The DCED established the Business Environment Working Group (BEWG) in 2002 to share knowledge on donor-supported business environment reform (BER) in developing countries and to support good practice and new approaches. The Group helps agencies and their programme partners to position business environment reform (BER) effectively as part of an integrated private sector development strategy and to enhance the synergies between these reforms and broader development objectives.
The DCED defines the business environment as a complex of policy, legal, institutional, and regulatory conditions that govern business activities. It is a subset of the investment climate and includes the administration and enforcement mechanisms established to implement government policy, as well as the institutional arrangements that influence how key actors operate (e.g., government agencies, regulatory authorities, and business membership organisations, and trade unions).
The Working Group is chaired by the World Bank Group and GIZ.
Most recently, the BEWG has focused on reviewing experience and developing practical guidelines on the use of business environment reform towards a range of priority objectives among DCED members, notably green private sector development, private capital mobilisation and inclusion of informal and women-owned businesses (see the publications listed below).
Current activities focus on
