Overview
A healthy private sector is crucial for poverty alleviation, the creation of jobs and the raising of incomes. This is true even in the adverse context of Conflict and Fragility Affected Environments (CFAEs). Supporting livelihoods is an effective way of supporting peace-building efforts. However, carrying out Private Sector Development (PSD) work in CFAEs also presents unique challenges. The private sector of conflict-affected countries is likely to be small, informal and constrained by resource and labour-scarcity.
This seminar examined how these challenges are currently approached by development partners and how these approaches can be improved.
This event was organised by Danida and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. It was held in the Ministry’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The DCED Secretariat provided advice and assistance to the planning and the implementation of the event.
Further resources for practitioners can be found on the DCED’s webpage on PSD in CFAEs.
Participants
Around 70 participants took part in the seminar. Participants and discussants included Danish Ministry staff and programme managers, and also came from several other organisations, such as the World Bank, International Financial Corporation, the Swedish International Development Organisation, ILO, GIZ, Clingendael (The Netherlands institute of International Relations) and Danish researchers, consultants and social partners active in the field.
You can view a full participant list here.
Summary report
A brief summary report of the event can be downloaded here.
Presentations
- How to stimulate private sector activity in fragile countries. Ivan Rossignol, World Bank.
- Bringing private sector investments to challenging markets: predicaments and complications. Michel M. Botzung (Nairobi) and Joanna Kata-Blackman (DC), IFC.
- Empowerment and growth through private sector development: cases from Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Sierra Leone. Ole Stokholm Jepsen, Consultant.
- Business as development agents or business as usual? The case of mobile telecommunications industry in Afghanistan. Sameer Azizi, Copenhagen Business School.
- Conflict-sensitive private sector development. Anette Hoffmann, Clingendael.
- Enterprise development and job creation – cases from Myanmar, Afghanistan and East Timor. Merten Sievers, ILO.
- Private sector development in contexts of open and sustained violence. Birgit Seibel, GIZ.
- Building the organizational fabric of the private sector: from crisis and conflict to development. Niels Tanderup-Kristensen, The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).
- Trade Union Perspectives. Mads Bugge Madsen LO/FTF Council.
- PSD in CFAEs based on a mapping of Danish growth and employment engagements in Somalia, Afghanistan, Mali and Zimbabwe. Mikkel Klim, Consultant.