for the insurance industry.

•  Why microinsurance is such an effective tool to reduce poverty and avoid debt.

•  The potential for establishing local entrepreneurs and strengthening livelihoods.

•  The safety mechanisms for risk management – including natural hazards – which are required.

•  How microinsurance differs from other microfinance tools.

•  What scope there is for private public partnerships in microfinance.

•  How best to work with NGOs.

Speakers:

UNDP, Arun Kashyap, Advisor Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism

Allianz, Michael Anthony, Group Communications

Accessing Markets

The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) is an executive agency of the Royal Government of Cambodia responsible for rehabilitation, development and investment activities.

Using CDC as an example, this session will illustrate how to access markets in developing countries.

Among the activities examined is CDC's role in guiding the preparation of a development vision and strategies in collaboration with relevant institutions.

CDC also keeps donor countries, NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral organisations informed about Cambodia 's economic development strategies and priorities of the National Program to Rehabilitate and Develop Cambodia . This is in order to ensure the efficient utilisation of external aid in accordance with the needs and priorities of the nation.

Speaker:
Landmine Disability Support (LMDS), John Lowrie, Country Representative and Programme Director

Plenary Session: Public Sector Transparency & Corruption

•  Does public sector transparency enable a country to pursue rational strategies for economic growth and development?

•  Who is resisting disclosure and why?

•  Has the "Publish What You Pay” campaign done any good for societies?

Speakers:

Nigerian High Commissioner in the UK, Dr Christopher Kolade

Afghanistan, Seema Ghani, Former Deputy Minister of Finance

Plenary Session: Human Rights

•  What can be done to avoid systemic labour rights violations?

•  What can businesses learn from rights-based approaches to development?

•  What is the role of the private sector in post-conflict countries?

 

Speakers:

Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights, Luke Wilde, Adviser

Fair Labor Association, Auret van Heerden, President and CEO